Adolph Reed, Jr. is my hero. I will never forget many, many years ago (possibly 2008) I couldn't find a copy of The Jesse Jackson Phenomenon in print anywhere under a reasonable price, and I emailed him asking where I could buy a copy. He not only mailed me a free copy of the book, he even signed it for me. He's an excellent scholar and an outstanding human being as well. Thanks for posting this interview! I'm hoping one day TMBS has Walter Benn Michaels on in the future. He's another incredible academic who shares a lot of the same theories on class and identity with Reed.
I looked at a few speeches from the 80s by Jesse recently. and I wondered why wasn t the nominee of the party instead of mondale or dukakis? and I realize it was the same process that gave us Biden now instead of Bernie
Rewatching this video knowing he is gone is so heartbreaking. Adolf Reed was on Brooks bucket list to interview and it makes me happy to see him happy .i miss him dearly
He landed Chomsky, Cornel West and Zizek too, i miss him terribly but it's wild to contemplate what he was able to pull together in such a short amount of time. It's fucking inspiring.
Sadly, I wasn't in the US or watching US politics online for most of the time that Michael was still here (apart from TYT occasionally, mostly to hear what the NYT and MSNBC etc. weren't telling us about the Bernie campaigns, which I was fortunate to have some small involvement in). This is the first time I've seen him, and this conversation makes me want to watch more of his back catalogue. I've been following Adolf for some time, though, which is what brought me here. And I've got to catch up on his work. RIP MB. Long live AR.
Adolph Reed is such a fascinating character. He's a combination of bashful awkwardness and indefatigable fearlessness. I hope he lives for many, many years to come.
I tell people I’m a liberal (philosophical) and a big supporter of the labour movement, which isn’t a contradiction btw, and can’t stand what left wing identity politics is doing to both of those things. They look at me like I’m from mars. This is going to be an uphill battle to convince people that identity politics is not only not going to help the working class, that it’s actually going to harm progress for the working class, which includes all the identities people say they care about.
yeah, the first step in reconciliation of racist people needs to be working together on common interests, thats how alienated people gain trust in each other and how preconceived bias die with time:)
TradingKid1998, Either seek psychiatric help (for you lack basic ability to understand what is said outside the hate-mongering voices in your head) or simply find a pill that will put you out of your misery fast (see how nice I am, I don't want you to suffer on the way out). Worry not, NOBODY wants to reconcile or work with a sewer creature like you.
Learning what solidarity is helps. It avoids overuse of "us" and "them" and focuses on the issue or even reverses it. I am with them can be said in solidarity.
I suspect everything you said is actually true in a broad sense, although i'm not interested in going tit for tat regarding racism in U.S. organized labor. Coming at this from a communist perspective, it seems entirely possible for workers who share no identitarian characteristics to stand shoulder to shoulder in a fight against capital. Without getting too mawkish about this, i think it would do race pessimist liberals a world of good to ruminate on the fact that in a lot of cases, black people and white people are friends who love each other dearly. In spite of our monstrous history, we still hang out with each other, get married to each other, have children together, etc. I don't think it's too lofty an expectation to want to collectively bargain together. At any rate, we're already sharing workplaces and labor empowerment plus a robust social safety net seems like the only way out/forward.
The Professional Class has been used a lot lately. Thomas Frank wrote a whole book about this in terms of the D party & has been in all the Lefty shows. "Listen, Liberal". It's excellent.
Yeah, here's a 15 cent raise and make you assistant manager, Chip, you can do my job, all the responsibility but have no authority while I actually get paid for it.
I read that piece and it did not impress me to be honest. Bernstein was trying to expand and engage with people who were not preaching incrementalism, and looking back a controlled evolutionary process would have failed. It was radicalism who scared the elites into civil rights
The PMC class- let alone their "neoliberalism" and all that jazz- is an overexaggerated class-reductionist meme, esp. by people like Aimee Terese. Give me a break.
Not really, neoliberalism is a pretty well established economic/trade phenomenon along with all the empty cultural signifiers that come with it. At any rate, class reductionism is largely a myth and no one was talking about Aimee until you brought her up.
Class reductionism doesn't exist. It's a term used by radlibs and identitarians to shut up revolutionary socialists that threaten the powerful and educated members of the PMC. Identity politic's empty moralizing rhetoric might as well be straight outta the mouths of every human resources department.
I continue to contend that by only raising the voices of race reductionism in the black community, leftist like Brooks (who I think is an asset to the left) hinder the growth of the left project. While I respect and appreciate Reed's scholarship, it's rediculous not to have someone with opposing views critiquing these takes. What I really don't like about this, is it feels like Brooks gets to use people like Reed to say stuff about racism that he would never say. My take on what really is race reductionism: www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/iziah-thompson-covid-19-coronavirus-police-brutality-america-george-floyd-african-americans-17817/
Couple things: One, accusing white leftists of racism laundering through black intellectuals is vapid and unverifiable. Two, If you're going to hold up vulgar standpoint epistemology as virtuous, you should follow it to its logical conclusion and give serious thought to figures like Candace Owens or David Clark or whatever. Personally, i'm not burdened by that commitment so i have no problem telling POC to fuck off if i think their politics are harmful. To do otherwise would be the worst sort of infantile, liberal pandering. 3) Michael Brooks was a leftist. Adolph Reed is a leftist. Bill Fletcher is a leftist. The project isn't intended to be objective, we have a pretty clear-eyed vision of what we want society to look like in broad strokes so there's no need to bring in Adversarial Liberal Black Guy in the name of fairness. The race reductionism crowd gets more than enough exposure on MSNBC and bestseller lists anyway, no need to muddy the water here.
Noam Chomsky said if you have something important to say you should try to sound as boring as possible - that ensures the content alone is captivating enough! And both Reed and Chomsky prove it!
Adolph Reed, Jr. is my hero. I will never forget many, many years ago (possibly 2008) I couldn't find a copy of The Jesse Jackson Phenomenon in print anywhere under a reasonable price, and I emailed him asking where I could buy a copy. He not only mailed me a free copy of the book, he even signed it for me. He's an excellent scholar and an outstanding human being as well. Thanks for posting this interview!
I'm hoping one day TMBS has Walter Benn Michaels on in the future. He's another incredible academic who shares a lot of the same theories on class and identity with Reed.
Anthony Badessa,
Had exactly the same thought! Only he can pull off such a name.
I looked at a few speeches from the 80s by Jesse recently. and I wondered why wasn t the nominee of the party instead of mondale or dukakis? and I realize it was the same process that gave us Biden now instead of Bernie
I think there's a Jacobin panel/interview with both of them doing their thing.
Is his email address public? Wanted to send him some words of encouragement.
Rewatching this video knowing he is gone is so heartbreaking. Adolf Reed was on Brooks bucket list to interview and it makes me happy to see him happy .i miss him dearly
He landed Chomsky, Cornel West and Zizek too, i miss him terribly but it's wild to contemplate what he was able to pull together in such a short amount of time. It's fucking inspiring.
Sadly, I wasn't in the US or watching US politics online for most of the time that Michael was still here (apart from TYT occasionally, mostly to hear what the NYT and MSNBC etc. weren't telling us about the Bernie campaigns, which I was fortunate to have some small involvement in). This is the first time I've seen him, and this conversation makes me want to watch more of his back catalogue. I've been following Adolf for some time, though, which is what brought me here. And I've got to catch up on his work. RIP MB. Long live AR.
The left truly lost an irreplaceable gem w/ Michael's passing. RIP
Adolph Reed Jr is a national treasure
international
“I hope we can do regular segments together…” YES! MOAR, PLEASE!¡!
Michael, I love your brain and the way it structures sentences.
Came up in my feed today. Such a heartbreaking loss to the world. He had so much to give in such a short period of time.
Fabulous interview. I wish this video had gotten more views.
Adolph Reed is such a fascinating character. He's a combination of bashful awkwardness and indefatigable fearlessness. I hope he lives for many, many years to come.
Great interview 👍
" It felt like a back door of my life was open" that is soo true.
I miss Michael soo much. What a great interview.
Big Thanks from Sweden. Our PMC is a study in Victorian moralism and works soooo smooth with the destruktion of the welfare state....
This was amazing. Wow. High brow content in an accessible format.
THANK YOU
Get this guy back. He is awesome. There is not enough video content of him on TH-cam.
Adolph Reed is god damn amazing
One of your best so far. Thanks!
Michael Brooks is so handsome! And that intro music is dope. Love it. Great work Michael.
I really wish Michael were still here.
That was such a great interview.
Thank you
I just realised how little I know. Two very smart people. #Bernie2020 #feelthebern
I tell people I’m a liberal (philosophical) and a big supporter of the labour movement, which isn’t a contradiction btw, and can’t stand what left wing identity politics is doing to both of those things. They look at me like I’m from mars. This is going to be an uphill battle to convince people that identity politics is not only not going to help the working class, that it’s actually going to harm progress for the working class, which includes all the identities people say they care about.
The last 15 seconds are GOLD
yeah, the first step in reconciliation of racist people needs to be working together on common interests, thats how alienated people gain trust in each other and how preconceived bias die with time:)
TradingKid1998,
Either seek psychiatric help (for you lack basic ability to understand what is said outside the hate-mongering voices in your head) or simply find a pill that will put you out of your misery fast (see how nice I am, I don't want you to suffer on the way out). Worry not, NOBODY wants to reconcile or work with a sewer creature like you.
Learning what solidarity is helps. It avoids overuse of "us" and "them" and focuses on the issue or even reverses it. I am with them can be said in solidarity.
I suspect everything you said is actually true in a broad sense, although i'm not interested in going tit for tat regarding racism in U.S. organized labor. Coming at this from a communist perspective, it seems entirely possible for workers who share no identitarian characteristics to stand shoulder to shoulder in a fight against capital. Without getting too mawkish about this, i think it would do race pessimist liberals a world of good to ruminate on the fact that in a lot of cases, black people and white people are friends who love each other dearly. In spite of our monstrous history, we still hang out with each other, get married to each other, have children together, etc.
I don't think it's too lofty an expectation to want to collectively bargain together. At any rate, we're already sharing workplaces and labor empowerment plus a robust social safety net seems like the only way out/forward.
No
42:43 incredibly perceptive insight from Michael Brooks on liberal parallels of obfuscation regarding people's material conditions.
This was great!
Left is best!
u gotta raise your kids catholic or jewish or else they might turn out religious. my new favorite quote.
King recognize king, get Reed on more often.
* thumbs up *
RIP Michael
Miss him
Professional Managerial Class Class?
The Professional Class has been used a lot lately. Thomas Frank wrote a whole book about this in terms of the D party & has been in all the Lefty shows. "Listen, Liberal". It's excellent.
aka the real middle class, born and bred in to it through the right schools and entitled disposition. Condescension mistaken for leadership.
Guys I just wrote that cause he said PMC class. That is a good explanation of the PMC. Have a thumbs up.
That last sentence is quite accurate
"Racism is an attitude". I wish it was. In alot of society racism is very structural.
too many managers, as my father would say, and none of them can perform the jobs they are managing. lol.
Yeah, here's a 15 cent raise and make you assistant manager, Chip, you can do my job, all the responsibility but have no authority while I actually get paid for it.
I read that piece and it did not impress me to be honest. Bernstein was trying to expand and engage with people who were not preaching incrementalism, and looking back a controlled evolutionary process would have failed. It was radicalism who scared the elites into civil rights
Why do we have arbitrary stopping points? Brooks! Did you learn you "Destiny Debate" lesson? Allocate more time fo' shit!
The PMC class- let alone their "neoliberalism" and all that jazz- is an overexaggerated class-reductionist meme, esp. by people like Aimee Terese. Give me a break.
Not really, neoliberalism is a pretty well established economic/trade phenomenon along with all the empty cultural signifiers that come with it. At any rate, class reductionism is largely a myth and no one was talking about Aimee until you brought her up.
Class reductionism doesn't exist. It's a term used by radlibs and identitarians to shut up revolutionary socialists that threaten the powerful and educated members of the PMC.
Identity politic's empty moralizing rhetoric might as well be straight outta the mouths of every human resources department.
I continue to contend that by only raising the voices of race reductionism in the black community, leftist like Brooks (who I think is an asset to the left) hinder the growth of the left project. While I respect and appreciate Reed's scholarship, it's rediculous not to have someone with opposing views critiquing these takes. What I really don't like about this, is it feels like Brooks gets to use people like Reed to say stuff about racism that he would never say.
My take on what really is race reductionism: www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/iziah-thompson-covid-19-coronavirus-police-brutality-america-george-floyd-african-americans-17817/
Couple things: One, accusing white leftists of racism laundering through black intellectuals is vapid and unverifiable.
Two, If you're going to hold up vulgar standpoint epistemology as virtuous, you should follow it to its logical conclusion and give serious thought to figures like Candace Owens or David Clark or whatever. Personally, i'm not burdened by that commitment so i have no problem telling POC to fuck off if i think their politics are harmful. To do otherwise would be the worst sort of infantile, liberal pandering.
3) Michael Brooks was a leftist. Adolph Reed is a leftist. Bill Fletcher is a leftist. The project isn't intended to be objective, we have a pretty clear-eyed vision of what we want society to look like in broad strokes so there's no need to bring in Adversarial Liberal Black Guy in the name of fairness. The race reductionism crowd gets more than enough exposure on MSNBC and bestseller lists anyway, no need to muddy the water here.
Also, I don't think Cornel West agrees with Adolph Reed on everything, especially since Reed was nice enough to excoriate him in Class Notes.
Very interesting, but way to many “UMMMMMs”
good grief this guy may have some great ideas but what wordy boring delivery...would not want to take a course from this guy....
mark brownner not everything has to resemble a fps game😘
Noam Chomsky said if you have something important to say you should try to sound as boring as possible - that ensures the content alone is captivating enough! And both Reed and Chomsky prove it!