Episode 408 of RevollutionZ continues excerpting from the seven author book Liberating Theory. This time the episode is two chapters, one on the polity of society that follows those on kinship, cultural community, and economy, and the other on how all four together compose society as a whole.
How do political systems shape not only laws and policing, but also what feels “reasonable,” what counts as “responsible debate,” and which alternative possibilities will never even reach the table?
We consider the idea of the “single correct line” across regime types, from overt dictatorships that rely on fear and censorship to U.S. style representative democracy that relies on media filters, and control of resources for communication, and especially the socialization of communicators as they rise to visible positions. Along the way, we connect the “crisis of democracy” argument to a long-running pattern: when popular movements start to organize effectively, elites answer with a mix of repression and co-optation that is designed to rebuild apathy and narrow participation.
Then we widen the lens. Instead of treating society as driven by one master cause, we lay out the complementary holist view of society: economy, polity, kinship, and community are overlapping, entwined spheres that constantly interact. That approach leads to practical conceptual tools for activists, including “social moments,” "accommodation versus codefinition," and the idea of core characteristics that permeate everyday life. We finally push the framework to also include include ecology and international dynamics like imperialism, because any usable political theory has to match the real world we’re trying to change.
Each of the two chapters in this episode has its own associated dialogue in which our familiar array of participants, each with their own priorities and beliefs, discuss the ideas raised. Can the emerging framework appeal sufficiently to marxist, feminist, nationalist, anarchist, and also not yet deeply involved activists to generate a conversation to seek shared theory, strategy, and vision? You decide and perhaps alert others to the need to relate.
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