Two years after my comment I'm happy to see lots of upvotes! Gives me hope! Thought I'd add an anecdote for your amusement. I saw MJP back in the early '80's - around or I think before this video recording, at Foothill College in Los Altos, CA. I was drawn deeper into politics at the time since ultraconservative Ronald Reagan was President and I was working at a national lab that was contemplating doing well-funded "Star Wars" research that I was strongly opposed to, as a young, engaged arms control activist. MJP was invited by the college radio station, KFJC, which had a wonderful left-leaning radio show on Sunday nights that did deep analysis and discussion on things like JFK's, MLK's and RK's assassinations, the German fascist roots in our U.S. intelligence apparatus, the Jonestown massacre and its many CIA connections, etc. Really fascinating and seriously interrogated, not whacky stuff - heavily footnoted and documentation provided during the discussions. Also, I had taken an elective course that had MJP's, "Inventing Reality: The Politics of Mass Communication" as one of the reference books (an AWESOME book - HIGHLY recommended). Anyway, I was already well "softened" and able to listen to MJP objectively when he came to speak. The smallish man was a GIANT. His analysis was just so... consistent, fact-laden, history-laden, fit together - cohesive, riveting. And passionate! I'll never forget one part, where he was getting excited talking about power and how those that have it will refuse to let go of it, like a dog with a bone - so we have to TAKE it! We have to REACH UP (he's animating all this - gesticulating with his hands and arms... the audience is starting to holler as the energy gets contagious...) and GRAB IT and YANK IT AWAY with ALL OUR STRENGTH from their clenched teeth!! The small crowd, packed in the classroom at the junior college screamed, roared and cheered. It was an amazing lecture event - the best political rant I'd ever heard, surpassing Bernie even in energy level. Weeks after, I was still thinking about that talk (still am to this day), still analyzing things. Since then I've come to distinguish between Radicalism and Extremism, though many, including the mainstream media, always equate the two (intentionally). In fact, they are quite distinctively different. Extremism is believing in and acting in an extreme way - towards or crossing the borderline of what is sensible and even practical, perhaps even destructive and counter-productive. Being radical, on the other hand, has to do with a pure and fundamental understanding of something. The word itself, radical, has its history and the word comes from "root," like the radish is a root vegetable. The radical sign in mathematics is the sign for the square root of a number (using the radical to find the root). Radicals in chemistry are like roots of elemental atoms, just missing a needed electron or neutron (I forget) to complete the atom. Being a political radical, with the true definition of the word, means focusing on, getting to, and addressing the ROOTS of problems, and not secondary, indirect or band-aid solutions to problems. In my view, MJP is one of our leading true radical thinkers. His radical analysis is tops in my book. I'd be proud to be able to claim myself worthy of being a true radical - wading through the noise and confusion to come to understand and go after the ROOT of the problems, with solutions that address the ROOT of the problems. These are NOT extreme positions. And they do not necessitate extreme solutions. One can be a proud radical without being an extremist. Please join us!
@@mariussielcken You’re right. America has done everything it has ever done, and every Capitalist country has done EVERYTHING also in the name of the powerless. Every country regardless of social order claims to do so, at least initially. Whether it be the fascists claiming race or economic and social unity or the liberals claiming democracy, nothing is possible without in part the complicity of the people. The difference is in the statistics friend. The statistics show who actually “side” with and “support” the powerless. The empirical evidence.
@@Stevie-J You do realize the irony of you responding in this manner to my comment when the contents of said response are insulting me for responding to your/a comment? Furthermore nothing I’ve said to you is lengthy, and my response to the other person in this comment section can also hardly be considered “lengthy”. If you consider it to be so then I recommend you raise your literacy. Plus of course it takes a lot to debunk a lie or falsification. You absolutely must know the saying “it takes ten minutes to debunk a ten second lie”, no? I’m also guessing that you are assuming it took some amount of time or effort to write these comments on my part, insinuating that I am in some manner upset, which seems just like projection on your part to me.
Facts 😂 I've been busy lately and not able to read as much so instead I've been listening to lectures, speeches, conversations, book readings, etc from Parenti, Chomsky, Wolff, Graeber, Hedges, etc and one constant is that Parenti's mics are always reactionary skids and no mic is strong enough to pick up Chomsky.
Damn I just busted out crying. "If it [war] was in our nature, why do they have to draft us?" We wouldn't be here if they right. Our nature is to cooperate. It's to build things. Yes monuments, buildings, and infrastructure, but more importantly family, friendships and community. That is human nature. It's so obvious and silly that any old hippy could tell you that. What made me cry is how easily it's still forgotten.
If anyone is curious how Parenti is doing, he currently lives in California and has advanced dementia, but is regularly visited by comrades and loves the company. Unfortunately though due to the dementia he can't really talk politics anymore.
Sad to hear he has dementia, but happy that he is still alive and interacting with comrades (as of 3 months ago). What a brilliant mind his was. In a vastly superior alternate timeline, he could've been America's first truly great president. He could certainly show up the oratorical skills of the two most recent POTUSes. At least Michael Parenti will live on in his writings and recordings, and he will be remembered fondly once we win the struggle.
“Margaret Thatcher… who as we all know is Reagan in drag” What an absolute international treasure. No wonder comrades keep on coming back to Parenti. He’s a powerful speaker, and able to bring an vast amount of knowledge to bear. We may mourn the twilight of his years but he’s left us a treasure trove in his outputs.
Explain nearly everything America does in one sentence: "It is the heart of US policy, ladies and gentlemen, to use fascism to preserve capitalism while claiming to be saving democracy from communism." Parenti is a master of cutting through the chaotic complexity of history to find the simple truth at the core of it.
That's really the power of marxism leninism. It's like opening the third eye, everything suddenly becomes so incredibly clear and simple because the array of powers become easily understandable, who wants what and why.
Same brother. This lecture literally changed my life when I first saw it. It's an utter shame that Norm Chomsky is identified as being the speaker of the Western Left when someone like Michael Parenti has been here all along.
Chomsky provides all the correct criticisms of US domestic and foreign policy, but then throws it all away by saying “It’s the best system we have.” Parenti is a chad because he criticizes the US and praises the countries that we are taught to look down on like Cuba and China.
If only people would even listen to Chomsky now. Apparently, he is now also a "tankie", along with every other leftist, for having the correct take on the Ukraine conflict, which seems to mean his opinions should be discarded. "Anarcho-NATOists" are morons.
@Jesse Brennan our federal american govt perpetuates lying so the plutocracy makes gluttonous 💰. It is almost ridiculous to think about but yes, they have control over us and the only thing you can do to fight them as a working class is unionize at your workplace and organize for greater unions everywhere. I am convinced there is no other place to start. Strength in numbers ✊ But the 🎩🎩 fight it so hard. They have THIRD party companies that specialize in dismantling unions. This will be a long and bitter battle and only us as 🇺🇸🇺🇸 can stop the 🎩🎩. France can't save us this time... The 🎩🎩 can't stand downgrading their ridiculous living style. All of the problems we have, EVERY SINGLE FUCKING PROBLEM WE HAVE, is because they have a rich boy/girl club, and we are not in it.
As Parenti said here socialist Libya at the time was one of the best countries In Africa, In many ways the best. 25 years later USA brought "democracy" there by killing Gaddafi and starting a civil war. Now there are open air slave markets In Libya and 40000 people have died. Nicaragua i dont know much about, but USA also bombed civilians there. Destroying the US empire is essential
I recommend The GrayZone’s reporting and their podcast ModerateRebels for news on Nicaragua, there’s also a documentary on the modern FSLN and how there was a violent color revolution in 2018.
Before Gaddafi was overthrown, Libya was the single largest contributor to the African Development Bank. He was a true pan-Africanist and staunch anti-colonialist, and so of course the western powers had to kill him.
Disdain against right wing government and blaming low tax, anti nanny state government on the USA is an awesome path to a repeat of Venezuela. USA and the capitalist left Venezuela. Enjoy
I do not agree with bolsonaro and he should be in prison for the things he did, but be smart. Don’t generalize, and don’t make claims that are vague. Know the things that were made right and the things that were made wrong, then formulate an educated opinion. The brazillian government is not fascist, it is a prime example of a failed democracy, when the illiterate majority votes on a leader that fell under false promises and believed it. Brazil’s future has only one solution, education, but in order to change that, there must be a purge on the political scenario today, especially the low-ranks of the legislative, judiciary, and executive. Then a reevaluation of financial laws. Finally, focus on our education.
Me too. I tend to be a passionate speaker. These days, all one gets from real passion when discussing is derision and "crazy person" treatment. it's such a shame.
@@navaryn2938 come again? He’s one of the most prominent critics of American foreign policy. This is what’s wrong with the left. Instead of pushing unity and solidarity with comrades you use baseless criticism to promote your imaginary clique.
@@Ms22224567 chomsky openly advocated for the US to maintain a military presence in Syria to "protect the Kurds". The US has oil interests in the areas controlled by the Kurds. Several factions and countries are fifghting over the region. Chomsky is advocating for continuation of a war which is in place purely for oil interests. If that's not supporting imperialism, then what is it?
@@navaryn2938 their one of the most effective fighting forces against isis while being vulnerable to the Turkish government he was simply saying if anyone needs armed protection it’s the Kurds, think of the soviets sending troops to help Afghanistan to fight off the us backed reactionary groups or the Cubans sending soldiers or doctors to aid in struggles in Africa. Don’t demagogue his position.
@@navaryn2938 Imagine not thinking Chomsky is an anti imperialist. Chomsky was an anti imperialist long before most people alive today were. No one who has read his 1960s essay, The Responsibility of Intellectuals and his book Who Rules the World will never not call him an anti imperialist. Chomsky still gets called a Khmer Rouge apologist for god's sake.
it is terrible that a clarion call from decades ago is still completely relevant, but it is terrific that we have this resource available in this time of great relevance. parenti is underviewed- so share him! get talking about social justice w/ liberal friends, and then introduce one michael j. parenti 🙏
It will ALWAYS be relevant, we will only ever look back in a literal space age utopian. only then will we "look back" and even then we will know exactly what happened. that's what it truly means to be an immortal science. The thesis is that the way the world is presented is in no uncertain terms, fraudulent. The leaders are smart, and they don't give a fuck about you. They never have, and they never will, until they TRULY have to.
Capitalism hasn't changed ever since it's pioneering, only got worse. It is obvious that these lectures would be relevant. Even things Marx and Engels wrote are still relevant.
@@monika.alt197 precisely, comrade. The words of eg Marx, Lenin, or Parenti for that matter, all seem eerily prescient because they are accurately describing socioeconomic forces that continue to affect us today, and will continue to affect us until global capitalism has been supplanted by global socialism. Parenti himself has even referenced this phenomenon in some of his lectures, where he would say (I'm paraphrasing loosely) "Every time I have a new insight about the world today, somebody tells me that Marx already thought of it". That said, yes, it is a tragedy that these forces are still at play in the same way in 2022. Hopefully not too much longer, we shall see.
my first time watching this! uni student only recently diving into leftist readings/videos and this is so good. helped give voice to feelings ive been struggling to express
An excellent left analysis of US empire and capital in the 80s by Michael Parenti. This talk is 33 years old and is still completely and absolutely relevant to our present dilemma of US empire and capitalism. Now US capitalism and imperialism has brought us the environmental catastrophe in addition to the still impending threat of nuclear annihilation. Ordinary people, all over the world, must rise up to seize power from the elites, that are completely unfit to rule, in order for humanity to have a chance for survival.
I was actually at this event. I feel fortunate to have had influences like Parenti when I was a very young man. With the aid of KGNU (which has sadly degraded its content like Democracy Now) and people like David Barsamian who had interviews with people like Michael, they played a key role in the formation of my "radical" political views and the spirit of dissent lives on in me to this day..
You worry about how a state and rulers will deviate from their professed values ie feeding the children. I get that. But what values exactly does liberalism even profess? If I have to pick between two probable liars I will pick the one that lies about wanting to feed children over one that lies about, idk, supporting the rights of entrepreneurs or whatever.
Put another way, exactly to whom are they lying? I’d prefer a state that felt they better orient their mythmaking towards appeasing the workers than the petit bourgeois.
Michael Parenti is a genius, his words and works should be spread, more and more people should gain a higher conscience and a deeper knowledge about the truths of this world
@@ifsugarman unfortunately this generation hangs on every word from joerogan, cuckertarlson, benshapiro ,mattwalsh, elonmusk, glenngreenwald, jordanpeterson etc etc
"The revolution that feeds the children gets my vote!" Count me in :~) Haven't seen Parenti this young yet, and it is only more obvious how uncompromising and heartfelt is his quest for the truth and justice. Not for the glory of a principle, but for better lives of the actual people. And, when talking about imperfections of the socialism - the biggest so far being the inability to actually give to the people it benefited a say in decision making - it occurred to me why was he so interested in Yugoslavia, and its novel concept of "self-governing" (which, in reality, never became nothing more than a concept). There doesn't appear to be such thing as evolution of the working social models, but Parenti doesn't take "impossible" for an answer. Hat off to him, one of the few good, brave man. We may never get out of the tunnel, but he helps us see the dark - and the light. .
"Self-governing" didn't get very far, and at worst opened up work units to the world market and atomized economic actors at the expense of collective welfare. That said, as far as I understand, this policy did lead to certain rights in the workplace and economic security, as well as to the establishment of certain counterweights vis-à-vis management / vertical authority structures. As such, one can't say "self-government" never became anything more than a concept.
@@RB-jl8gj Well, I've seen it, so I know it never made it out in the real world. The working class rights where there before this new concept, and there is nothing it gave to the workers, or even society, to even move toward evening up with the party, let alone take over. In fact, it was important factor in the downfall of the country's economy, because the party apparatchiks, who were the management in every (society-owned) company, were hiding their incompetence and corruption behind so called "workers' councils", who formally were making business decisions, but in practice were following the managements and been easily manipulated by them. A worker doesn't know what is needed to know to make such decisions, simply as that. In practice, that system was perfect for the Communist party, since formally it was the working people making decisions, and there was no one that could be held responsible, while the party was behind that smoke screen as the actual decision maker with no direct responsibility.
The people of the USSR, for a large chunk of its existence, had quite a large say in the decision making process. Acting like they didn't is a common misconception. This also goes for any other socialist country. Modern day Cuba, for instance, is very democratic.
Michael parenti is an inspiration to us all, I'll watch this lecture till the day I die, parenti is much like Lenin, he will never die, he will live on well past his death, today parenti is alive and by the time I'm dead he'll be alive
@@kittteau the structure of capitalism is a system based on infinite economic growth, the same way that cancer cells in a body will continue to grow just for the sake of expanding.
@@kittteau The quote basically compares the uncompromising promotion of “growth” (one of the core tenets of capitalism as seen in things like the profit motive) to the method by which cancer cells function. In brief: cancer cells are cells which cease to operate in harmony with the rest of the body, instead doing what any other cell-level organism would do, that is they replicate as rapidly as possible. The consequences which this growth inflicts are well known. The quote then compares this process to the capitalist process of profit accumulation, noting the similarities between the two.
@@skidooshlayman12no they're not lmfao, the DDR had trans rights and gay adoption rights decades before to the point queer newspapers were worried that it's collapse would hinder their rights, Cuba has some of the most progressive LGBT rights in recent times, China while more conservative than most has established a record around of new transition doctors, while the slowness is slow compared to the west that's cause it was pretty conservative before so judge from where the country came from.
Thank you so much for protecting the embers of socialism in USA during the cold, lonely days. You probably could have been a very successful academic/writer if you kept your mouth shut. You chose a poorer, less certain life for yourself and we are all enriched for it. Bless you comrade.
Andres de Villanueva i know linking another Parenti speech probably isn't helping but this video is short and I recommend it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YIqm075vC1A.html Cuba was a dictatorship before the revolution as well, but much worse and much less safe. I really hope one day the people of Cuba get all of their freedoms back. But as of now, as bad as it is there it was much worse and much less safe when dictator Batista was in power. Do you have any family that still lives in Cuba? If they can read well and have access to a hospital then you should be happy that for a country that has been subject to centuries of American and Spanish imperialism they can still have those basic necessities. You can also compare it to other central American countries whose revolutions were cut short by the American government. Their education and healthcare are really not good.
Andres de Villanueva but the reality is that you have no freedom if the ruling class doesn't give it to you. The workers under Batista's Cuba were far from free. Terrible hours, terrible conditions, terrible pay. They were also not safe. Aside from possibly dying in the fields due to terrible conditions, there were many dangerous mobs backed by America. Today from what I've read Cuba is generally a safe place. You have your freedom in the US because they haven't been subject to centuries of imperialism by other countries. There is more to freedom than capitalism, because, as I mentioned earlier, you have no freedom if the ruling class still rules over you. That was the problem for pre revolutionary Cuba. Today's Cuba still has many problems, of course, but at least they have their freedom to not work 10 hours a day in terrible conditions, and to not be ruled over by American corporations. The kids there are also free of many diseases, with rates comparable to the US. (www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cuba_statistics.html www.unicef.org/infobycountry/usa_statistics.html) I want free speech for Cubans really bad. I think that is a fundamental human right. But if capitalism were introduced to make the country more "free," it would turn back into slavery. There is more to freedom than being able to criticize the government.
This guy is awesome. I'm reading his 2001 book "Dirty Truths" in late 2022 and it's so relevant, I'm a New Zealander, we're experiencing the poverty now that he speaks of in the 1990s America - people with outrageous living costs working multiple jobs just to get by
War between the two countries is very unlikely in the immediate future. Whether the US likes it or not, China has support from many countries around the world on all continents except North America. Plus China is still a big trade partner of the US and many big American corporations (especially tech companies, the fastest growing industry) are in China. China’s military also cannot match the US military. So any war with actual boots on the ground isn’t advantageous for either country. I don’t pretend to be a geopolitics master, but if I were to guess, I would say any war will either be based around US intervention on Iran, or less likely the current strife between France and the Middle East. Even then, the odds of a full blown war are quite small
@@christopherbrice5473 whether from inside or outside, the Empire must be taken down. I'd rather the people take it down from inside, but I don't live there to make that call for you 😉
@@christopherbrice5473 I believe I recall Lenin saying that all socialists should hope for the loss of their own countries in imperialist wars so that they can turn the imperialist war into class war.
always had a broad interest in socialism anti imperialism etc. recently made an acquaintance that’s introduced me to plenty of literacy works as well as this speech, forever will be grateful that they did this
The laughter of the audience is soo saddening. It's the laughter of naive arrogance, it's the laughter of American Exceptionalism. They thought they were immune to the struggles that the rest of the world faced. Little did they know, capitalism would make no exception for Americans... And it would come for them, too.
I started only recently... he is so sharp and unbiased... a bit hard to find his books on the Internet... had found only one so far - about to start reading it.
I have bought his To kill a nation: The attack on Yugoslavia. Still waiting for delivery though. Watched many of his speeches and I'd say he's one of the most important people that helped shape my mind, perception of the world and totally destroyed capitalism myth that all the mass media, school and government been feeding me with through most of my life. I'm so grateful for people like him!
Nice find. And folks dont worry about the annoying noise. Later on in the video it gets better. The noise gets less and your ear will also adjust and you almost wont hear it unless you look for it. To me the rest of the talk was perfectly intelligible.
This is my last shot. I've been having a spirited discussion about current events with a retired career Marine. My dude is where I used to be. Anti-SJW, and believing that Jordan Peterson is a brilliant man. Most of the responses I get are right wing talking points. How Rachel Maddow is a "Marxist mouth piece" for "The Party". I sent this video. The yellow tinted Parenti lecture from damn near 40 years ago that boils it all down in a simply spoken masterclass on what's actually going on around here. It's my last hope before I give up. He's a great guy. A friend since middle school. Just misguided. Fingers crossed.
Some of Peterson's peers talk about how China is overtly communist Party rule with a fascist-capitalistic undercurrent, while the US capitalist class is moving closer to that model with a more overt fascism and an undercurrent of enforced woke corporate-run "socialism" .. against the majority working class. The woke movement - totalitarian equality - comes mostly from intellectuals and other wealthy elites, or their front actors, but it targets the working class of all races (and genders). To wit, abolish police is really abolishing publicly funded security patrols for poor people to have protection from violent predators in their midst, and encouraging more recruitment of violent predators who substantially increase the number of "random" or targeted murders among the working class families in less-rich neighborhoods. Destabilization. To wit, Canada is now persecuting and criminals prosecuting, as terrorists and Nazis, the truckers. They are mainly Caucasian and mainly patriotic, but one of the leaders who is Jewish reluctantly pointed out how many of their comrades are immigrant Sikh truckers holding the line. This is some weird hybrid that smells like whiffs of Marxism, defending the underdogs, but if it intends to be actually-Marxist, in the good sense, which is most obviously avoids, it is an extremely cynical variant. In the meantime, Bernie Sanders is standing up. Against the suburban elite fast food joint called Chipotle, which has the image of semi health food, for raising their prices and increasing profits. Okay, I guess, within that paradigm, but it's clown world as far as a worthy cause to make a statement about. People can still go to Taco Bell or simply eat at home. Chipotle's doesn't have a monopoly on either food or even Tex-Mex. To me, so fake.
Not many (white) Americans I truly respect and admire. There's enough I'm sure, but not many. This fellow is one of them. He explains all of this so well, really helps me understand why Americans do what they do as well.
