On utopia and individualism.
Renowned intellectual historian and critic Russell Jacoby joins us to talk about his lifetime of left critique. We discuss his early criticisms of psychology in light of the advance of therapy culture over the past 50 years, before moving on to the question of utopianism.
Will the breakdown of the neoliberal era lead to new utopian thinking? Does enthusiasm for a universal basic income signal serious thinking about the nature of work? Or are we still in a world where only dystopian thinking is permitted?
The episode concludes by discussing how all the talk of diversity today obscures the reality of increasing homogeneity. What does this say about the individual? Is the way children are brought up today killing the capacity for imagination and making us all conformists?
Part two of the interview, and our After Party, is available at patreon.com/bungacast
Selected books by Jacoby:
Other recent articles and interviews:
/388/ Betting on Bukele (I) ft. Nelson Rauda / Juan Rojas
/387/ Get Fungal to Save Culture ft. Lias Saoudi (Fat White Family)
Excerpt: /386/ Reading Club: Globalisation (III & IV)
/384/ Millennial Rule ft. Amber A'Lee Frost
/383/ Stare into the Abyss with Us ft. Juliano Fiori
Excerpt: /382/ Death of the Millennial Left ft. Chris Cutrone
UNLOCKED: /373/ Take a Stand: Be Neutral! ft. Lily Lynch
[FROM THE VAULT] /104/ The Aristocracy of Finance ft. Alexander Zevin
[FROM THE VAULT] /44/ Neoliberal Order Breakdown Syndrome (N.O.B.S.)
[FROM THE VAULT] /74/ Order Not Freedom ft. Quinn Slobodian
[FROM THE VAULT] /161/ Culture is Bad for You ft. Mark Taylor
[FROM THE VAULT] /46/ Exiting Capitalist Realism
[FROM THE VAULT] /136/ Banana Monarchy ft. David Edgerton
/381/ Contemporary Art: Inane Spectacle & Pompous Discourse, ft. JJ Charlesworth
Excerpt: /380/ Josephine’s Body Count
/379/ Sexy Pictures of Taylor Swift (Not Brexit)
Excerpt: /378/ Reading Club: Globalisation (II)
/377/ The Locked-Up Country ft. Shahar Hameiri & Tom Chodor
Excerpt: /376/ AufheBonus Bonus - Nov 2023
Excerpt: /375/ From Hyperliberalism to the Grayzone
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free