Video: Leo Panitch — from Radical Winnipeg to Jeremy Corbyn
In a wide-ranging interview, Leo Panitch discusses his political formation and contemporary developments.
Earlier this month, Leo Panitch joined Paul Jay, host of the Real News Network's Reality Asserts Itself, for a wide-ranging, four-part conversation about his life and political formation, as well as contemporary political developments.
1. "The Radical Ferment of Winnipeg's Jewish Socialist Politics."
Panitch talks about the political culture of his family, shaped in Winnipeg's radical Jewish community before and after World War Two; Labor Zionists, Social Democrats and Communists debated and organized within the Jewish working class movement.
2. "I Think I'm A Marxist"
Panitch says as he became politically active, he concluded that neither the bureaucratic socialism in the Soviet Union or Canadian social-democracy would democratize the economy or the state.
3. "The Rise of Jeremy Corbyn and Class Struggle in the UK Labour Party"
Panitch talks about how the Labour Party moved from being a Tony Blair party of class reconciliation and war, to a truly left mass party with more than 600,000 members that may take power.
4. "Is Another World Possible"
Panitch says it's a dilemma that the gradualism of European social-democracy and attempts at a more radical transformation have so far both failed; Panitch says a first step towards democratizing the economy is to make finance a public utility.
Watch all four episodes below.
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