Trip 48: Political Commitment

Which side are you on? Keir, Nadia and Jem consider the ebb and flow of political commitment in a stimulating Trip episode. Dipping into ideas from Marx, Gramsci, Alain Badiou, Jodi Dean and more, they ask what it means to dedicate yourself to a cause and explore the limitations of partisanship.

Is cultural production the same as political action? What’s the difference between an ally and a comrade? Should Britain have a new left-wing party? And why do some communists end up as right-wing turncoats?

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Books: Jodi Dean – Crowds and Party / Marx – The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte / Alain Badiou – Being and Event / Hegel – Lectures on the History of Philosophy / Jacques Derrida – Spectres of Marx

Films: Germany In Autumn (1978) / Sacco & Vanzetti (1971) / The War is Over (1966)

Music: Ani DiFranco – ¿Which Side Are You On? / Ennio Morricone & Joan Baez – Here’s to You / Leonard Cohen – The Partisan / Saul Williams – List of Demands (Reparations) / John Coltrane – A Love Supreme Pt. IV – Psalm / The Raincoats – Shouting Out Loud