DeepSummary
The episode is a conversation between the host Breht and Professor Graham Priest about his book 'Capitalism, its Nature and its Replacement: Buddhist and Marxist Insights'. They discuss how Buddhism and Marxism, though seemingly different traditions, can complement each other in their critique of capitalism and offer insights for transcending it.
They explore what Buddhism can offer Marxism in terms of ethics and understanding of suffering, and what Marxism can offer Buddhism in terms of socio-economic analysis and critique of capitalism. The concept of no-self in Buddhism and its relation to Marxist views on personhood is also discussed.
The episode touches on topics like the role of dialectics in both traditions, anarchism's potential contribution, possible tensions between the two philosophies, and how they are evolving in modern times. Priest emphasizes the need for a synthesis of bottom-up and top-down approaches for meaningful change.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Buddhism's understanding of suffering, interdependence and ethics like non-greed can enrich Marxism's socio-economic critique of capitalism.
- Marxism offers Buddhism an analysis of how capitalism functions and perpetuates itself, filling a gap in Buddhist thought.
- Both traditions valorize a dialectical, process-based understanding of the world over static dogmas.
- The Buddhist concept of no permanent self has parallels to Marx's rejection of the liberal individual.
- Top-down and bottom-up approaches need to be synthesized for meaningful socio-economic transformation.
- Power structures like religious institutions and states tend to perpetuate themselves in ways contrary to their founding ideals.
- Capitalism's contradictions between growth/profit and human wellbeing are untenable according to both philosophies.
- Buddhism and Marxism are evolving traditions that can learn from each other as they engage the modern world.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Buddhism is a living tradition. It's changed markedly over two and a half thousand years, and it's now moving into the west, and it's morphing in, in the process.“ by Graham Priest
- “There's something about the way the brain works which gives us this illusion of self. Maybe, you know, it plays a significant evolutionary role in the human evolution. That wouldn't surprise me at all. So breaking this illusion is far from easy.“ by Graham Priest
- “Once you set up a power structure, then it's a feature of power structures that even if they were set up with the best will in the world, they start to run things for their own benefit.“ by Graham Priest
- “If you're looking at suffering, I mean, you look, I think, in first to the third world, which capitalism has exploited since imperialism to grow the capitalist pile and the people who are working under conditions of exploitation in South America, Bangladesh and other countries in the global south is just staggering.“ by Graham Priest
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Episode Information
Revolutionary Left Radio
Revolutionary Left Radio
1/3/23
Professor of Philosophy and author, Graham Priest, joins Breht to discuss his latest book Capitalism - it's Nature and Replacement: Buddhist and Marxist Insights.
Together, they discuss the problems of capitalism, the utter necessity of its transcendence, what Marxism can offer Buddhism, what Buddhism can offer Marxism, and how insights from both traditions can compliment and strengthen one another in the fight against instutionalized greed, hate, and delusion (aka capitalism, imperialism, and ideology)!
Learn more about Graham Priest here: https://grahampriest.net/
Check out Kevin's interview with Graham over at Sensible Socialist: https://sensiblesocialist.com/2022/10/18/the-synthesis-of-marxism-and-buddhism/
Outro music "Banquet" by Bloc Party
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