Episode · Actually Existing Socialism · Gabriel Rockhill joins to talk about a controversial concept for Western socialists: “siege socialism”. A term coined by the great Michael Parenti. Unlike most episodes of this show we won’t be focusing on a specific country but examining the variety of past and present socialist countries through the lens of historical materialism and dialectics, two concepts Gabriel explains for us.  Gabriel Rockhill is the Founding Director of the Critical Theory Workshop, Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University, and the author or editor of over nine books, as well as numerous scholarly and general public articles. He is the editor of the upcoming translation of Domenico Losurdo’s magisterial Western Marxism: How it was Born, How it Died, How it can be Reborn. It is is a paradigm-shifting book that provides a trenchant critique of the Western left intelligentsia. It reveals how its dominant ideological orientation—characterized by defeatism, utopianism, and anti-communism—is rooted in the political economy of imperialism. You can support the show at www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast To learn more about Gabriel's work check out the following links:  https://x.com/GabrielRockhill https://monthlyreview.org/product/western-marxism/ https://gabrielrockhill.com/ https://criticaltheoryworkshop.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@criticaltheoryworkshop5299 https://monthlyreview.org/product/western-marxism/ Intro/Closing Music  Lil Baby Type Beat - "God's Work" Carl Doy - Bella's Lullaby (Twilight Theme)