Not sure where to post this so hoping here is fine.
A bit disappointed in BTN for calling Dugin “a very esteemed Russian political philosopher”…
Just yesterday learned Rainer Shea is now collaborating with Caleb Maupin which was really disappointing cause Shea had some good anti-imperialist articles.
I really didn’t need to hear this on BTN. Not sure what answers I’m looking for, I guess I’m getting paranoid about third positionist infiltration and need to hear your thoughts.
I don’t necesarily see an approval of Dugin in his statement. It could be, but don’t think that’s what he meant
Honestly there was no need to bring up Dugin in this interview at all. Why do you think he decided to insert Dugin, in the way he did?
I mean, it’s relevant since they are talking about terror attacks by the west
I thought Darya Dugina being assassinated by Ukraine was the accepted narrative.
Honestly don’t care who killed her, I removed that bit from the post.
What do you think about the way BTN described Dugin?
I would not have personally described him that way since he is a crank. But I think you are being a bit harsh on BT News rep here. It is possible that they just meant to say that within Russia Dugin is a renown person rather that sort of endorsing his philosophy.
I’m “friends” with Rainer Shea, or at least I was. I talk to him occasionally, though not in real life.
I don’t completely trust him, but I don’t completely trust anyone in general.
He still puts out pretty decent articles and analysis, yet in my opinion he is too close to the PatSoc individuals. I don’t completely like his reasons why, but they still make some kind of sense.
In regards to Caleb Maupin, Rainer’s explanation is that even though he has done really horrible shit, he says that some of what he has done has been exaggerated or made up by his detractors (I don’t think that statement is true for the most part, but whatever) but because despite Maupin being a PatSoc, Maupin points out the neoliberal hypocrisy of our opponents and actors, such as neoliberals siding with the capitalist world order and supporting NATO’s use of Ukraine as a fleshlight/battering ram, or of neoliberals wanting to basically fucking nuke China.
I haven’t given up on Rainer, since he seems by all accounts to be a decent person who is willing to admit mistakes and flaws, and he understands how horrible and bad optics most of the PatSocs are, and there is something genuine about him that I sense.
That all being said, I hate Caleb Maupin and I agree that he really shouldn’t associate with him.
Rainer doesn’t need PatSocs to find people who point out neoliberal hypocrisy. That’s sort of the entire point of PatSocs/NatSocs - they borrow the language of the left to steer the masses to the right. Like, Rainer’s excuse is just so misinformed that I can’t believe he’s not doing it deliberately given the quality of his analysis.
Just yesterday learned Shea is now Maupin-adjacent
What?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAJiaKa3crw
Disappointing cause Shea had some good anti-imperialist articles.
I try not to be ageist but damn.
What do you mean?
Shea looks like a kid to me.
Shea came into the scene as an awkward, sometimes misguided person who was open, overly trusting, and constantly trying to improve.
Then last year he started making content that was completely intellectually dishonest, specifically his attempts to misconstrue PSL positions by deliberately excerpting Brian Becker’s content without context that was immediately adjacent. It was perfectly transparent to anyone who already engaged with Becker’s content, but was sufficiently obfuscated and confusing to people who didn’t listen to his podcast weekly. That was the end of Shea for me. He was either turned, or he was a plant from the beginning.
Thanks for this explanation! I mostly read some of his articles via links from GenZhou and other explainer posts. Most patsocs are clowns at the first glance, so this one took my by surprise.
Shea always rubbed me the wrong way, but I chalked that up to my biases based on his vocal style. He got a lot of social proof from podcast hosts that I trusted, and I figured they were in the trenches with him so they had a better perspective on his position than I did, so I repressed my discomfort as “just feelings”. Last year all those feelings came flooding back when I read his article about the PSL (I’m not a member, but I have been consuming their content a lot and feel I have a pretty good understanding of their position, and what Rainer was writing didn’t withstand even cursory investigation).
WHen you say Shea, do you mean Rainer Shea?
Yes sorry, fixed it in the post.
It’s either benign ignorance or a potentially problematic take. In any case… While they have a lot of decent stuff, they are not explicitly Marxist, thus the critical eye must be even more vigilant.
I can’t think of any better channel on current affairs though. First thought is OK, can you recommend anything else?
Also I seriously doubt BTN staff who discuss Russian and Ukrainian affairs don’t know who Dugin is, so I guess we can safely say it’s not ignorance.
I recommend Geopolitical Economy Report.
Edit: Just remembered there is also People’s Dispatch, whose articles I sometimes read, but they also have a YouTube channel. I haven’t really watched their videos though. Maybe someone else can comment further about it.
Thank you!
