In Episode 117 [14] of the CounterVortex podcast [15], Bill Weinberg recalls the history of the Neither East Nor West [16] position taken by anarchists and anti-authoritarians in the Cold War—seeking to build solidarity between anti-war and left-libertarian forces on either side of the East-West divide. With the world now arguably closer to military confrontation between nuclear-armed powers than it ever was in the (first) Cold War, is such a position still possible? The recent controversy [17] surrounding a planned art show in New York City featuring the work of Russian anti-war artists crystalizes the dilemma. Weinberg also explores the paradoxically parallel thoughts of democratic socialist George Orwell [18] and conservative moralist CS Lewis [19], both writing in the era of fascism, on the dangers of a "pacifist [20]" position that abets aggressive war and totalitarianism. It is critical that progressives in the West avoid this trap by supporting the courageous Russian anti-war protesters [21]—not (as some have [22]) the war criminal [23] Vladimir Putin. Listen on SoundCloud [14] or via Patreon [24].
With reading from Neither East Nor West: Selected Writings, 1939 to 1948 [27] by Marie-Louise Berneri [28], the World War II-era anarchist anti-war militant [29].
Production by Chris Rywalt [30]
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