{"podcast":{"title":"Macro N Cheese","slug":"macro-n-cheese-703488","podcast_index_feed_id":703488,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/macroncheese/","website_url":"https://realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/b7b2cda0-c8a3-426e-a72b-0ea3b2aecba5/13f729d0-e63e-11ea-b295-23a26c6e62ba.png","author":"Steven D Grumbine","episode_count":300,"summary":"A podcast that critically examines the working-class struggle through the lens of MMT or Modern Monetary Theory. Host Steve Grumbine, founder of Real Progressives, provides incisive political commentary and showcases grassroots activism. Join us for a robust, unfiltered exploration of economic issues that impact the working class, as we challenge the status quo and prioritize collective well-being over profit. This is comfort food for the mind, fueling our fight for justice and equity!","last_synced_at":"2026-09-19T18:20:36.990376+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/macro-n-cheese-703488"},"episode":{"title":"Ep 392 - The People Are Not One: Socialist Strategy After Left Populism with Daniel Tutt & C. Derick Varn","slug":"ep-392-the-people-are-not-one-socialist-strategy-after-left-populism-with-daniel-tutt-c-derick-varn","published_at":"2026-08-15T11:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/macro-n-cheese-703488/ep-392-the-people-are-not-one-socialist-strategy-after-left-populism-with-daniel-tutt-c-derick-varn","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/macro-n-cheese-703488","url":"https://macroncheese.captivate.fm/episode/ep-392-daniel-tutt-derick-varn","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/7b923e0d-965a-4749-a52d-af6c11bba421.mp3","summary":"Daniel Tutt and returning guest C. Derick Varn join Steve to discuss their new book, The People Are Not One: Socialist Strategy After Left Populism , whose title states its thesis outright. When the left speaks of a unified people confronting a corrupt elite, it conceals the real stratifications inside the working class and borrows a Manichean framework that functions identically on the right. Their argument: since 2008, from Occupy through Syriza, Podemos, Corbyn, and Sanders, left populism has served to extinguish the class antagonism at the center of socialism, operating as a new Popular Front in which liberalism holds the upper hand. The conversation lands directly on this show's own history. Varn is blunt about his long-running argument with MMT advocates: he never disputed the nature of the currency, he disputed the analysis of power. They are not going to let you have a Job Guarantee, because it removes their ability to discipline workers. Steve agrees, describing his own path out of economism and the trap of thinking a basket of policies and a few more progressives in office adds up to a threat to capital. On class consciousness, Varn is careful with a term he calls one of the most abused in socialist history. The reason to organize around the working class is not its victimhood. It is that the working class already possesses, collectively, the skills to reproduce society. The differences within the working class are resolvable. The difference between the working class and those who live off its labor is not. They close on electoralism. Varn's formulation: electoralism is a tactic, not a principle. Democracy is the principle. Tutt points to Lenin's actual position, that ballots are justified only alongside extra-parliamentary means and on terms of strict class…","meta_description":"Daniel Tutt and returning guest C. Derick Varn join Steve to discuss their new book, The People Are Not One: Socialist Strategy After Left Populism , whos…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4724,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/macro-n-cheese-703488/episodes/ep-392-the-people-are-not-one-socialist-strategy-after-left-populism-with-daniel-tutt-c-derick-varn/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/macro-n-cheese-703488/ep-392-the-people-are-not-one-socialist-strategy-after-left-populism-with-daniel-tutt-c-derick-varn.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}