Hi folks,
Today we’ll be discussing:
The Red Deal - The Red Nation - Discussion 4.
Today’s discussion is:
- 2/22 - The Red Deal - Red Nation - discussion 4 - Appendices and conclusion
There’s a copy available here: https://therednation.org/environmental-justice/ . Under “articles - the Red Deal”.
My physical copy finally came in, though!
Discussion Prompts
These are some ideas to address while considering this work. None of them are essential, and any of your own thoughts are very much welcome! I’ll be adding my own thoughts later today.
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What seems to be the main point of this work? What question is the author trying to answer?
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What have they missed? Are they wrong about anything?
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Did anything surprise you?
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Is this work applicable outside of the U$?
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Is this really a “nonessential” or would it be good for any communist to read it?
Next Discussion
The next discussion will be:
- 3/2 - International Perspectives on Marxist Anthropology - Preface and Essay 1 - Marxist Perspectives on the Terms of Anthropological discourse concerning “Third World” countries
Next Title
If you would like to suggest the next title please put in a separate comment with the words “submission suggestion”. I think the highest voted title should win.
Books should be:
- not suggested for beginners.
- not overly technical or philosophical (I’m just not smart enough to lead those discussions).
- relatively short (so as not to lose too much momentum).
- regionally or subject specific (like Che’s Guerilla Warfare is topically specific, or Decolonization is Not a Metaphor is regionally specific?).
- readily available.
Thanks for your time! :)
The conclusion here is short, and may not have called for it’s own discussion day. There are some quotes that I liked in this section:
“As Huson notes, this philosophy is money, and its primary method of relationality is destruction. There is another word for a money-driven system that expresses its existence through destruction: Capitalsim”
“The Red Nation is serious about building alternatives to the world of capitalism that we currently endure”
“How will we enforce Indigenous political, scientific, and economic orders to successfully prevent our mass ruin? This is the challenge that we confront and pose in the Red Deal, and it is the challenge that all who take up the Red Deal must also confront”
There’s a bit on p. 144 in my edition that talks about how they spent hours talking with “Indigenous communities throughout Turtle Island and beyond” to draft and develop the Red Deal. I liked reading about how it was developed, and would’ve liked to know more about that process, who they talked to, and really who the authors are. I’m not sure if that’s a failing in the text, or my personal curiosity.
In summation, I think this is an important work. I think any communist in the U$ could use to read it. I’m left with the feeling that it’s a conflicted work. I think there’s clearly some division in the authorship, in the methodology of writing, or in the shared line of the writing collective. There are parts that are clearly supportive of the Green New Deal, and of lib reformism, but the majority calls for an end to Capitalism. I’m not quite sure what to think of that.
The authors mention in the conclusion that they do not feel Indigenous people write enough. I’m glad this work was written, and that I read it. I would like to read more in this vein. This is an excellent work in examining what is currently wrong with capitalism/settlerism in the U$, and what areas should be worked on. I found it kind of lacking in the “what to do” area, but I’m not sure they ever meant to address that. You can’t really be a colonized person in the belly of the beast and speak that clearly, I guess.
Def worth a read!