Cornel West INTERVIEW: Dem "Spoiler" Meltdown, Class vs Race, Major Auto Workers Strike

·1 hr 55 min·5 clips

West says race without class analysis becomes neoliberal politics and calls white supremacy a class-war issue.

1. Status Coup Podcast centers this Cornel West interview on the 'spoiler' label, the Green Party race, and a possible UAW strike. 2. Jordan Sheridan is the host, and Cornel West is the guest; West is introduced as running for the Green Party nomination for president. 3. The episode asks whether West is a spoiler or whether the political system itself is the problem. 4. Sheridan shows a montage of cable-news coverage asking whether West is 'playing the role of a third party spoiler.' 5. West says the system is full of 'so much rot' and calls for ranked-choice voting, abolition of the Electoral College, and proportional representation. 6. He says the two-party system blocks 'Socratic dialogue' and democratic flourishing for poor and working people. 7. West says the Democratic Party failed Bernie Sanders twice and describes that failure as unfair and unjust. 8. He argues that attacks on him matter less than the conditions facing people living paycheck to paycheck. 9. West says 63% of the population lives paycheck to paycheck and points to homelessness on 110th Street in Harlem. 10. He ties the episode's labor focus to the UAW, saying he wants to be with 'the workers' against 'the greedy bosses.' 11. West says identity politics becomes neoliberal when race, gender, or sexuality are separated from capitalist processes. 12. He says white supremacy and patriarchy overlap with capitalist exploitation but also retain 'relative autonomy.' 13. West compares the current debate to Tom Watson, a figure he describes as moving from multiracial populism to the Ku Klux Klan. 14. He says Trump supporters are not monolithic and says some voted for Bernie Sanders or Barack Obama. 15. West distinguishes criticism of Donald Trump from blanket criticism of Trump voters and says authenticity still matters to many of them. 16. He says his message to conservative voters includes abolishing poverty, abolishing homelessness, Medicare for all, quality housing, and living-wage jobs. 17. The interview style is long-form, combative, and highly rhetorical, with Sheridan pressing on polls and campaign strategy. 18. West responds in sweeping moral language, moving between policy details, history, and biblical or literary references. 19. Listeners interested in labor politics, third parties, and racial justice will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for a short, low-conflict campaign chat will probably skip it.

As heard by us

A live talk about spoilers, strikes, and accountability.

The conversation opens with the spoiler warning and the autoworkers strike, then keeps circling back to the UAW, Detroit, and Sheridan's plan to be on the ground if a strike happens.

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Why you'd press play

Want West's take on the spoiler attack, the UAW strike, and corporate accountability?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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