Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Month: January 2025

A photo of the philosopher Socrates wearing a stethoscope, intended to represent philosophical counseling.

My Interest in Philosophical Counseling

January 20, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I haven’t yet discussed this on the blog, but over the last few months, I’ve become interested in something called philosophical counseling.

There are plenty of accounts out there about what philosophical counseling is. But the short answer is that it’s the application of philosophical methods and accounts to life challenges. Philosopher counselors help people work through problems and issues in their lives. Most do so by talking with them about their lives and reasoning processes.

It’s not the same thing as psychotherapy or social work, but philosophical counselors at times help people with similar problems and issues. Unlike psychiatrists and licensed psychologists, though, philosophical counselors do not treat mental illness.

Anyway, I’m interested in philosophical counseling – up to the point where I’m thinking about becoming one. At least with part of my time.

And on that note, I’m participating in a training session at the end of this week, and I’m pretty excited about it! Unfortunately, this also means that I’ll be taking a week off next week. So, the next post will happen in early February.

I’ll update readers at some point to let you know how it’s going. If I move more seriously toward becoming a philosophical counselor, readers might even find a website with services and rates!

An image inspired by the book The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota. It depicts a flaming heart next to flaming smokestacks. Intended as a cover photo for the January Reading List 2025 post.

January Reading List (2025)

January 16, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Welcome to the first reading list of 2025! Yes, the plan here at Base and Superstructure is to continue the tradition of writing about a few books each month.

To be honest, I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, especially since I just had a few weeks off of work last month to get caught up. So, read on for a selection of what I’ve been reading. And please do let me know what’s on your list!

Continue reading

A work of public art depicting working class Soviet fighters in World War II.

Democratic Centralism: First as Tragedy, Second as Farce

January 13, 2025 / / 0 Comments

On an episode of Revolutionary Left Radio, Alyson and Breht review in detail the text of Marx’s 18th Brumaire.

Along the way, they point to one of Marx’s most famous quotes: “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.”

The quote references the transition in French politics from Napoleon Bonaparte to Louis Bonaparte. But we need not concern ourselves with the details here. Suffice it to say that Napoleon stood in for tragedy – the Napoleonic Wars killed millions – and Louis for farce, as his version of the French Empire paled in comparison to the first.

I find something like this on parts of the sectarian left. Some leftists – some from democratic centralism, some Marxism-Leninism, et al. – look to the historical work of leftist figures for lessons they rigidly apply to the modern world. It’s as though Lenin (or Kautsky, or Engels) speak directly to our time, giving us the secret blueprint for how to finally build the U.S. left into a force ready to take power.

Continue reading

RevLeft Radio: Liberal Socialism

January 6, 2025 / / 0 Comments

In my 6+ years as a blogger, I’ve never written about one of the more compelling and interesting sources of leftist media: Revolutionary Left Radio (RevLeft Radio). This holds despite the fact that I’m a regular RevLeft listener. And in listening to a recent episode on the political theory of ‘Liberal Socialism,’ I found a chance to rectify my oversight.

RevLeft Radio is hosted by Brecht O’Shea. Politically, Brecht is a bit hard to pin down. But he appears to clock in roughly in the realm of Marxist-Leninist thought. I certainly don’t consider myself a fan of M-L, in general. And I clarify in my FAQ series why I rarely write about the sectarian left.

But Brecht often serves as a happy exception to these problems. On RevLeft radio, he interviews people with a wide range of leftist views. And he excels at drawing out the useful points even the ones he finds wrong. Even when I disagree with Brecht – which happens fairly often! – I find him insightful. I learn from him.

Anyway, readers should check out RevLeft Radio, especially Brecht’s interview with Matt McManus on a view McManus terms ‘liberal socialism.’ A dialogue between a Marxist-Leninist and someone with something similar to Bhaskar Sunkara’s approach to socialism is a thing we should encourage on the left.

We can learn from one another.

For my part, I found myself taking a middle ground between Brecht and McManus. Brecht helpfully points to the key failures of a social democratic route to socialism – its lack of success in the past, its susceptibility to capitalist assault, etc. And McManus serves as a check on the Marxist-Leninist tendency to offer apologia for authoritarian regimes.

Anyway, it’s a great RevLeft episode! And it’s a fine place for listeners to begin.

© 2025 Base and Superstructure

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑