Our guest this week was born in 1943, in what was then British India - modern day Pakistan. Unlike most, who have learned history through books and second-hand sources, he has witnessed first-hand a great deal of the 20th and 21st centuries. Tariq Ali founded Verso Books, the leading left-wing publishing house in Britain, as well as the New Left Review. He met Malcolm X, was friends with John Lennon and Hugo Chavez, and spearheaded the anti-Vietnam War movement. In conversation with Aaron Bastani, this week on Downstream we are talking about the ways we remember - and misremember - the 20th century, and how these events have a long tail that shape our present and future. How significant was the cultural revolution in China, in sparking anti-colonial struggles across Asia? How do the dynamics of the Cold War still dominate the mainstream media? And who are the substantial political figures and ideologies set to dominate the next decades of the 21st century? 00:00 Intro 02:41 Growing Up after the Collapse of Empire 07:02 Leading the Anti-Vietnam War Movement 11:46 The Role of Imperial Japan in the 20th Century 15:43 Why We Don’t Teach History Correctly 20:20 Increasing Government Control of Mainstream Media 26:20 Al Jazeera and US Interference 30:26 The Impact of the Soviet Union’s Collapse on the West 38:38 China and Ideology 45:37 China’s Rise 49:24 The US, Trump, and ICE 51:43 Did Tariq See the Collapse of the Soviet Union Coming? 1:03:59 The Naivety of Gorbachev 1:12:01 The Disappointment of Your Party 1:20:01 Should we ‘Nationalise Everything?’ 1:23:05 The Threat of Farage 1:25:17 Are We Heading Towards a Post-Literary Society? 1:28:54 The Decline of Germany 1:35:18 Resolution for Ukraine 1:39:30 The Role of Democracy 1:43:51 Why Has the Left Failed to Build Institutions? The Islam Quintet by Tariq Ali is available from Verso Books here: https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/tariq-ali-a-leading-figure-of-the-international-left Sign up for the new Downstream Newsletter here: https://novaramedia.com/newsletters/t… Support our work: http://novara.media/support Buy Novara Media merch: https://shop.novaramedia.com/
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