One year of Free Market Moralism!

A note of thanks to some people who have impacted me and my writing this year

Photo by Kelly Common on Unsplash

I’ve been on Substack for a year! I started this as a way to write about and explore ideas that I was interested in and because no one seemed that interested in my political opinions or corrections of inaccuracies about Marxism on Facebook.

After a year on here and 82(!) posts, I can honestly say it feels like home and I think it’s the best place on the internet. The quality of the writing on here and the depth of thinking and sharing of ideas has been so refreshing and inspiring.

More importantly, I feel like I’ve grown as a person thanks to the writing you all have shared. I’ve become more comfortable in my own skin as a writer and more confident in sharing and expressing my ideas. Many of you have forced me to confront my own biases and ignorance. For that I am grateful.

I wanted to highlight some of the people who’ve impacted me with their writing and perspectives over this past year. I was going to post one newsletter from each of these people but there are honestly too many that have impacted me to do any of them justice. If you aren’t familiar with these people’s work, fix that immediately.

So these are some of the people and newsletters who have impacted me most this year. Thanks for doing what you do. I’ve really felt a sense of community and solidarity here because of the things you’ve shared.

In no particular order:

Mountain Tūī-this is where it all started for me. I was sick of the coverage of politics in Aotearoa and asked a friend what he read for some real coverage and analysis and he recommended this newsletter to me. This is what brought me to Substack and I still maintain that Tui is the best journalist on here covering New Zealand politics. Thanks for the encouragement and conversations. Still remember how it felt when you first linked to one of my op-eds. I felt like I was famous.

Stephanie Cullen-probably the second person I found on here. Back then was called Sapphi. Gave me something to aspire to. I felt there was no way I could ever write with the eloquence and depth of knowledge they did. An early inspiration.

Lucy Hamilton-found her early on and was impressed (still am) by her depth of analysis and her tracing of all of the connections between corporate interests and rightwing thinktanks and their influence on politics.

The Far Future Humanist-found within the first week. His essays really helped me with my deconstruction of Christianity. Always beautifully written and provocative.

Marx & friends-found Kevin’s newsletter early on. Was amazed at how someone could know and understand so much of Marx’s work and tie it into so many aspects of historical and modern society. Another huge inspiration for my own writing. Have also enjoyed many conversations with him over the past year. Shoutout to April Burke for the beautiful artwork on his posts.

Lukas Unger-thanks for the bottomless well of quotes from Marxists and revolutionaries, incisive notes, amazing essays, conversations on the side, revolutionary focus and clarity, and for making me begin to question what I thought I knew about Stalin and Mao. The Marxist I’d like to be when I grow up.

The Peaceful Revolutionary-grateful for his careful and patient explanation of hierarchy and capitalism and his vision of a future society without both.

Scarlet-one of the first people I found who could make communism about love and hope. Always appreciate her hopeful attitude and her unflinching commitment to revolution as a process and act of love. Her writing is utterly gorgeous as well.

New Means, Joe Wrote-both these guys are a huge inspiration for the way they make socialism accessible to the masses. Always love reading their take on things.

Caitlin’s Newsletter, Ahmad Ibsais, Palestine Will Be Free-grateful for their unflinching and clockwork coverage of Gaza and for exposing the Western colonial lies behind it all.

Melanie Nelson-some of the most in-depth and hard-hitting journalism on here. Got introduced via Substack and have worked together in several capacities on covering and fighting the Regulatory Standards Bill and breaking stories together.

Elliot’s Substack-Elliot has their finger on the pulse of class struggle in Aotearoa like few others. Always love reading their insights.

Natalia Albert-we don’t agree on much and she’s probably made me want to pull my hair out more than anyone else this year, but she’s forced me to think through and articulate my positions on some pretty fundamental social and political beliefs. That has been a continuously useful exercise.

BettBeat Media-my go-to source for anti-imperialist coverage and opinion. Love the psychological analysis of the imperialist mindset and worldview that Karim explores.

Shanice McBean-Shanice’s post about class reductionism and its relation to neoliberalism and identity politics and her kind responses to my questions fundamentally changed the way I thought about class struggle and racism. I am indebted to her.

critic of political economy -Davide’s dense and thorough analyses and applications of Marxian economics and thought are always worth reading and rereading and rereading.

Deaglan O'Mulrooney-some of the best coverage of imperial movements and the leftists who resist them. Always got his finger on the pulse of the most important current events through a material lens.

Grace Blakeley-Grace needs no introduction. One of the foremost Marxist economic analysts and public intellectuals, she’s a bright light in the socialist arena. Grateful for her ongoing insightful and crucial analysis of capitalism, for taking a chance on me for a guest post and for her post that gave me hope for a better future when I was feeling hopeless.

Craig Snelgrove, PhD-thanks to Craig for the profound thoughts and insights he shares, for our discussions and the shared love of music.

Erald Kolasi-I have no idea how Erald knows so much about as much as he does. His seeming encyclopedic knowledge of material history and economics is a thing to behold and I’m grateful for his notes and essays. His chapter on the Industrial Revolution is mindblowing.

Kyle LeMieux-Kyle’s been missing in action for a while but his first few posts were really insightful and connected many dots between material history and contemporary society. Hope to see him on here again soon.

Ganesh R Ahirao, Edward Miller, Craig Renney, Morgan Edwards, Susan St John-their clear and methodical analyses of economics in New Zealand helped me begin to get a handle on economics and monetary policy.

Kaimataara-challenges me more than anyone else to rethink my stance on indigenous cultures and their relation to modern politics and society. Brilliant and profound indigenous and societal material analysis.

Buen Ravov-Buen’s philosophy is always insightful and beautifully written. Thanks to him for exposing me to another audience as well via his Medium site.

Godfrey Moase-his newsletters clearly dissect the labor movement and point the way towards a worker’s revolution and eventual socialism in a way that no one else does.

Political Anatomy-provides unique and profound perspectives on the relation between capitalism, health, life, vegetarianism, and the world.

Entangled Curiosities-always an eclectic mix to her newsletter topics but always full of profound insights and startling turns of phrase.

Tess Raser-Tess’s absolutely brilliant essay about the elitism of Jacobin completed my turn from a class reductionist to what I hope is someone who has begun to understand the inextricable nature of race and class in the working class struggle.

Black Lodges-no one can pump me up with righteous and revolutionary fire like he can. If I can be half as inspiring a writer as he is at some point, that will be enough.

That’s it for now. So many great thinkers and writers on here. I’ve no doubt missed some of you and I’m already finding more (-dennis, Cryn Johannsen, Jackattack, Arturo Dominguez, Jae Rose, Anarcasper) and hope to find many more of you in the next year.

Thanks to everyone of you who subscribes to me or reads my stuff, likes it, comments on it or reshares it. Thanks to anyone who messages me or responds to my messages. I still get a little thrill when I get that notification on the app.

My goal has been to demystify capitalist moralism and show how it has infiltrated our lives and shaped our worldview. Along the way I haven’t been able to resist commenting on some current events. Thanks for putting up with my rants about David Seymour and the NZ Initiative and my attempts to make Marxism accessible. Hopefully my stuff has been useful to you in some way. I’ve sure enjoyed writing it.

Here’s to another year.