Cryptoganda and the Myth of Black Capitalism

Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Is A Half Measure, Polls Spell Hope For Lula In Brazil, Biden Admin Leaves Working People With COVID Bills

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Dr. Linwood Tauheed, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City to discuss the Biden administration’s expected announcement of student loan forgiveness up to $10,000 and the many ways it might fall short, the racialized nature of student loans and the ability of people of color to pay back their debts, the social impacts of debt and how it contributes to an intergenerational wealth gap, and the political implications of this half-measure as the Democrats face steep odds in the upcoming midterm elections.

In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Brian Mier, co-editor of Brasil Wire and author of Year of Lead: Washington, Wall Street and the New Imperialism in Brazil to discuss the upcoming election in Brazil and Lula da Silva’s current double-digit lead in most polls, the arrest of businessmen allied with President Jair Bolsonaro accused of organizing a coup in the event that Bolsonaro loses the election, the important implications of the potential victory of Lula and progressive forces on the politics of Latin America as the region experiences another “pink tide,” and Lula’s sustained popularity with working people and some elites alike after his imprisonment.

In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Dr. Margaret Flowers, Co-Founder of Popular Resistance Director of the Health Over Profit for Everyone Campaign to discuss the Biden administration’s reported plans to shift the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments to individuals and insurance providers in a continuation of its austerity response to the pandemic, the extreme danger that this poses to people who are uninsured as the pandemic continues to rage across the country, how this move continues the Biden administration’s neoliberal approach to responding to the pandemic, and why a popular movement must fight for an equitable healthcare system.

Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Dr. Jared Ball, a father, husband, Professor of Africana Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD, the curator of imixwhatilike.org and author of the book, “The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power” to discuss the evolution of cryptocurrency as the latest form of the myth of black capitalism and how that myth is sold through cryptoganda, how celebrities and celebrity culture are weaponized to peddle black capitalism generally and cryptocurrency specifically, how cryptoganda and other black capitalist propaganda projects are geared toward the adoption of the mythology of black capitalism instead of the politics of black liberation, and why the logic of “earn your leisure” is flawed and mispaces the blame for poverty on individual responsibility instead of the broader capitalist system.

We'd love to get your feedback at [e-mail]

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik