142 - A.K. 47 - Who Needs the War? - Part 3 (and a special message for election eve)

Kristen Ghodsee reads the third section of Alexandra Kollontai's 1915 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, which claims that the essay was written while Kollontai was in exile in Norway. She sent it to Vladimir Lenin (then in exile in Switzerland) who also edited it before publication. The final pamphlet was first published in 1916. It went into multiple editions and was distributed widely across Europe and Russia. Ghodsee also discusses the 2024 presidential election in the United States, and offers a message of hope in the event of a Trump victory. Mentioned in this episode:Kristen Ghodsee discusses utopia and social dreaming on "What Could Go Right?" Send us Fan MailThanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: Everyday UtopiaRed ValkyriesWhy Women Have Better Sex Under SocialismSecond World, Second SexSubscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.comLearn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen