Episode 30: The Wages of Empire w/ Torkil Lauesen

Torkil Lauesen joins us to discuss the political economy of imperialism and trade, Arghiri Emmanuel’s theory of unequal exchange, political action in the imperial core, his years in prison, and the current geopolitical moment of hegemonic transition.Works mentioned: Unequal Exchange: Past, Present, and Future; Unequal Exchange.Torkil Lauesen is a communist writer. In 1969 he joined a Maoist cadre organization based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It specialized in undercover material support work for liberation movements in The Third World. Besides this it provided political schooling and study groups analysing the world system for developing their strategy and praxis. This work continued for nearly 20 years until their cover was blown in 1989. He turned the years in prison into a long field study, writing a master thesis in political science about the prison system. After being released, he continued anti-imperialist activism and took up writing for publishing in an effort to pass on their experience. He is a member of anti-imperialist net and a board member of the Arghiri Emmanuel Association.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe