Michael Parenti, Marxist and Anti-Imperialist Thinker, dead at age 92

Michael Parenti, the iconic Marxist and anti-imperialist scholar has died at age 92. According to multiple sources, he passed away peacefully this morning (January 24), surrounded by his family.

A renowned American political scientist, academic historian, cultural critic, and activist, widely recognized for his penetrating analyses of politics, history, and society, Parenti was born on September 30, 1933, in New York City. He grew up in a working-class family and has recounted his early life experiences in shaping his political consciousness, describing his journey from a NYC street kid to an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer. He earned his PhD in political science from Yale University and taught political science and history courses, wrote extensively, and lectured across North America and internationally.

Known for his incisive and brilliant leftist perspectives on capitalism, imperialism, democracy, and U.S. foreign policy, he also was always critical of much of western Marxism and its embrace of liberal imperialist narratives and its attacks on actually existing and successful socialist revolutions and societies.

One of his finest short pieces on this is Left Anticommunism: the unkindest cut

Many on the U.S. Left have exhibited a Soviet bashing and Red-baiting that matches anything on the Right in its enmity and crudity...

Some leftists and others fall back on the old stereotype of power-hungry Reds who pursue power for power’s sake without regard for actual social goals. If true, one wonders why, in country after country, these Reds side with the poor and powerless often at great risk and sacrifice to themselves, rather than reaping the rewards that come with serving the well-placed.

For decades, many left-leaning writers and speakers in the United States have felt obliged to establish their credibility by indulging in anticommunist and anti-Soviet genuflection, seemingly unable to give a talk or write an article or book review on whatever political subject without injecting some anti-Red sideswipe. The intent was, and still is, to distance themselves from the Marxist-Leninist Left.

Parenti was a prolific author, with many notable works including his masterpiece Blackshirts and Reds analyzing fascism and socialism in the 20th century.

On The Left Chapter you can read: Michael Parenti on hegemony, monopoly capitalism and culture

You can find many of his lectures on You Tube: The Michael Parenti Library - YouTube

Including this tremendous lecture that should be watched by everyone on the Left: