Best Left-Wing Orators

[The Idler]

I'm looking for good left-wing orators (perhaps to download speeches). For instance, whilst I don't agree with John Rees I do think he is a good orator. Likewise (not-so) left-wingers like Michael Moore and George Galloway. Noam Chomsky on the other hand says a lot of stuff I agree with, but has a fairly passionless tone of voice.

[MYSTIC OWL]

George Galloway is, always, good value for money. Tony Benn puts in a good performance . . . age is no bar, it seems.

Better to find your own (local) star. Believe me, they exist . . .

[Dóchas]

I think malcolm x is pretty good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmzaaf-9aHQ&feature=channel_page

i love this speech

[Charles Xavier]

Michael Parenti is who you are looking for. He's funny, hes intelligent, hes interesting, he is a red.

http://www.michaelparenti.org/articles.html

Read some articles of his there. Recorded talks on Youtube and other places online.

His people's History on Ancient Rome is a great listen.

“The guiding principle of ruling elites was--and still is: When change threatens to rule, then the rules are changed.”

[BIG BROTHER]

Ernesto Che Guevara knew how to give powerful speeches.

[The Idler]

Tony Cliff seems good.

[ZeroNowhere]

Debs was good, but you knew that.

[Post-Something]

Yeah, Micheal Parenti. He did a couple of really great lectures, which you can watch on Youtube. Here's part 1 of a lecture he gave:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0a9VnxZEHGg (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0a9VnxZEHGg)

Also, I would recommend John Pilger.

[Black Dagger]

Parenti is pretty good yeah. Talking all-time, whilst not a revolutionary leftist or even a socialist really - for mine malcolm x is the most powerful orator i've ever listened to. He had such an enaging, passionate style - mixing humour with anger, good gesticulation, a strong voice - but not loud.

[Q]

I think Peter Taaffe is pretty good. He has a strong voice and plays with intonation.
But I know many good speakers, it's hard to pick.

[Potemkin]

What about the revolutionaries of the Black Panther Party? As an anarchist-communist, I don't agree with the Maoist orientation, but Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, H. Rap Brown, and Stokely Carmichael were all great speakers. Some of their speeches can be found online.

[Black Dagger]

Seale was more of a yeller than a speaker - i don't really appreciate that style, except in small bursts. Huey was very articulate but had a whiney worse, i certainly wouldn't call him a great orator - he even admits as much in his writings. H Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael were both excellent speakers. Witty, engaging - Rap in particular has a great voice.

[Sendo]

Michael Parenti. He really speaks from an average Joe stance and is very human. He differs greatly from Chomsky at times, in a direction that I feel would lead to more activism (more willing to praise the good parts of the USSR than adopt mainstream universal condemnation of the Soviet bloc), and I get the feeling he gets more of a blackout than Chomsky.

Chomsky is great for the brain, but he'll put most people to sleep. Parenti is definitley more likely to get you riled up. Parenti's books can be hit or miss though...whereas Chomsky's books are all solid.

[Cumannach]

Regarding Michael Parenti sorry if it's already mentioned somewhere else on this site, but there's many hours of his talks and interviews, which you won't find on youtube or googlevideo available at radio4all.net Just do a search for 'Michael Parenti'. It's a good engine and almost all the results are relevant, even if they might not look so at first.

[Angry Young Man]

Better to find your own (local) star. Believe me, they exist . . .

I live in Bristol. I don't anticipate there being a Bristolian James Connoley. I think there's a thread way back in the archives linking you to various dialects.

The best dialects for rhetoric IMO are Welsh, Scouse, Geordie and possibly cockney

[Chapter 24]

Malcolm X for me. The videos on YouTube of some of his speeches / lectures are so full of passion and emotion that you can clearly understand how he gained so much support from "the black community" (I put that term in quotations because I don't want to make it seem like all blacks are some homogeneous entity that all think alike).
On a side note, I definitely believe that Malcolm X was on the path toward socialism. Black nationalism is not a "bad" thing for him to have adhered to, as it is a tedency amongst an oppressed group as a result of massive racial exploitation on the part of a racist system. However certain quotes such as this:


It is impossible for capitalism to survive, primarily because the system of capitalism needs some blood to suck. Capitalism used to be like an eagle, but now it's more like a vulture. It used to be strong enough to go and suck anybody's blood whether they were strong or not. But now it has become more cowardly, like the vulture, and it can only suck the blood of the helpless. As the nations of the world free themselves, capitalism has less victims, less to suck, and it becomes weaker and weaker. It's only a matter of time in my opinion before it will collapse completely….

tend to tell me that when he was an advocate for black nationalism that he was in no way also an advocate for black class collaborationism.

[ev]

Noam Chomsky on the other hand says a lot of stuff I agree with, but has a fairly passionless tone of voice.

Hitler was very passionate in his tone, I mean, he could incite the people he spoke to so quickly! Fucking amazing, personally I think it is in the hand movements and what not ;) But, if there is any talent that I would like to master it would be a good public speaker like hitler :lol: :laugh:

[peaccenicked]

My favourite is Padraig Pearse. His speech contains the essence of the spirit of resistance

http://inthesenewtimes.com/2009/01/06/speech-at-the-grave-of-o’donovan-rossa/

[Marion]

George Galloway is, always, good value for money. Tony Benn puts in a good performance . . . age is no bar, it seems.

I certainly don't agree with either politically (and I'd argue you should be downloading speeches in terms of content not oratory unless its for some research purposes), but in terms of my opinion of their oratory...

I was really disappointed with Benn as an orator when I heard him a few years ago. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think he was a bad speaker (I'd hope not given how often he's had to do it), just not particularly great. Loads of the other people who went to see him thought it was fantastic though.

Galloway increasingly just comes across today as a pseudo-left version of a really bad right-wing shock-jock. Saying that he's certainly got the ability to turn it on when he wants.

[Hit The North]

The late, great, Paul Foot is one of the best speakers I've seen: funny, witty, forceful and passionate.

http://www.resistancemp3.org.uk/cgi-bin/standardsearch.pl
(http://www.resistancemp3.org.uk/cgi-bin/standardsearch.pl)

[Cumannach]

by the way, re Michael Parenti does anyone know if he is/was a member of any political party or organisation? I've read lots of his books but actually know very little about him.

[redwinter]

Bob Avakian is a great communist orator...there is a collection of DVDs available of 12 hours from two speeches he delivered in the US in 2003, called Revolution: Why It's Necessary, Why It's Possible, What It's All About available in English and Spanish from www.threeqvideo.com for people to check it out...

[Post-Something]

Bob Avakian is a great communist orator...there is a collection of DVDs available of 12 hours from two speeches he delivered in the US in 2003, called Revolution: Why It's Necessary, Why It's Possible, What It's All About available in English and Spanish from www.threeqvideo.com (http://www.threeqvideo.com) for people to check it out...

Tbh, he sounds like a weedy nerd. And he looks like taller sideways than upright. Plus his lectures are all like 2 hours+

[Angry Young Man]

I thought Avakian was piss-taken on this forum??:confused:

Scousers probably do the best rhetoric in the UK

[MarxSchmarx]

In the English language, I would recommend Eugene Debs. Unfortunately, I don't think any of his speeches survived as recordings.

Some of the anti-capitalist, "what should we do" stuff of Michael Albert is also interesting. It's surprisingly conversational and down to earth.

And, of course, Salvador Allende's final address to his compatriots.

¡Viva el pueblo! ¡Vivan los trabajadores!

[Die Neue Zeit]

Hitler was very passionate in his tone, I mean, he could incite the people he spoke to so quickly! Fucking amazing, personally I think it is in the hand movements and what not ;) But, if there is any talent that I would like to master it would be a good public speaker like hitler :lol: :laugh:

Hitler borrowed, ironically, from classical Social-Democratic orators like Lassalle, Bebel, and Wilhelm Liebknecht.

[Post-Something]

I thought Avakian was piss-taken on this forum??:confused:

Would have thought so.

[Comrade B]

Fidel Castro thrives in the presence of a US news camera

[RedSonRising]

Fidel Castro thrives in the presence of a US news camera


Oh, absolutely. He is probably the number one in my opinion, because his speeches follow such logic and evident truth, along with hints of powerful sarcasm, that make you beleive that the words coming out of the mans mouth cannot be anything but true. Even answers in basic english in the old days had great effect. Guevara on the other hand, was very powerfully moving in his condemnation of evil and his unwavering support that you could not help but beleive in his movement. The youtube clip of him reflecting upon the crisis with Lumumba is especially good (it should come up after simply typing che speech or something like that). MLK was a great orator, Malcom X of course, and underground rapper Immortal Technique actually has some great audio files, such as The Poverty of Philosophy and even more complete Open Your Eyes. Both can be found on youtube.

[Armand Iskra]

I like Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Che Guevarra and Salvador Allende.

[Sugar Hill Kevis]

What about the revolutionaries of the Black Panther Party? As an anarchist-communist, I don't agree with the Maoist orientation, but Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, H. Rap Brown, and Stokely Carmichael were all great speakers. Some of their speeches can be found online.

Huey's voice doesn't do too much for me, in fairness I thought Marcus Chong in the movie Panther did a more powerful Huey than Huey... Stokely spoke well, but spoke shit.

If we're talking BPP, I think Fred Hampton is where it's at
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hHzSdniqi4g

[brigadista]

you got there just before me on Fred Hampton.