On Winning and Losing
On Winning and Losing

On Winning and Losing

Ellie, Amelia, Matt and Rudy discuss the life and work of Col. John Boyd, one of the foremost military strategists of the last century. We discuss how the left should relate to military science, Boyd’s main ideas such as the OODA loop and the Moral & Mental domains of struggle, his influences: Clausewitz and Sun Tzu, and how Boyd was able to use them to develop his ideas on strategy, and we finish up with examples of how politicians use similar ideas to Boyd and how we should use them for winning fights.

References:

John Boyd
A Discourse on Winning and Losing
Youtube lectures on Patterns of Conflict (transcript in the description)
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot who Changed the Art of War – Robert Coram

Others
Trotsky’s The Art of Insurrection, and How the Revolution Armed
Estrategia Socialista y Arte Militar – Emilio Albamonte & Matías Maiello (unavailable in English, summary of the ideas found here)
Mao’s Military Writings, in particular On Guerilla Warfare and Concentrate a Superior Force to Destroy the Enemy One by One
Communist Party of Peru (Shining Path) – Military Line
Marine Corps MCDP-1 Warfighting
Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations Third Edition – CAPT Wayne P. Hughes Jr.

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