this half hour interview starts right now. >> now joining us on book tv in london is author richard seymour. mr. seymour, before we start talking about some of your books, introduce yourself to the audience. tell us about yourself. >> guest: i am a ph.d. student at the london school of economics, so that's what i spend most of my time doing degette i do some writing on the side. i write for the guardian newspaper. i've written a few books on a blog as well. >> host: what is the blog called? the tomb. it is on ideas and it is rescuing from 20th century communism if you like. that's what i spend a lot of time talking about. and it's just basically for the left wing politics. >> host: are you a communist? >> guest: i would describe myself as a socialist because i don't want to be experienced with stalin and dictatorships that were effected in the name of communism, so i wouldn't call myself a communist. >> host: what about the marxist? >> guest: i am very much a marxist. >> host: why? >> guest: i suppose the same reason of our subjects, christopher hitchens. it is a time i considered a superio

. >> host: now joining us on booktv in london is author richard seymour. introduce yourself to the audience. >> guest: okay, well, i'm a p had -- ph.d. student, i write for the guardian newspaper, wrote a few books and blog as well. >> host: what's the blog called? >> lenon's tomb. >> host: why? >> guest: what's worth rescuing from the 20th century communism, if you like. that's what i spend a lot of time talking about. it's just generally for left wing politics. >> host: are you a communist? >> i would describe myself as a socialist because i don't want to be associated with the stalin and dictatorships erected in the name of communism. i don't call myself a communist. >> host: what about a marxist? >> guest: yes, very much so. >> host: why? >> guest: i consider it a superior way of explaning societies in the way they work and explaning politics. >> host: did, in your view, the soviet union subvert marxism? >> guest: i wouldn't say it subverted marxism. what i say is a hopeful experiment in a radical new type of socialist democracy was crushed very quickl

. >> host: finally, richard seymour, you mentioned you have been a member of the socialist workers party but recently resigned. why? >> guest: the leadership of the party handled an allegation in a way that i thought was indefensible and a number of us tried to reverse that and reform the party in ways that would mean such a mistake couldn't happen again. at a certain point we find we are unable to do so or at least we decided we were unable to do so about 70 or so is left. i would expect that others will leave at a later date. all i can say is that the reasons why people have been in the party and the reasons many remain believing that they can reclaim at are probably the same reasons why past generations of intellectuals have been members of the party not because they believed in every single part of orthodoxy that was open to the heterodoxy. i hope i'm wrong and i wish those that stayed in and to reform the party i wish them all well to read some of the most committed and talented people that i've ever known that for me the party is over. if people want to contact you what is the webs

. >> host: richard seymour, how well do your books do in the u.s., and have you done a book tour there? >> guest: i have done a book tour. my books don't sell in the u.s.. "unhitched," is the first to get attention in the american press at all. thus far, mixed. the "washington post" review, obviously, was i don't think the reviewer liked it, denver post more positive, but that's the first time i've had any coverage in the american press. the only book tour i've done in america was for "american insurgents," and i did a tour of the sort of the east coast going from dc to philadelphia, boston, and new york, but it was a case of presenting the book to left wing activists. i'm going to america in april. i'll be doing a book tour, again, up the east coast, talking to as many audiences, and large an audience as i can attract. i expect them to be bigger this time because of the interest in hitchens is fairly broad, and so i'm looking forward to it. >> host: finally, richard seymour, you mentioned that you had been a member of the socialist workers party, but recently resigned from that. why?