I was just rereading his 1995 essay "What Are The Drums Saying, Booker?", which...I mean he's not wrong and he definitely can write some engaging prose, but he low-key comes off as a hater. Like he can shit on every famous Black academic for not being Marxist enough, but he can't take a moment to highlight intellectuals like Angela Davis and others who thought Marxists texts to the most disenfranchised groups of people?

But I don't think his recent embrace of brocialism is in bad faith or cynical; in fact, he really does think anti-racism is some kind of CIA or right-wing plot to divide socialists. I think he's enjoying his emeriti status and is leaning into being a bitter crank.

Here is a link to "What The Drums" for anyone interested:

https://libcom.org/files/ReedWhatAreTheDrumsSayingBooker.pdf