Customer Reviews:
Outstanding Comparative Analysis.......2004-08-07
Written over 40 years ago, The Age of the Democratic Revolution is still the major effort at interpreting the political upheavals of the late 18th century. Covering a remarkably broad range of societies, Palmer deals with France, the American Revolution, Britain, the Holy Roman Empire, various German states, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. This is an effort to reveal the major structural features of political and social conflict in what Palmer refers to as the Atlantic world. Since he has extensive discussion of Eastern Europe as well, it might be better to describe his frame as something like Greater Europe. In order to produce his major structural analyses, Palmer narrrates and analyzes events across several decades and across several countries. It is a measure of the quality of Palmer's scholarship and writing ability that this book serves as a excellent narrative overview of the political and diplomatic history of many of the countries discussed. Not surprisingly, France and the events generated by the French Revolution occupy a central place but one of the most impressive things about this book is how Palmer features the importance of events in places like Holland and the Austrian controlled parts of Italy. Even the tiny Genevan republic and Ireland receive thorough and enlightening coverage.
Palmer sees the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and allied events as driven by the collision of a series of pan-European forces. He points out that the first half of the 18th century had actually seen a hardening of social barriers, a decline in social mobility, and increasing dominance of important political institutions by smaller inherited elites. The increasingly aristocratic nature of many European societies was opposed to a very large extent by Monarchies wishing to extend their authority. The financial strains imposed by the Seven Years War appear to have been particularly important in prompting several governments, France, Britain, and even the Holy Roman Empire, into attempts to extend royal power and reduce the power of traditional and aristocratically dominated institutions. Implicit in Palmer's analysis is that the humanitarianism of the Enlightenment had produced alternative ways of looking at society and governance that undermined the legitimacy of aristrocratic institutions and social structure based on deference. Ironically, some aspects of Enlightenment political theory were used to defend traditional institutions. Over the course of the second half of the 18th century, this collision produces, at least initially, aristocratic success in turning back the challenges to traditional institutions. In many countries, notably France, the aristocratic revolution is followed is then followed by Democratic Revolutions resulting in the ultimate destruction of a huge array of traditional politcal and social institutions. Palmer has thoughtful discussions of the varying aspects of this general phenomenon in a large array of nations. Britain and the American colonies prove to be important exceptions to the general model and their unique features result in the American Revolution and what can only be called a relatively peaceful counter-revolution in Britain.
This is then followed by a superb series of discussions of the consequences of the Democratic Revolutions throughout Europe and North America.
Some aspects of Palmer's analysis are probably incorrect. This is not surprising as he wrote over 40 years ago and there has been a lot of important scholarship since the publication of this book. For example, I think Palmer is a bit unfair to Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists in the USA. I suspect that some will find this book, with its emphasis on political history, a bit old-fashioned. These, however, are quibbles. In terms of breadth of understanding and depth of analysis, this is a truly outstanding work of scholarship.
Customer Reviews:
Rand Thunders Against the New Left.......2006-02-12
[My review of The Return of the Primitive. The New Left is out of print, but available used.]
In 1971, Ayn Rand published a collection of her essays called "the New Left." She edited this collection herself based on a suggestion from a fan.
Peter Schwartz, a second-hander at the Ayn Rand Institute, came out with a new version of this work. He kept all of Rand's original essays, added one new Rand essay, and added three of his own. The most obvious question is: by what right does Mr. Schwartz re-edit someone else's work in order to get some of his stuff in print? Since Rand is in this case the victim, and I don't want to give the sanction of the victim (so to speak), I'll review this work solely in reference to the original Rand articles, ignoring Mr. Schwartz's "contributions" in my ranking and comments.
I'm generally critical of Rand the philosopher. However, she was a reasonably intelligent person. Her greatest weakness was her tendency to speculate on historical and psychological matters which she knew little about. However, her "creativity" was something of a benefit when it came to cultural criticism. In fact, I would say that she had any number of interesting and insightful things to say about the state of culture. Her article on the "Free Speech Movement" in Berkeley is a gem. Her comments on Woodstock are good as well, although she is given to a bit of exaggeration (e.g., Kant is the "first hippy"). And in her article "Racism," she courageously came out against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which violated private property rights. (It has even been used by the federal courts to uphold regulations in the area of "sexual harassment" although the law on its face has nothing to due with sexual harassment.) The "Age of Envy" contains a withering critique of feminism, but I wonder how Rand could consistently oppose this movement based on her presuppositions.
Prophetic and accurate analyses.......2005-11-07
In these essays from the 1960s and early 1970s, Ayn Rand identifies the underlying nihilism of the Left and the student movement of the time. Already back then, she warned of the toxic influence of the left and pointed out that the intellectual battle does not consist of opposing, denouncing or evading, but of exposing and disproving evil ideas and proclaiming a consistent alternative to the left's bankrupt philosophy.
In the essay Apollo and Dionysus, she compares the 1 million people that converged on Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969 to witness the launch of Apollo 11 with the 300 000 that gathered at Woodstock on August 15 that year. Rand explores these events in the light of Nietzsche's metaphysical principles of reason and emotion as observed in Greek theatre.
Whilst denying that reason and emotion are irreconcilable antagonists, she shows how the media virtually ignored the one event while blowing the significance of the other out of all proportion. On the one hand, decent people were sharing an event of great achievement and on the other, self-indulgent hedonists behaving like pigs. As she explains so eloquently, it is irrational emotions that drag people down into the mud, and it is reason that lifts us up to the stars.
In the essay The Left: Old And New, Rand predicted that the issue of the environment would be the next big crusade of the Leftists, after Vietnam. In this, as on so many other issues, she was correct and we still have the EnviroNuts with us and they are shriller than ever before with their self-serving tooth fairy tales of global warming.
The short essay "Political Crimes" looks at the dangerous notion that there could be a distinction between political and non-political criminals. Crime is a violation of the rights of others by force of fraud, thus there is no such thing as a political crime. The essay The Chicken's Homecoming discusses the results of promulgating doctrines like Pragmatism, Logical Positivism and Linguistic Analysis, and how these doctrines disarmed the best and unleashed the nihilists. In this regard, see The Anti-Chomsky Reader, edited by David Horowitz and Peter Collier.
The Age Of Envy is one of the very best in this collection. In it, Rand claims that the Age of Reason and the Age of Enlightenment had been followed by ours, the Age of Envy. She takes envy to mean: The hatred of the good for being the good. Here too, she nails down the left, old and new, with keen insight and prescience. She demonstrates how the appeasement of evil has been an undertow of mankind's cultural stream down the ages.
The Comprachicos is the disturbing essay that concludes the collection. It warns against the hijacking of the minds of children and students by the leftist, collectivist educational establishment. This even more true now than it was then: the modern seats of leftism are the universities and the Old Media which Rand exposes throughout the book.
To show how right Ayn Rand has been, I highly recommend the following books: The New Thought Police and The Death Of Right And Wrong by Tammy Bruce, Intellectual Impostures by Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont, Unholy Alliance by David Horowitz, treason by Ann Coulter and Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild by Michelle Malkin.
A very insightful look at several aspects of our culture!.......2004-03-12
In this book Ayn Rand looks at numerous aspects of our culture from Woodstock and the Apollo moon missions to public education and relates them to various philosophic principles. She shows not only how irrational the current left-wing philosophy is, but also how it is now morally bankrupt, especially compared with "the old left". Despite the colossal failure of socialism time and time again, modern liberals- to this day- continue to idealize it, even the horrors of the former Soviet Union. Just look at the book "In Denial: Historians, Communism, & Espionage" by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr.
Please note that this title has been replaced by Ayn Rand's "Return of the Primitive" which contains all the material from this book, plus additional essays by both Ayn Rand and a contemporary Objectivist.
The art of vituperation: some early instruction........2003-11-01
The art of vituperation, i.e the practice of ad hominen and vitriolic attacks against contrary philosophical or poliltical persuasions, seems to be very popular, as a persual of the current top-selling books will reveal. This book, written over thirty years ago, has the tone of these best-sellers. The author is unrelenting in her smears against what she has labeled as "The New Left", and this makes the book difficult to get through, if the reader is one who believes that political and philosophical discussion should never include dialog that is so blatantly disrepectful.
The "New Left", the author asserts, began in 1964 with the rise of the Berkeley protests, and she briefly discusses its history in the first section of the book. This "Free Speech" movement of Berkeley is completely "anti-ideological" according to the author, being opposed to "labels" or theories. Their philosophical position could be classified as existentialism, but Immanuel Kant is to blame for their divorcing of reason from reality. In fact Kant is blamed for all of the "irrational" influences in the college curriculum, which she asserts, without any statistical evidence or scholarly analysis, has "seeped into every classroom, subject, and brain" in the universities of that time.
In another section Woodstock is described as a "Dionysian" project, the landing on the moon as "Apollonian". In spite of the Nietzschean overtones of this classification, Kant is again blamed for the Dionysian revelry of the New Left. Kant was the first "hippie" in history, she states. But the author does not seem to acknowledge that the Woodstock festival lasted only a few days; the Apollo project many years of preparation. There was a huge difference between the resources used for Apollo versus those for Woodstock. Certainly Apollo and the light of reason were the predominant philosophies, if one is to judge a culture using only these two.
In a later section, the woman's movement, or "Women's Lib", is described as composed of "sloppy, bedraggled, unfocused women" who are in no danger of being mistaken as "sex objects". Their opinions on sex are described as "hideous" and are in a "sisterhood with lesbians". The author though, ironically, does not want to give a more accurate commentary, since in her view that "would require a kind of language that I do not like to see in print". Apparently the author believes that a woman's phenotype should be taken into account when judging their philosophical and moral positions. Any common interests with homosexuals is also to be viewed with suspicion.
The longest section of the book, and the most troubling from a scientific standpoint is the last one entitled "The Comprachicos". The author makes claims that are totally unsupported scientifically, and no references are given that lend credence to her claims about the nature of the child psyche and the dynamics of child development. The "comprachicos" are a collection of people, not identified explicitly, that have, under the guise of progressive education, robbed the minds of American children. They have taken a normal brain she says, and made it mentally retarded. This is an extreme view if taken literally, and the reading of this section of the book gives one every indication that the author does mean it literally. But mental retardation is something that can be measured, those children who are victims of the comprachicos can be identified, and correlations with the progressive educators can then be found statistically. The author though has done none of this. Mental retardation is not quantified, no case studies are quoted, and therefore no empirical evidence is given that shows a connection between the techniques of progressive educators and mental retardation. Such a connection could perhaps be shown, but it will take painstaking research and data collection in order for this to happen. The section ends with more vituperation: the "Establishment" which is a "rotted structure of mindless hyprocrisy" and consists of big businessmen, conservatives, Washington politicians (who are "eagar dummies"), the communication media, as well as professors, the arch-villians in the author's eyes.
One can only wonder if some of the current practitioners of vitriole and ad hominen attacks perhaps read this book and gained helpful hints on how to carry them out. But such an approach to the debate on issues never serves any useful purpose to anyone. The art of vituperation is a useless expenditure of energy and time, and worthless as an explanatory tool for any type of discussion or inquiry.
Didn't Know Enough To Come In Out Of The Rain.......2003-04-24
The star of this book is Rand's essay "Apollo and Dionysus," a comparison of the near-simultaneous events Woodstock and the first lunar landing. I was in high school at the time, and I remember the Woodstock explosion that occurred during the school year following the August concert, the remarkable number of classmates who adopted the hippie lifestyle and pretty much stopped doing any work whatever. One guy who'd been a valedictory prospect dropped right off the academic radar, probably due to drugs. Rand's suggestion that Woodstock represented an abandonment of reason is supported by on-scene reports of concert-goers who simply showed up with the clothes on their backs -- no plans for food, water, lodgings or anything, and the fact that concert organizers also neglected such essential considerations. The Woodstock army completely trashed the place, ending up wallowing in a big muddy mess while standing stupidly outside in the rain.
On the other hand, the lunar mission was a sterling example of human achievement driven by rationality, the culmination of the application of brainpower to a problem, and the success which resulted therefrom. Oh certainly, Rand drew (and draws) a lot of fire, but she was absolutely correct in her belief that upgrades of our human condition will only be developed by people who think and act, and not by herds of hippies standing in the rain.
Amazon.com
The Conservative Revolution describes how a modern intellectual movement muscled its way into American politics by examining the lives of four major right-wing figures: Ohio senator Robert Taft, who might have become president if Dwight Eisenhower had chosen not to run in 1952; Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, whose 1964 campaign energized young conservatives even as LBJ trounced him; Ronald Reagan, the man conservatives think belongs on Mount Rushmore; and Newt Gingrich, who put the GOP in charge of Congress for the first time since the 1950s and then stumbled at the hard task of running a majority party. Edwards himself is a conservative partisan, and admits that "those seeking absolute objectivity will not find it here." (But then, they won't find it in the writings of establishment liberals like Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., either.)
This is a strong survey of a vital American political movement that grew in strength over the course of half a century. Edwards's deep knowledge of his subject makes this a uniquely valuable book--perhaps even the best available on the subject--and a fine companion volume to George H. Nash's essential tome The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945. --John J. Miller
Download Description
How did conservatism, so irrelevant in 1946 that no major politician would dare call himself a conservative, come to dominate American politics by the 1990s? That is the question at the heart of this splendid narrative history by a Senior Fellow at the influential Heritage Foundation. In analyzing the events, ideas, and personalities that have shaped our age, Lee Edwards shows that the modern conservative era grew out of the words and deeds of many heroes, particularly the men he calls the Four Misters -- Robert Taft (Mister Republican), Barry Goldwater (Mister Conservative), Ronald Reagan (Mister President), and Newt Gingrich (Mister Speaker). Edwards examines the careers of these four larger-than-life leaders who put their stamp on conservative politics and transformed the conservative movement into a political majority. In the tradition of Paul Johnson's A History of the American People, The Conservative Revolution is certain to become the definitive work on a political force that has shaped our nation in this century and will continue to be a major influence in the century just ahead.
Customer Reviews:
Good starting place.......2003-04-09
A pretty good overview of the Conservative movement. I was especially moved by the eloquent pages on Barry Goldwater, the last true Conservative to run for President. Reagan wasn't bad but he never got far enough away from his Holywood socialist roots (and he infected us with the Bush twins - better than Clinton but liberals none the less). Even as he was facing down the Soviets he introduced about as much government intrusion into our lives as Clinton has. But then too many young conservatives today don't even really know what the word means or can explain the roots of the philosophy behind it. This book is a good start but make certain you read some of the classic post-war capitalist writers like Ayn Rand to get a full view of the birth of the American conservative movement.
A Different Perspective From A Gen X Conservative.......2001-11-20
"The Conservative Revolution" is a fascinating detailed look at the history of the Conservative movement from the end of World War II until the late 1990's. It is a very good history and I learned a great deal that I did not know before (I especially appreciated the background on Robert Taft).
As a Gen-X conservative, though, I feel I probably have a different view about events than Lee Edwards who apparantly is old enough to have witnessed most of this history first hand. For one thing, I find it extremely hard to think of Barry Goldwater as a true conservative, given his pro-choice abortion views and his anti-school prayer stance. Also, as a person who experienced his teen years during the 1980's, I also can't forget that Barry Goldwater loved to run to the microphone to criticize Ronald Reagan any chance he got. To me it is obvious that conservatives of the 1960's were following a complete charlatan, and it is no wonder he went down in landslide defeat.
Which brings us to the point that the book should have had far more information about Ronald Reagan than it did. Ronald Reagan is the true Rock of Gibraltar of the conservative movement and he should be the centerpiece of the book rather than sharing space with Goldwater and Gingrich.
However, I do highly recommend this book simply for the reason that most conservatives do not know the history of the conservative movement and this book is the best I have seen in giving that history.
An Excellent Introduction.......2000-12-02
In "The Conservative Revolution: The Movement That Remade America," author Lee Edwards does an excellent job of guiding readers through the growth of the Conservative movement in America. In his book, he not only illustrates the struggles that conservatives have faced as an opposition movement, he has also shown the struggles that continue to exist even after conservatives have succeeded in gaining power. By tying the conservative movement to the careers of four individual politicians, Edwards succeeds in giving a human face to the movement. In the early days of the conservative movement, as personified by Senator Robert Taft, Edwards shows how the movement grew in response to America's increased international prestige following WWII. With the emergence of Republican Presidential Candidate Barry Goldwater, Edwards shows how the conservative movement began to gain ground among the American public. The emergence of the conservative movement increases dramatically with the election of President Ronald Reagan and is then capped off with the 1994 election of Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House. Luckily, Edwards does not end there. He is evenhanded in showing the errors made by conservatives as they take control of the branches of government and suggests that this is a struggle that has not yet seen its final chapter.
A great overview.......2000-09-18
We conservatives like to sermonize about the historical ignorance of the average American, but too many of us are just as ignorant of the history of our own conservative movement. If you're in that category, take an afternoon or two to read Lee Edwards' "The Conservative Revolution."
Edwards surveys the high points of the conservative movement, starting with "Mr. Republican" Sen. Robert Taft, through the Gingrich Revolution of 1994. He craftily threads the behind-the-scenes details of the movement with the historical events of the world at large, being sure to explain those events and their meaning and connection to the American political scene.
This is not "objective" history, of course; Edwards is one of us, and he isn't afraid to make his opinion known. But he is careful to provide a balanced, detached look at the facts, keeping his opinion separate.
If you enjoy this book and want to learn more about the two greatest political victories for conservatives this century, be sure to read F. Clifton White's "Why Reagan Won" and "Suite 3505: The Draft Goldwater Movement".
In Depth Introduction to the History of the Movement.......2000-01-10
As a young conservative I have sought to learn as much history of the movement as possible. I have read stacks and stacks of books on conservative thought and those by the great conservatives. None cover so comprehensively the breadth and depth of the pivotal role of each of the four men about whom Edwards writes. Senators Taft and Goldwater, President Reagan and former Speaker Gingrich are the giants on whose shoulders all other conservative leaders today stand. Edwards intimate knowledge of the four is apparent and his writing ability is tremendous.
If you're looking for a thorough, well written introduction into the whole world of the conservative movement, this is where to start.
I'd be buying this book right now, if I didn't already own it.
Book Description
State and Revolution was written by Lenin during August-September, 1917, while he was living in hiding in Helsingfors. It was not published, however, until 1918. According to the draft of the original plan made by Lenin, the work was to contain not only a theoretical analysis of the theory of the state by Marx and Engels, but also a consideration of the "the experience of the Russian Revolutions of 1905 and 1917" from the point of view of this theory. But the October Revolution and the necessity to devote every effort to the immediate practical work interfered with the conclusion of the work begun.
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No, democracy is n o t identical with the subordination of the minority to the majority. Democracy is a state which recogizes the subordination of the minority to the majority, i.e., an organization for the systematic use of violence by one class against the other, by one section of the population against another.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant Marxist theory.......2007-08-12
Lenin's State and Revolution is the most crucial analysis of the Marxian theory of the state and its relation to class struggle. Lenin was a revolutionary determined to reveal the provisional government's capitulation to the forces of imperialism and to revivify the revolutionary edge of Marxism that "socialists" had attempted to obscure. Lenin writes
"According to Marx, the state is an organ of class domination, an organ of oppression of one class by another; its aim is the creation of "order" which legalizes and perpetuates this oppression by moderating the collisions between classes."
In Lenin's view, the aim of the revolutionary proletariat is to overthrow the state, and in turn, use it to redistribute the wealth and seize control over the means of production. The state will subsequently "wither" in time. State and Revolution is a powerful testament to the dictatorship of the proletariat, as well as an excellent critique of the anarchists and social-democrats.
Correcting an oversight ...........2004-12-24
V. I. Lenin wrote this book in 1917, while he was hiding from the Russian government. Lenin pointed out that "The question of the relation of the state to the social revolution, and of the social revolution to the state, like the question of revolution generally, was given very little attention by the leading theoreticians and publicists of the Second International (1889-1914)". He wanted to correct that oversight, and that is probably the main reason why he wrote this book.
"The State and revolution" is a very short book, well structured and not difficult to read at all. Initially this pamphlet was going to have seven chapters, but Lenin didn't conclude the seventh, due to the outbreak of the Russian revolution. In the postscript to the first edition he explains that, saying that due to the reasons already explained the conclusion of the seventh chapters would have to be put off for quite a long time, but that all the same "It is more pleasant and useful to go through the `experience of revolution' than to write about it".
The main idea in "The State and revolution" is that the State is a product of the irreconcilability of class antagonisms, and an instrument for the exploitation of the oppressed class (a "special coercive force" that rules through violence). The State of the bourgeoisie will disappear, but only through a revolution that will take the people to the dictatorship of the proletariat. The proletariat (the working class) will become then the ruling class, "capable of crushing the inevitable and desperate resistance of the bourgeoisie, and of organizing all the working and exploited people for the new economic system. The proletariat needs state power, a centralized organization of force, an organization of violence, both to crush the resistance of the exploiters and to lead the enormous mass of the population -the peasants, the petty bourgeoisie, and semi-proletarians- in the work of organizing a socialist economy."
The dictatorship of the proletariat will be only a first stage in the path to Communism ("Then the door will be thrown wide open for the transition from the first phase of communist society to its higher phase, and with it to the complete withering away of the state"). According to Lenin, the necessity of systematically imbuing the masses with the idea of the necessity of violent revolution lies at the root of the entire theory of Marx and Engels. All throughout this book, Lenin cites and examines Marx and Engels' writings, in order to explain and support his own point of view.
The importance of Marxism for nowadays world has diminished enormously, but I advice you to read this book nonetheless. It is certainly not a grueling task, and it will allow you to understand better some notions that many Marxist leaders believed with all their hearts. Ideas drive men, and men make history. "The State and revolution" will help you to get acquainted with some of those ideas, and that is not a small feat.
Belen Alcat
Revolutionary Classic.......2004-12-14
I believe this is the best, concise revolutionary analysis of the role of the State ever written.
I find it very annoying that here in the US, while many students may cursorily read the Communist Manifesto in school, I have never once met ANYONE in my life who has read the basic works of Lenin except for avowed Marxists (and only a minority of these)....and being a Communist myself, I have asked several students, and often looked through university bookstores to see if any poli-sci or history professors would break the "no Lenin allowed" rule.
Consequently, there are many people on the "left" who pretend to understand Marx and/or Marxism, but still make the exact same errors to which Lenin here responded over 80 years ago.
For example, someone just this week argued to me than Lenin was "not a real Marxist" (!!!) because he "introduced" the notion of "dictatorship of the proletariat", which was "alien" to Marx (hint: read Chapter 4 of Marx's Critique of the Gotha Programme for just one of many passages which prove this notion
totally false). State and Revolution gives many more examples of extensive quotes from Marx & Engels. One of the greates merits of S&R is that it restores the revolutionary essence to Marx, which was obscured and watered-down by the Social Democrat reformists of the 2nd International led by Karl Kautsky. Incidentally, the concept of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" has been much distorted by capitalist demagogues and anti-communist "leftists" into something completely alien to its original meaning.
To all "Left academics" and others, don't assume (or pretend) you know anything about Marx or Lenin if you've never read them...If you have to be an academic "armchair radical", at least try to get the basic facts right instead of misrepresenting what they stood for...There's no shame in not having read Lenin (join the vast majority), but it's disgusting to just pass off what you've heard about Lenin from "bourgie" intellectuals as the truth (when the truth is those intellectuals never read Lenin either most likely).
There are not a few pseudo-Marxist fakers in academia, who do more damage to popular revolutionary understanding (in the name of Marxism) than do the outright enemies of socialism. NO WONDER these "Left" anti-communist professors don't assign a book like State and Revolution, they're still trying to pass off the same lies and distortions about revolutionary Marxism that Lenin and other genuine revolutionaries tear to shreds in works like S&R.
I dedicate State and Revolution to all the "Marxian" fakers who still try to paint Marx as a mere liberal humanist reformer, and strip him of his revolutionary essence.
A Great Place to Start.......2004-10-12
Considered a classic by most, "The State and Revolution" is a work of decisive importance to communist thought. The Marxist's conception of the state is expressed clearly and concisely by Vladimir Lenin, who consistently reinforces himself with the words of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
"The state arises" Lenin explains, "where, when and insofar as class antagonisms objectively cannot be reconciled. And, conversely, the existence of the state proves that class antagonisms are irreconcilable."
If you are unfamiliar with the elementary concepts of Marxism, you may not be ready to read this book. It isn't a particularly difficult read, but the author assumes that you have a general understanding of Marxism. This was one of the first books that I read when I began to study communism, however, and I remember enjoying it thoroughly. It was easier for me to understand than "The Communist Manifesto".
If you haven't read "The State and Revolution" and enjoy learning about Marxism, then I highly recommend purchasing it, but I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the fundamental principles of Marxist thought beforehand.
Correct analysis, but one fatal flaw..........2004-07-30
"The State and Revolution" was written in the hopes of outlining what is to be done after the proletariat seeks power (in comformity with Marxian thought).
Lenin offers some of his insights, but this is mostly taken from both Marx and Engels own analysis of the situation. What Lenin does, which is valuable, is heavy elaboration, clear and concise. Those not familiar with communist theory will find the book very long and tedious, and most parts will be read with little understanding. Those that have a basic grasp, however, will find it enjoyable.
Despite often brilliant insights, the Leninist paradigm suffers one major, unmistakable, and fatal flaw: the method of leadership, while supposedly to be a "temporary" stage for transition from socialism to communism cannot ever be "temporary" as bourgeois relations of authority and the people vs. the state are not only retained, but developed. It is actually the "Vanguard party," not the workers or the people, that assumes control. While the intentions of the party are good, this is not good enough: the party is an established minority elite that hopes to reflect the people's interests but operates on strict and authoritarian tendencies. Subsequent works by Lenin prove that he believed that only a dictatorship of the party during civil unrest could ever hope to achieve "true communism." This is flawed reasoning, and is the reasoning of every bourgeois revolution that preceded the Bolshevik Revolution; events such as the French revolution, led by an elite vanguard, sought to replace an old ruling class. Under communism, however, the old ruling class should not be "replaced" by another ruling class with "similar" property and authority relations. Rather, all classes are to be abolished along with the STATE itself!
The answer to a successful revolution lies in the hands of the people, not a group of "professional revolutionaries." It is no wonder that every single communist revolution has been led by a vanguard, and thus has degenerated into tyranny, and laid the foundations for the restoration of capitalism. "Objective conditions" such as "civil war" and "worlwide hostility to communism" is NO excuse for refusing to give the power to the WORKERS and instead concentrating it into the hands of an ELITE OLIGARCHY!
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- an unflinching partisan
- What future for humanity?
- They speak to the future
- Fidel Castro's speeches in English, elected and edited
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In Defense of Socialism: Four Speeches on the 30th Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution (Fidel Castro Speeches, Vol. 4, 1988-89)
Fidel Castro , and
Mary-Alice Waters
Manufacturer: Pathfinder Press (NY)
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ASIN: 0873485394 |
Book Description
Economic and social progress is not only possible without the dog-eat-dog competition of capitalism, but socialism remains the only way forward for humanity. He describes the decisive place of Cuban volunteer combatants in the final stage of the struggle in Angola against the invasion forces of the South African apartheid regime.
Customer Reviews:
an unflinching partisan.......2002-03-31
This book gives you a chance to hear Fidel Castro as he rejects the "new thinking" in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In four 1988-89 speeches he champions Cuba's socialist revolution and critiques the failures of the bureaucratic regimes in the USSR and Eastern Europe.
He also reviews how these countries' examples had introduced weaknesses in Cuba's system and announces a campaign to correct these errors and reassert the principles of socialism. This collection gives you insight, not only into Cuba, but also into capitalism and socialism in general.
What future for humanity?.......2002-03-03
These are four speeches by Cuban leader Fidel Castro, given to mass rallies and meetings in 1989. Castro gives a reasoned, factual defense of socialism as the way forward for humanity with a rich analysis of some of the sharpest conflicts in the world at that time, from the economic and social crisis in Third World countries to the U.S. war against Nicaragua and El Salvador. Especially interesting is the detailed account of the South African invasion of Angola, Cuba's response of sending tens of thousands of volunteers to fight along with the Angolans, and of the death-blow dealt to apartheid in the battle at Cuito Cuanavale.
Castro also explains some of the early history of the Cuban revolution, such as how workers and peasants, led by the Rebel Army, actually took power in 1959. He takes up some of the big questions posed to anyone interested in building a new society, based on efforts the Cubans were then making to overcome bureaucratism, corruption and inefficiency. What is the relation between the individual and society, material wages versus moral and political consciousness, the use of technology and its impact on workers lives?
Don't miss this one!
They speak to the future.......2002-02-19
Even the US government admits that Cuba has survived the "special period," the disaster brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the other Stalinist governments at the hands of their own working people. Castro made these speeches at the start of the special period, speaking from the strength of Cuba's victories in Africa against South African Apartheid imperialism, from its successful defeat of those who took the bribes of Washington and the drug Cartel. These speeches show the confidence of Fidel and the Cuban revoloutionists in working people in Cuba and around the world. Though they are 11 and 12 years old as I write, when you read these speeches you will understand why they speak to the socialist future of working people, not to the past.
While this book is not always available on Amazon, it is always available from BooksfromPathfinder, an Amazon Z store that you can get to by clicking on New and Used further up this page!
Fidel Castro's speeches in English, elected and edited.......2000-06-15
Fidel Castro is known for public speeches that last 6, 7, 8 hours or longer. These four translated speeches are mercifully shorter (because they have been edited). They represent the explanaiton of the start of the "special period" when Cuba, now stripped of Soviet aid, had to justify to his people the coming years of suffering. An important historical document for understanding Castro's view of history and Cuban life.
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The Struggle for Russia: Power and Change in the Democratic Revolution
Rus Khasbulatov
Manufacturer: Routledge
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ASIN: 0415092922 |
Book Description
Who is Ruslan Khasbulatov?
Since the attempted coup in Russia in August 1991, Ruslan Khasbulatov has featured prominently and controversially in the development of the post-Soviet Russia. And yet relatively little is known about his background, personal beliefs and political philosophy. This book, part analytical, part autobiographical, provides unique insight into Khasbulatov's political development and outlook.
Khasbulatov became acting Speaker of the Russian Parliament in July 1991 and helped defend the Russian White House during the coup attempt of that August. Confirmed in the post of Speaker in October 1991, he has since consolidated his influence in the parliament and become one of the country's most controversial politicians.
News reports portray Khasbulatov as engaged in a power struggle with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. They indicate that the Russian parliament has turned into a bastion of opposition to Yeltsin and his proposed free-market reforms. As leader of theparliament, Khasbulatov is seen as representing the interests of the old-guard communist managers. Scarcely a day passes without negative stories about him appearing in the press.
In
The Struggle for Russia, Khasbulatov describes his personal involvement in the dramatic events of the last three years. He presents his views on the evolution of Russian politics before the attempted coup, putting forward a distinctive approach to the problems of Russian history, politics and culture. He offers a vivid first-hand account of the resistance to the coup and describes working with Yeltsin to draft the appeal "To the Citizens of Russia" which declared the coup an illegal act. The book concludes with Khasbulatov's views on Russian politics in the post-communist era, focusing on the problem of power in the democratic transition.
Book Description
In this call to embrace the worldwide democratic revolution, this book argues that global democracy should be the centerpiece of U.S. strategy.
Customer Reviews:
Part of my Summer Education.......2007-01-06
Despite all of the detractors on the left. The Reagan revolution helped the world overcome the final vestiges of the cold war and began to come together. In spite of this, ALL of his sucessors have neglected to capitalize and continue a realistic and steady march toward the center and a liberalization of thier governments and economies. Countries that are larger more entrenched and there fore a harder sell are now coherent democracies, where those that should have been easy to achieve are quickly coming to the lists of failing or failed states. Bill Clinton did much good to help world peace, however him and his predecessor George and sucessor George Jr seemed to have forgotten the need to develop in the third world, in order to continue keep the world peaceful. Contentment brings peace, education brings peace. This book brought me education. More liberals and conservatives should read this book and then write thier congress people.
Bill Clinton's and John Kerry's Beach Vacation from History.......2004-10-05
Michael Ledeen's analysis of how the USA defeated the evil communist regime of the Soviet Union is maybe the most valuable around for several reasons:
1. the democratic revolution of the 1970s and 1980s was a RIGHTIST movement, which destroyed the Intelligentsia's myth that revolutions are inevitably Leftist.
2. You get a clear picture of the difference between the USA's foreign policy and that of Left-wing tyrannical, totalitarian regimes.
3. Find out what most historians won't discuss: America's assistance in helping rescue Portugal from a communist takeover, which help turn the tide against Euro-communism.
4. Find out why Spain's transition from Franco to Juan Carlos, the Phillipines transition away from Marcos, Chile's purging of Pinochet SHOW THAT DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONS CAME FROM THE RIGHT and were, by and large, PEACEFUL.
5. LEFTIST REVOLUTIONS ARE BY NATURE VIOLENT.
6. You will learn about behind-the-scenes activities during the Reagan years that SYSTEMATICALLY WEAKENED SOVIET TOTALITARIANISM AND ROLLED BACK THE SOVIETS.
7. You learn why the modern American Democratic Party is, with a few exceptions, not equipped to manage American supremacy in the post-cold war world. The liberals signalled a full retreat to the extremes of neo-isolationism or humanitarian crusades. THE LIBERALS NEVER DEFEND AMERICA WHEN AMERICA FIGHTS FOR ITS INTERESTS.
8. You will learn how Bill Clinton, and, sad to say, George H.W. Bush, did not learn and apply the leadership of Ronald Reagan. Bush's leadership in the first Gulf War was good but an outgrowth of the Reagan buildup. BUT CLINTON WAS MUCH WORSE AND EVEN SIGNALLED WEAKNESS TO THE ENEMIES OF THE WORLDWIDE MOVEMENT TOWARD LIBERAL DEMOCRACY.
9. Ledeen offers answers, his "Contract with the World." Unlike so many writers, Ledeen offers this short, well-written strategy for the USA.
Ledeen's plan is an excellent anti-dote to the neo-isolationism of John Kerry, the meals-on-wheels dog-and pony foreign policy of Bill Clinton, and eternal State Department mush.
Book Description
At the height of the Algerian war, Jean-Paul Sartre embarked on a fundamental reappraisal of his philosophical and political thought. The result was the Critique of Dialectical Reason, an intellectual masterpiece of the twentieth century, now republished with a major original introduction by Fredric Jameson.
Here, Sartre began a new theory of history that he believed was necessary for postwar Marxism. His substantive concern was the structure of class struggle and the fate of the mass movements of popular revolt, from the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century to the Russian and Chinese revolutions in the twentieth.
Customer Reviews:
For Sartrists and Satirists.......2007-09-15
You must have read Being and Nothingness if you are considering this book so I won't describe Sartre's scholastic interest in preliminary formal considerations; as usual it takes up 3/4 of the total work. Sartre is also an imaginative writer, however, and his analyses of group terror, top-ten lists, and repectability (in vol 2) almost make up for it. I find Sartre's apparent devotion to Marxism troubling in an "objective" philosophical work, especially since the development of mass culuture has made Marx obsolete. In other words, I don't know why you would buy this book. It used to be tedious; now it's just interesting to specialists.
Sartre's last major philosophical work........2002-05-02
Seeking to give Marxism what Michael McGee called "a more rigorous intellectual defense," Sartre wrote volume one of Critique of Dialectical Reason (CDR) between 1957 & 1960; it was published in France in 1960. The first English edition appeared in 1976. A second, unfinished volume appeared posthumously in 1982.
CDR was a massive attempt to describe the dynamic of various levels of human interaction & what characterizes these levels, from a mere chance collection of people to the social entity we call an institution. The ultimate objective was to show why Marx's categorization of "class" as some kind of hyperorganism was wrong. Its thesis statement can be drawn from its thematic antecedent, Search for a Method: cultural order is irreducible to natural order.
In CDR, life was endless occasions of totalizations, detotalizations, & retotalizatons on a field of scarcity. These various totalizations were instances of human groupness, whether people waiting @the bus stop, a soccer team, or the "mob" storming the Bastille. We called the temporalization of events "history."
First half of the volume, or Book I, is devoted mainly to ennui-provoking explanation of the dialectical investigation: hidden there in a footnote was Sartre's curt dismissal of Darwinism. However, he got wound up in Book II & showed how task assignments, division of labor, & the institution came about.
I know of no other original study, treatise, or even novel that uses the themes & concepts of CDR. A CDR-oriented examination of, say, American domestic relations court proceedings (with its forced as opposed to mediated reciprocity) might be a worthy endeavor.
Product Description
The dramatic series of protests and political events that unfolded in Ukraine in the fall of 2004--the "Orange Revolution"--were seminal both for Ukrainian history and the history of democratization. Its effects have already been felt from Kyrgyzstan to Lebanon and are likely to travel even further. Yet few anticipated such a dramatic democratic breakthrough in Ukraine. Revolution in Orange is a pioneering effort to describe and explain the events leading up to and through December 2004 from authors who had on-the-ground experience interacting with the various Ukrainian, Western, and Russian dramatis personae of the Orange Revolution. The result is a highly readable, deeply informed, and insightful volume with lasting value as an explicator of this remarkable episode in the history of Ukraine and Eastern Europe.
Customer Reviews:
A divide steeped in history.......2007-04-17
This book goes a long way towards explaining the complexity of Ukraine, a nation that is divided in accepting or rejecting the different identities the world knows of it. Is it the craddle of Russian civilization that includes present day Ukraine, Russia and Belarus or is it the frontier(eastern Ukraine in particular) where eastern slavs (progenitors of Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusiians) escaped to from suppresive powers of overloards (Poland and Russian princes, or is it the center where a new set of Russians-western Ukriane (Ukrainians or Ruthenians or Little Russians) came into being from the amalgamation of foreign influnces (Polish, Lithanian, Slovakian, Austria,Hungaria etc)?
From Gogol's work-Taras Bulba, one can get a picture of how easterners view themselves as Ukrainians (orthodox,eastern slavonic who fraternalise with their other eastern slavonic brothers) and who have been prominent in Russian or east slavic history(Yermak, Krushchev, Breshnev etc). Moujik as a story gives a clearer picture of the divide. Two brothers in the same house with one brother stressing on their roots and those they share common roots with(east), and the other brother attaching importance to the influences picked up in the past(west)
Competent Academic Study.......2006-06-10
'Revolution in Orange' is the first book on the subject written for an academic audience. Particular interesting were the chapters on Russian and American influence on the events in 2004.
However, the chapter on the famous youth group 'Pora' was disappointing. The online history posted on Pora's website is at least as helpful.
Though this book will be of interest to researchers and academics, I would recommend Andrew Wilson's, 'Ukraine's Orange Revolution' for those looking for a more readable introduction.
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Thomas Paine and the Literature of Revolution
Edward Larkin
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521841151 |
Book Description
Thomas Paine has been celebrated for his role in persuading the American colonists to revolt against Britain and declare their independence. At the same time, however, scholars have generally dismissed his writings as propaganda. This book demonstrates that Paine was a skilled and sophisticated writer and thinker who transformed political literature in the late eighteenth century by creating a new literature of politics that bridged political philosophy and the everyday, common-sensical knowledge of ordinary people. The impact of this new political language would be remarkable as it energized a mass public to participate in the arena of politics, an arena from which they had been excluded.
Books:
- American Mourning: The Intimate Story of Two Families Joined by War, Torn by Beliefs
- Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History
- Aztec
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place
- Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History
- Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times
- Churchill's Cold War: The Politics of Personal Diplomacy
- Civil War 101: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the North, the South, the Leaders, the Battles, and the History
- Civilization Past & Present, Combined Volume (11th Edition) (MyHistoryLab Series)
- Contemporary Urban Planning (7th Edition)
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