tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post4338918664680212994..comments2024-03-29T03:19:09.227-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: IT HAS TO GET WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTERRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-945278674856672752011-04-01T16:47:19.186-04:002011-04-01T16:47:19.186-04:00I have to confess,l I have not been impressed with...I have to confess,l I have not been impressed with Eagleton's work, but perhaps he has written a good book.Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-44400770568919500592011-04-01T15:11:50.126-04:002011-04-01T15:11:50.126-04:00Thought you, RPW, might be interested in this new ...Thought you, RPW, might be interested in this new book:<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Why-Marx-Right-Terry-Eagleton/dp/0300169434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301684694&sr=8-1Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-145954372144518502011-04-01T13:16:42.229-04:002011-04-01T13:16:42.229-04:00Of course. I was simply talking about the change ...Of course. I was simply talking about the change in the tone between the writing of the Manifesto [1848] and the publication of CAPITAL [1867].Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-61565915867915763812011-04-01T12:38:47.098-04:002011-04-01T12:38:47.098-04:00Forgive me if I am wrong Professor, but didn't...Forgive me if I am wrong Professor, but didn't revolutions take place throughout Europe in the early part of the 20th century?<br />Hungarian Revolution 1919<br />German Revolution 1919<br />British Mutinies of Russian Civil War 1918-22<br />General Strike UK 1926(almost led to revolution) and then there was the Paris Commune of 1871.<br />Europe and the world could have been so very very different had they succeededNotHobbeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09443644930695303411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-32702646251730257962011-04-01T10:53:56.578-04:002011-04-01T10:53:56.578-04:00I think that evaluation is right. Remember that t...I think that evaluation is right. Remember that the Manifesto was written just before the explosions of 1848. Their failure must surely have powerfully influenced Marx's estimate of the near-term possibility of revolutionary change. Among other things, it led him, I believe, to give up the view that capitalist social relations are transparently exploitative, and instead argue for the deeply mystified character of capitalism -- which is nineteenth century Hegel-speak for the sort of thing Chomsky is saying now [with some deep analysis thrown in by Marx.]Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-4160437985072344342011-04-01T10:13:45.598-04:002011-04-01T10:13:45.598-04:00Enjoyed the post quite a bit, despite the mildly m...Enjoyed the post quite a bit, despite the mildly morose reality.<br /><br />Having just finished Capital, it seems to me to be less certain than the Manifesto. In the Manifesto there's no doubt there's a feeling of imminent destruction of the Capitalist mode of production. However, in Capital, when Marx warns of the capitalist laws of motion, and how they'll lead to immiseration and possible resolution, he offers numerous caveats. Certain variables like rents, and taxation are to be ignored and/or considered constant. In my opinion, from my one reading, it seems as if old Marx was less certain of the immediacy of destruction that he was certain of years before...And there's no doubt liberals, such as Keynes, have done their best to adapt to the variables Marx offered as caveats.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-31337494536461530402011-04-01T08:07:19.706-04:002011-04-01T08:07:19.706-04:00Andrew, welcome, old friend. Is that really true ...Andrew, welcome, old friend. Is that really true about Bernays? Extraordinary! Sometimes I think there are only about sixty five people in the world, and they are all connected somehow.Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-65736850173666390772011-04-01T07:42:21.781-04:002011-04-01T07:42:21.781-04:00I'm always struck by the similarity and analog...I'm always struck by the similarity and analogy between Marxism, which seems so right, and Christianity, which seems so wrong. The latter is said to have no future because it is an illusion, and the former seems to have no future because of the myriad of illusions generated by the capitalist marketing machine. Surely, one of the great ironies of history is that a key founder of marketing, Edward Louis Bernays, was Freud's nephew.Andrew Lionel Blaishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01976034095806583387noreply@blogger.com