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marlasmirkingrevenge's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
shhherald's review against another edition
5.0
Engels' level of clarity in writing is something I aspire to. For such a small volume, it accomplished so much. With respect to the book's objectives, the execution was flawless.
barium_squirrel's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
A very interesting little tract about 19th century communism. Some interesting highlights: Engels groups what we would today call facists, neoliberals, and democratic socialists together under the heading of socialists (and says all three groups are the enemy of communism). Engels defines "proletariat " as essentially unskilled workers who own no property. Skilled workers are defined as "handycraftsmen" and people who own property but live off of their own labor are "petty bourgeoisie". Engels imagines an ideal communist future as one in which there essentially is no skilled labor and anybody can do any job at any point in their career.
Very interesting to see how things have changed over the past 200 years or so
Very interesting to see how things have changed over the past 200 years or so
the_weirdling's review against another edition
4.0
This reads like the first ever FAQ on Communism, and in a way, that’s exactly what this is. For what it’s worth, I think this is actually a better introduction to Communism than the Communist Manifesto. I find Engles was often a better, clearer writer than his bestie, Karl.
benthewriter's review against another edition
4.0
It would be great if podcasters and people on social media or message boards would read this before they opined about communism or socialism and how they pertain to modern politics. It's also interesting to see where some of Engels's thinking is dated, and how intersectional feminist and anarchist thinkers have corrected many of his errors and managed to keep left-wing thought alive and relevant in the 21st century.