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rooafza's review against another edition
4.0
A history of Marx's thought that situates the genesis of his philosophy in the historical context of his time. The young Marx was inspired not only by the Parisian Communards but also from contemporary social reformers like Robert Owen and Henri de Saint Simon. Claeys charts the evolution of Marx's thought from Young Hegelianism to dialectical materialism via his fateful meeting with Engels. Marx's conception of alienation seems to be the most insightful component of his work and one that has enduring relevance. This combined with his detailed description of the process of enclosure are incredibly rigorous and are still material more so than his later work on the historical inevitability of communism which has a distinct millenarian/messianic flavour. The author makes sure to mention his over-confidence and stubbornness especially in debates with fellow leftists(Bakunin etc). His under emphasis of the idea of meaningful democratic opposition within a future worker's state combined with his disdain for the rural peasantry were fatal conceits that(likely) lead to the horrific authoritarian excesses in the Soviet Union and China. Most insightful was the section on "Conversions" wherein the reasons for the universal appeal of Marxism are discussed. It is notable that a philosophy that was primarily for the emancipation of the urban proletariat held such wide purchase among intellectuals.
Claeys likens Marxism to a kind of 'gnostic' knowledge that teased potential believers with the promise of power, prospective converts with the promise of justice. It offered the allure of being scientific, modern and on the side of history.
The latter half of the book is a catalogue of the litany of failures of the various Marxist projects of the 20th century. Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolshevists are especially targeted for criticism for their opportunistic vanguardism and their role in normalizing mass terror and authoritarian bureaucracies that set the tone for the successor movements that drew inspiration from them. The dream of a humanist and democratic communist state seems to have ended at Kronstadt in 1921. The rehabilitation of Marx in the Frankfurt School in the United States and among the French Existentialists is briefly noted.
Overall, a good critical introduction to Marx's body of work and a fair assessment of his lasting legacy.
"..the system it presented appealed primarily because of a mesmerizing combination of simplicity and complexity. The educated were alternatively challenged, delighted and perplexed by a new language brimming with concepts that flattered them"
Claeys likens Marxism to a kind of 'gnostic' knowledge that teased potential believers with the promise of power, prospective converts with the promise of justice. It offered the allure of being scientific, modern and on the side of history.
It was a culmination of both History and Philosophy that was a 'total' worldview that purported to answer every question. The 'rationalism' that pervaded it with was the inevitable outcome of a nineteenth century scientific worldview taken to its logical conclusion.
The latter half of the book is a catalogue of the litany of failures of the various Marxist projects of the 20th century. Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolshevists are especially targeted for criticism for their opportunistic vanguardism and their role in normalizing mass terror and authoritarian bureaucracies that set the tone for the successor movements that drew inspiration from them. The dream of a humanist and democratic communist state seems to have ended at Kronstadt in 1921. The rehabilitation of Marx in the Frankfurt School in the United States and among the French Existentialists is briefly noted.
Overall, a good critical introduction to Marx's body of work and a fair assessment of his lasting legacy.
curiouskey's review against another edition
4.0
Strong introduction to early socialism and Marx, very weak discussion of Marxism after Marx.
jpowerj's review against another edition
4.0
Hm... tbh it's somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. 4 stars for clear and straightforward explanations of the different "phases" of Marx's life and of Marxism after his death, but 3 stars for... basically being at best a compressed version of "Main Currents of Marxism" and at worst a paraphrase of McLellan's "Marx Before Marxism" and "Marxism After Marx"?
ghost_java's review against another edition
5.0
I’m not gonna pretend that I’ve read a ton of Marx introductions or anything but I found this to be incredibly informative
morgan_blackledge's review against another edition
5.0
This book reads like a Mr. Toads wild ride featuring: the bullet point basics of Marxist thinking and theory, mini biographies of Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Ho Chi Min, and more, as well as post-it note histories of Marxist revolutions, Marxist states, and the myriad atrocities, including mass murder, and famine etc. committed under their sanction.
It sounds ridiculous to cover all of that in one volume, but it’s so well done, that it ends up being a bountiful feast of nutritious food for thought.
My personal history with Marxism goes back to my earliest childhood.
My parents were 1960’s era radicals.
We lived in a commune.
My mom went to Cuba to support the revolution when I was a baby.
My dad was an activist Marxist professor (aka drug dealer) at the University of Illinois during the summer of love.
My family harbored Marxist revolutionaries from domestic and international organizations in our home throughout the 60s and 70s.
Then the 80s happened.
My dad went to work at GM after he got out of prison, and my mom ditched politics for psychotherapy and new age spirituality.
We moved to Lansing Michigan, a rust belt university/factory town, where academic Marxism and trade unionism were as abundant as filthy muddy snow and opaque gray overcast
It sounds ridiculous to cover all of that in one volume, but it’s so well done, that it ends up being a bountiful feast of nutritious food for thought.
My personal history with Marxism goes back to my earliest childhood.
My parents were 1960’s era radicals.
We lived in a commune.
My mom went to Cuba to support the revolution when I was a baby.
My dad was an activist Marxist professor (aka drug dealer) at the University of Illinois during the summer of love.
My family harbored Marxist revolutionaries from domestic and international organizations in our home throughout the 60s and 70s.
Then the 80s happened.
My dad went to work at GM after he got out of prison, and my mom ditched politics for psychotherapy and new age spirituality.
We moved to Lansing Michigan, a rust belt university/factory town, where academic Marxism and trade unionism were as abundant as filthy muddy snow and opaque gray overcast