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ethsteele's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I don't know if the very informal nature of the writing does much to make the ideas particularly clear, but there are flickers of inspiration and insight that are delivered in a plain-speaking way and are therefore very valuable
aally_ddenford's review against another edition
4.0
i liked it. i wanted to learn more about Marx and this was the perfect introduction. relevant to me, easy to understand, and engaging. made me want to keep learning!!
junypaganmd's review against another edition
1.0
Meh. El libro simplemente no logró conectar conmigo. Aunque mis inclinaciones políticas abarcan un amplio espectro, incluyendo elementos de ideologías de izquierda como el socialismo, el marxismo e incluso ciertos aspectos del comunismo, no encontré lo que buscaba en este libro. Tampoco aprendí nada nuevo, y el estilo de escritura y el tono aplicado a este tema no fueron de mi agrado. No cabe duda de que la autora tiene un toque de humor que me gustó, pero a pesar de ello no pude continuar y tuve que dejarlo en el quinto capítulo.
Tal vez retome la lectura más adelante. Por ahora este libro no es para mí.
Tal vez retome la lectura más adelante. Por ahora este libro no es para mí.
nicolajoy's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first official foray into Marxist thought, but probably not my last. The book was funny and interesting, and I think the author did an excellent job of explaining Marxist concepts in an accessible way. I'm eager to follow her encouragement to read more, analyse critically, and dream of how we win this world for the 99%.
bootman's review against another edition
5.0
Hot damn, this is one of my new favorite books on Marxism and socialism. If you’re a capitalist, calm down. The reality is that 90% of people who discuss this have no clue what it means or what it’s about. I’ve read a ton of books on the topic, and Helen Razer is the first person to break it down in a way that makes sense and that anyone can understand. So, even if you walk away from this book disagreeing with socialist ideas, at least you’ll have a proper explanation of it.
Aside from that, for someone like me who would love for the United States to adopt democratic socialism, this book as the best I’ve read. Helen Razer not only breaks down so many issues with capitalism and how broken it is, but it’s hilarious from start to finish. I listened to the audiobook, and Razer has the ability to keep you engaged throughout. She helped me better understand idealism vs materialism as well as some other topics that have confused the hell out of me in these discussions.
I’m going to recommend this book to everyone I know who wants to learn more about the topic and how capitalism is screwing all of us. Even as someone who agreed with most of the book, there are a couple of spots where Helen and I have different opinions, but that’s alright. We need to have more discussions about this because the reality is that a lot of people in capitalist nations are miserable, and we can do something about it.
Aside from that, for someone like me who would love for the United States to adopt democratic socialism, this book as the best I’ve read. Helen Razer not only breaks down so many issues with capitalism and how broken it is, but it’s hilarious from start to finish. I listened to the audiobook, and Razer has the ability to keep you engaged throughout. She helped me better understand idealism vs materialism as well as some other topics that have confused the hell out of me in these discussions.
I’m going to recommend this book to everyone I know who wants to learn more about the topic and how capitalism is screwing all of us. Even as someone who agreed with most of the book, there are a couple of spots where Helen and I have different opinions, but that’s alright. We need to have more discussions about this because the reality is that a lot of people in capitalist nations are miserable, and we can do something about it.
mothmans_mum's review against another edition
5.0
Hilarious and astute political observations and an excellent introduction to Marxist theory for anyone who wants to change the world.
elizaeliza's review against another edition
5.0
A very enjoyable, thought-provoking read for anyone who has a beef with capitalism (this really should be almost everyone). I'm a good 10+ years post arts degree, and needed a bit of a sharpen up on all of the concepts discussed, there really wasn't one dud chapter in this whole book, and many times when I passed it over to my partner with an urgent, "Start here, read this, it's what we were sort of talking about the other day but, like, well said." Read it, read it soon. If your bookclub loved "The Wife Drought" then next time it's time to do a non-fiction read, step it up with this book, you won't be disappointed.
PS Do not try to read any decluttering/minimalism/budgeting books for a good few months after this, they will cause you to seethe - Really capitalism? You'd like me to do more with less? You think I'm alienated from/by my stuff because I'm just not organised enough...
PS Do not try to read any decluttering/minimalism/budgeting books for a good few months after this, they will cause you to seethe - Really capitalism? You'd like me to do more with less? You think I'm alienated from/by my stuff because I'm just not organised enough...
sarsaparillo's review against another edition
4.0
Having studied computer science and worked in the entertainment industry, I've had to learn history, economics and politics via ad-hoc and extracurricular means. I'm catching up, but gaping holes remain, and one of those holes was Marx-shaped. So when I saw that Helen Razer had written an accessible book about his thought, I dropped everything and immediately started waiting for the self-narrated audiobook, of which this is a review.
I have faint but fond teenage memories of Razer's hilarious exasperated rants on triplej, and have recently been enjoying her tweets, and the first couple of paragraphs in her Crikey articles above the paywall... wait a sec - I just checked her Wikipedia page and realised that she is turning 50 as I write these very words. Happy birthday Helen!! (balloon emoji)
This book delivered on my expectations for both distilled theory and ranty exasperation. As a not-quite-millennial my growing awareness of economic precariousness came less at the entering-the-workforce phase and more at the worrying-about-my-kids phase. As such at some points in this book I was feeling almost sick at the state of the world as described therein. It's quite a comedown after reading Pinker's excellent, if rose-tinted, Enlightenment Now recently.
I'm not now a convert, but this book gave me much better impression of Marx, I think in particular because Razer focuses more on his economic and social theory and how it relates to capitalism as it manifests in the modern world. She refers to capitalism's coming decline and the inevitable need for state smashing but doesn't go into detail about how exactly that's supposed to happen. So, not a lot of history nor blueprints for revolution, but it's not a big book and it's pretty up front about this.
I found myself at the end with a lot of nagging questions. Why can't capitalists keep growing their profits with ever more efficient robots? I didn't quite understand why human labour is key to profit growth, or is it that you need at least some solvent employed humans to consume the products? This is a technicality I guess, clearly something is unsustainable about growing automation and the need to keep everyone employed for their survival.
Something about capitalism - or free markets - has been very successful, and not just for the elite. I'd rather live now than before the industrial revolution. But I'm not sure exactly what it is. There's a baby there among the disposable capitalistic bathwater. I guess what I'm wondering is how collective ownership of the means of production would practically work on a global scale. I'm sure other authors have covered this, but if Razer is considering a sequel, this would make an interesting discussion, though necessarily much more speculative. This book does come with a generous list of further reading recommendations though.
There's a lot more to this book to make it worth the read, including fresh tangents into the Trump phenomenon and feminism. It's also disarmingly personal, bleak, sweary and funny.
If like me you find it comforting to try to understand what on earth is going on right now by reading a wide variety of perspectives, add this Marxist one to your list.
I have faint but fond teenage memories of Razer's hilarious exasperated rants on triplej, and have recently been enjoying her tweets, and the first couple of paragraphs in her Crikey articles above the paywall... wait a sec - I just checked her Wikipedia page and realised that she is turning 50 as I write these very words. Happy birthday Helen!! (balloon emoji)
This book delivered on my expectations for both distilled theory and ranty exasperation. As a not-quite-millennial my growing awareness of economic precariousness came less at the entering-the-workforce phase and more at the worrying-about-my-kids phase. As such at some points in this book I was feeling almost sick at the state of the world as described therein. It's quite a comedown after reading Pinker's excellent, if rose-tinted, Enlightenment Now recently.
I'm not now a convert, but this book gave me much better impression of Marx, I think in particular because Razer focuses more on his economic and social theory and how it relates to capitalism as it manifests in the modern world. She refers to capitalism's coming decline and the inevitable need for state smashing but doesn't go into detail about how exactly that's supposed to happen. So, not a lot of history nor blueprints for revolution, but it's not a big book and it's pretty up front about this.
I found myself at the end with a lot of nagging questions. Why can't capitalists keep growing their profits with ever more efficient robots? I didn't quite understand why human labour is key to profit growth, or is it that you need at least some solvent employed humans to consume the products? This is a technicality I guess, clearly something is unsustainable about growing automation and the need to keep everyone employed for their survival.
Something about capitalism - or free markets - has been very successful, and not just for the elite. I'd rather live now than before the industrial revolution. But I'm not sure exactly what it is. There's a baby there among the disposable capitalistic bathwater. I guess what I'm wondering is how collective ownership of the means of production would practically work on a global scale. I'm sure other authors have covered this, but if Razer is considering a sequel, this would make an interesting discussion, though necessarily much more speculative. This book does come with a generous list of further reading recommendations though.
There's a lot more to this book to make it worth the read, including fresh tangents into the Trump phenomenon and feminism. It's also disarmingly personal, bleak, sweary and funny.
If like me you find it comforting to try to understand what on earth is going on right now by reading a wide variety of perspectives, add this Marxist one to your list.