Scan barcode
carlosmartinez's review against another edition
4.0
A useful book, albeit a somewhat strangely structured one.
The first half provides an overview of the ancient silk road and the interactions (over the course of 2,000 years) between China, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe. This fascinating history is connected with current developments: the re-birth of China as a major power; the Belt and Road project; and the disputes in the South China Sea.
The second half is more a potted history of the British working class and its struggles for better conditions, representation and pay. It's all perfectly interesting and well-written, although it's slightly startling that the author manages to paint Marx as a pro-colonialist reformist. It's amazing what you can do with selective quoting. In the early part of his political life, Marx wrote about the positive impact of colonialism on feudal societies (particularly India), but he transitioned to a much more militantly anti-colonial standpoint over the course of his forty years of study. As for reformism, while he may have privately thought that the Paris Commune was doomed to failure, he didn't hesitate in most of his other political writings to encourage the working class to sieze power.
The first half provides an overview of the ancient silk road and the interactions (over the course of 2,000 years) between China, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe. This fascinating history is connected with current developments: the re-birth of China as a major power; the Belt and Road project; and the disputes in the South China Sea.
The second half is more a potted history of the British working class and its struggles for better conditions, representation and pay. It's all perfectly interesting and well-written, although it's slightly startling that the author manages to paint Marx as a pro-colonialist reformist. It's amazing what you can do with selective quoting. In the early part of his political life, Marx wrote about the positive impact of colonialism on feudal societies (particularly India), but he transitioned to a much more militantly anti-colonial standpoint over the course of his forty years of study. As for reformism, while he may have privately thought that the Paris Commune was doomed to failure, he didn't hesitate in most of his other political writings to encourage the working class to sieze power.
More...