Essential Writings of Friedrich Engels

Essential Writings of Friedrich Engels
Author: Friedrich Engels
Publisher:
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2011-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781610010030

A selection of writings from Friedrich Engels. Socialism, Utopian and Scientific; The Principles of Communism; The Part Played by Labour in the Transition From Ape to Man; Ludwig Feuerbach and the end of Classical German Philosophy; and The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State.

Socialism the Active Utopia (Routledge Revivals)

Socialism the Active Utopia (Routledge Revivals)
Author: Zygmunt Bauman
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2009-11-18
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1136999493

Rather than contributing to the long-standing discussion about the characteristics of the society that socialism proposes to establish, this Routledge Revival, initially published in 1976, aims to explore the impact of the ‘living utopia’ of socialism on the development of modern society. It begins with an analysis of the role of utopia in general, and of the socialist utopia in particular; Bauman considers the opposition between ‘utopian’ and ‘scientific’ social thought; He presents socialism as the ‘counter-culture’ of capitalist society; The book finally examines the reasons for the failure of socialism in its application to the peasant revolution in Russia. It then explores some possible forms that the socialist utopia might take in the industrial societies of the late twentieth century. Professor Bauman writes for those who want to understand the logic of the historical fate of socialism in the present century, who are concerned about the validity and vitality of socialist ideas on the development of modern society, and who are interested, and perhaps confused, by the cultural and ideological conflicts of the last few decades.

The Relevance of the Communist Manifesto

The Relevance of the Communist Manifesto
Author: Slavoj Zizek
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 23
Release: 2019-02-25
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1509536124

No other Marxist text has come close to achieving the fame and influence of The Communist Manifesto. Translated into over 100 languages, this clarion call to the workers of the world radically shaped the events of the twentieth century. But what relevance does it have for us today? In this slim book Slavoj Zizek argues that, while exploitation no longer occurs the way Marx described it, it has by no means disappeared; on the contrary, the profit once generated through the exploitation of workers has been transformed into rent appropriated through the privatization of the ‘general intellect’. Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have become extremely wealthy not because they are exploiting their workers but because they are appropriating the rent for allowing millions of people to participate in the new form of the ‘general intellect’ that they own and control. But, even if Marx’s analysis can no longer be applied to our contemporary world of global capitalism without significant revision, the fundamental problem with which he was concerned, the problem of the commons in all its dimensions – the commons of nature, the cultural commons, and the commons as the universal space of humanity from which no one should be excluded – remains as relevant as ever. This timely reflection on the enduring relevance of The Communist Manifesto will be of great value to everyone interested in the key questions of radical politics today.

Heaven on Earth

Heaven on Earth
Author: Joshua Muravchik
Publisher: Encounter Books
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 1893554783

"The search for the Promised Land took socialists in diverse directions: revolution, communes and kibbutzim, social democracy, communism, fascism, Third Worldism. But none of these paths led to the prophesied utopia. Nowhere did socialists succeed in creating societies of easy abundance or in midwifing the birth of a "New Man," as their theory promised. Some socialist governments abandoned their grandiose goals and satisfied themselves with making slight modifications to capitalism, while others plowed ahead doggedly, often inducing staggering human catastrophes. Then, after two hundred years of wishful thinking and fitful governance, socialism suddenly imploded in the 1990s in a fin du siecle drama of falling walls, collapsing regimes and frantic revisions of doctrine."--BOOK JACKET.

The Struggle for a Better World

The Struggle for a Better World
Author: Peter J Boettke
Publisher:
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2021-02-22
Genre:
ISBN: 9781942951872

In The Struggle for a Better World, Peter J. Boettke explores how the social sciences, and political economy in particular, help us understand society and its institutions of governance. Boettke advances an approach for understanding, articulating, and pursuing a coherent and consistent vision of a society of free and responsible individuals who may prosper through voluntary participation in the market and their communities. In this volume, a collection of addresses, lectures, and papers over the past two decades, Boettke articulates ideas which, if consistently pursued, can help fulfill liberalism's emancipatory promise to advance human flourishing and overcome adversity caused by economic, social, and political injustice and repression. Boettke advocates for liberal cosmopolitanism, grounded in the principles of equality, justice, and liberty, and the basic recognition that all people are dignified equals, as the best hope for a better world.

Red Star

Red Star
Author: Alexander Bogdanov
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 1984-06-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 025301350X

“An Earth-man’s journey to the planet Mars, where he is treated to a wondrous vision of a communist future, complete with flying cars and 3D color movies.” —Wonders & Marvels A communist society on Mars, the Russian revolution, and class struggle on two planets is the subject of this arresting science fiction novel by Alexander Bogdanov (1873–1928), one of the early organizers and prophets of the Russian Bolshevik party. The red star is Mars, but it is also the dream set to paper of the society that could emerge on earth after the dual victory of the socialist and scientific-technical revolutions. While portraying a harmonious and rational socialist society, Bogdanov sketches out the problems that will face industrialized nations, whether socialist or capitalist. “[A] surprisingly moving story.” —The New Yorker “The contemporary reader will marvel at [Bogdanov’s] foresight: nuclear fusion and propulsion, atomic weaponry and fallout, computers, blood transfusions, and (almost) unisexuality.” —Choice “Bogdanov’s novels reveal a great deal about their fascinating author, about his time and, ironically, ours, and about the genre of utopia as well as his contribution to it.” —Slavic Review

Das Kapital

Das Kapital
Author: Karl Marx
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2012-03-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1596987995

One of the most notorious works of modern times, as well as one of the most influential, Capital is an incisive critique of private property and the social relations it generates. Living in exile in England, where this work was largely written, Marx drew on a wide-ranging knowledge of its society to support his analysis and generate fresh insights. Arguing that capitalism would create an ever-increasing division in wealth and welfare, he predicted its abolition and replacement by a system with common ownership of the means of production. Capital rapidly acquired readership among the leaders of social democratic parties, particularly in Russia and Germany, and ultimately throughout the world, to become a work described by Marx's friend and collaborator Friedrich Engels as 'the Bible of the Working Class'.

Looking Backward: 2000-1887

Looking Backward: 2000-1887
Author: Edward Bellamy
Publisher:
Total Pages: 140
Release: 2013-08-13
Genre: Utopias
ISBN: 9781492149248

Looking Backward: 2000-1887 is a utopian science fiction novel by Edward Bellamy, a lawyer and writer from Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts; it was first published in 1887. According to Erich Fromm, Looking Backward is "one of the most remarkable books ever published in America".

A New Model of Socialism

A New Model of Socialism
Author: Bruno Jossa
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: Employee ownership
ISBN: 9781788117821

A New Model of Socialism focuses on the current crisis of the political Left, a result of the collapse of the Soviet model of society and the decline of statism and kingship. Bruno Jossa expands on existing theories to explore Marx's notions on economic democracy in a modern setting. He advocates a move away from the centralised planning form of economic socialism towards a self-management system for firms that does not prioritise the interests of one class over another, in order to achieve greater economic democracy. It is argued that the establishment of such a system of democratic firms is the precondition for reducing intervention in the economy, thus enabling the State to perform its ultimate function of serving the public interest.