Marx

Marxism as political, social, and esthetic systems= dud.

I remember my friend who's big into economics once explained to me why it is; I'll get back to you on it. I also remember K. R. Popper talking about how "labour power" is exactly the sort of metaphysical obfuscation that Marx supposedly opposes.

I know, I know: fortunately the Versailles bourgeoisie had the good sense to knock some sense into the Communards by killing the fuck out of them!

As for divisions in society, plenty of thinkers since have dealt with these issues without opting for narrow economic determinism or seeing complete overthrow of the system as the only solution. Granted, they might not have been doing it if Groucho hadn't got there first.

"if the only way you address the pope is in latin, don't be surprised if they behave how a person spoken to in latin normally behaves; by replying in latin."

"if the only way you cook collard greens is with ham, don't be surprised if they taste like how things cooked with ham normally taste; delicious."

"if the only way you read a book is right side up, don't be surprised if the text isn't upside down."

"if the only way you count is with ordinal numbers, don't be surprised if you never reach a fraction."

(also groucho was for total overthrow of the system -- closing scenes of night at the opera to thread!)

Actually, this is approaching my point. What reasons is there, besides some Hegelian bollocks, to believe that a dictatorship of the proletariat would put an end to the fundamental causes of class war?

"what reason is there besides some philosophy junk is there to believe that getting rid of sweet and low will get rid of cancer caused by sweet and low?"

"what reason is there besides some crazy 'science' to believe that getting rid of hiv will get rid of aids?"

"what reason is there..."

are the proletariat themselves not creating a division of labour when they elect leaders?

otherwise we'd be like all "omg its the blondes and the brunettes engaged in class warfare, and the people who are between 5'8" and 5'10" are against them ALL"

i thought division of labour is the whole reasons we aren't still living in communes
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01a.htm#a2

is marx even a philosopher? also STOP GETTING MARX WRONG -- ie STFU about "dialectical matrerialism", kautsky-boy.

Coming from a sociological rather than economic background, however, I dig the neo-Marxist vibe, big up to the Gramsci massive and Jock Young before he got kinda reactionary.

it is interesting that this happened on radio 4, i think. i mean surely you'd expect someone more middle-class-friendly (soulful despair, or its flipside), like sartre or nietzsche, or hep like foucault (again, is he really a philosopher?), or even zizek.

He was much more, errrrrrrrrr, concerned with women all round

he's not a very good one. i still don't get how anyone living in the 21st century can take this shit seriously

(weber and durkheim aren't philosophers either.)

(engage, why don't you? are all sociologists philosophers?)

i don't really think engaging with you is going too fruitious

i don't really think engaging with you is going to be too fruitious

Oh, and as for the snarky Engels comment above that, then, um, have you actually explored any of his proto-feminist (obviously the phrasing here is too hyperbolic) work? Don't let personal proclivities get in the way of the generation of positive ideas.

https://www.google.com/maps/@17.7526091,-92.5896344,3a,75y,308.45h,79.45t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sbUAWM_73P8fiXn63g1qNfg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D10.551180212762446%26panoid%3DbUAWM_73P8fiXn63g1qNfg%26yaw%3D308.45181178258775!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgxMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

The whole street is a mural extravaganza

funny this popped up...doing a first read through of Capital now, after finishing the Grundrisse a few months ago (yes I read the Grundrisse first for some reason).

While looking up replacement brushes for my Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush I decided to look up the history of the Philips company as I've always wondered why a Dutch company appears to have an English name. I didn't find that out but instead found out that the father of the founder of the company was a first cousin of Karl Marx and that his grandfather, Lion Philips, was a major financial supporter of Marx and a close friend of his.

ryan, are you reading the new translation?

Yes I am! Never read the old penguin one but I have it. Some chapters are in a slightly different order apparently as well—since they are going off the second German edition. Taking a pause after chapter 5 and reading a bit of David Harvey’s Companion to Capital.

nice. been wondering about the new translation. I read about half of the penguin and stalled out (was part of a three-person reading group that fell apart) and have been pondering picking up the new one as a means to re-start. I liked the Harvey quite a bit though my real-deal marxist scholar friend has some problem with him that I do not fully understand