2, The Golden Age. [9], Main Currents of Marxism has been praised by authors such as the philosophers A. J. Ayer, Roger Scruton, and John Gray, the conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr., and the political scientists Charles R. Kesler and David McLellan. In some sense, Main Currents of Marxism represents the major life’s work of Leszek Kolakowski and the culmina- tion of the path that began much earlier, in the.
This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. By the time I had reached the third book I coincidentally was re-visiting Poland for the first time since the Berlin Wall had fallen. [15] Smith wrote that while Main Currents of Marxism is "written by a deeply disabused Polish ex-Marxist intellectual", it is "an invaluable history across an extended range. Check out the top books of the year on our page Best Books of Towards the end Kolakowski performs an exegesis that postulates how the rather nebulous political underpinnings of Marxism would allow an adherent to steer the socialist ship towards a despotic berth; that its reliance on Hegelian dialectic and the negation of negations would allow future scholars to create their own symbiosis of the Marxist tenets, taking them in unanticipated – but entirely foreseeable – and disastrous directions. [31][32] The book was also reviewed by William P. Collins in The Journal of Politics,[33] the political scientist Michael Harrington in The New Republic,[34] Ken Plumme in Sociology,[35] the philosopher Marx W. Wartofsky in Praxis International,[36] and the historian Tony Judt in The New York Review of Books. First of all, Leszek Ko³akowski was a superb intellectual, philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analysis of Marxist thought, especially his acclaimed three-volume history, Main Currents of Marxism. I did need to read Kolakowski. The reason for the disjunction is that the book was originally issued in three volumes, each one being the size of a normal book. Simply the best objective analysis and evaluation of Marx and Engels I've read by a long shot. It was first published in Polish in Paris inwith the English translation appearing in There was currentss problem filtering reviews right now. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. [30] The book received negative reviews from the sociologist Barry Hindess in The Sociological Review and the sociologist Ralph Miliband in Political Studies. Unfortunately, after he emigrated to the U.S. from his temporary home of England he gradually became more and more conservative, but this book is pretty much straightforward. He also discusses the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. GABY VARGAS COMUNICATE CAUTIVA Y CONVENCE PDF. "[7], According to Kołakowski, Main Currents of Marxism was written in Polish between 1968 and 1976, at a time when it was impossible to publish the work in Communist ruled Poland. He wrote that while Kołakowski's work contained occasional factual errors or dubious interpretations, there were remarkably few of them considering its length. He reaffirmed the value of Marxism as an area of study despite the end of European communism, and suggested that a future revival of Marxism and communism, though far from certain, was still possible.
He then gives an exposition of Marxist thought based on the writings of Marx and Engels. In some sense, Main Currents of Marxism represents the major life’s work of Leszek Kolakowski and the culmina- tion of the path that began much earlier, in the. Main Currents of Marxism remains the indispensable book in its field. Translated from the Polish by P. But Kolakowski reminds us of what Marxism became in the 20th-century and how easily what began as a call for justice became a system that destroyed tens of millions of lives and left easte A brilliant history of Marxism, from its founders through the disintegration of Marxist thought in the early s. But it is a caricature and a bogus form of religion, since it presents its temporal eschatology as a scientific system, which religious mythologies do not purport to be. [37], Blaug considered the book "brilliant" and important to the social sciences. My only criticism of his approach, which reflects his Polish background, is the heavy handed contempt that he attributes to Marxism/Leninism and its resultant growth into Stalinism. Leszek Kolakowski was to the study of Marxism what Gibbon was to the study of the Roman Empire, what Darwin was to the study of evolutionary biology, and what Einstein was to the study of general relativity. In some sense, Main Currents of Marxism represents the major life’s work of Leszek Kolakowski and the culmina- tion of the path that began much earlier, in the. He criticized Kołakowski's lack of sympathy for Marxism, and argued that he focused on Marxist writers only insofar as they could be considered philosophers and distorted Marxism by giving insufficient attention to Marxist economists, historians, and social scientists. But Kolakowski reminds us of what Marxism became in the 20th-century and how easily what began as a call for justice became a system that destroyed tens of millions of lives and left eastern Europe and Russia in economic ruins. Va da sé quindi che quella proposta in questo volume non è assolutamente un'interpretazione "generosa" della storia dei marxismi (e a dire il vero neanche con il socialismo democratico o non marxista), l'autore cerca di collegare con un filo rosso "totalitario" le primissime radici filosofiche hegeliane con il leninismo, il "marxismo-leninismo" (ovvero lo stalinismo) dottrina ufficiale del blocco sovietico, e addirittura la teoria critica della scuola di Francoforte; fornendo sempre l'interpretazione in grado di condannare più radicalmente il marxismo e i marxisti, senza distinzione tra moderati e radicali, revisionisti e ortodossi (una certa pietà è dimostrata solo nei confronti di Bernstein e di parti del pensiero luxemburghiano). Kołakowski criticizes dialectical materialism, arguing that it consists partly of truisms with no specific Marxist content, partly of philosophical dogmas, partly of nonsense, and partly of statements that could be any of these things depending on how they are interpreted. If you read one book on the history of political philosophy, let it be this one. So this can be used to throw poo on everyone who ever came in contact with Lukasz, too! Non potrebbe essere altrimenti, data la biografia dell'autore: polacco, passa da comunista ortodosso a comunista dissidente dopo aver toccato con mano la ripugnante realtà della Russia stalinista durante un viaggio ufficiale; da dissidente sviluppa un'interessante visione umanistica del marxismo duramente avversa allo stalinismo (che in Italia susciterà una certa euforia negli ambienti della sinistra critica verso il PCI) e di conseguenza viene perseguitato dal regime polacco, licenziato e bandito a vita dall'Accademia.
This is gripping scholarship. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Main Currents of Marxism: The Founders, the Golden Age, the Breakdown by Leszek Kołakowski. Not for the faint of heart. However he believed that, due to his background as a philosopher, Kołakowski treated Marxism primarily in philosophical and political terms, thereby distorting the pivotal role of economic theory in Marxism. Leszek Kolakowski was the first recipient of the million-dollar John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and he is the recipient of the 2007 Jerusalem Prize. From philosopher Leszek Kolakowski, one of the giants of twentieth-century intellectual history, comes this highly infuential study of Marxism. He also praised Kołakowski's discussion of Marxism's economic foundations, and his critique of the labor theory of value. While this is a book where skipping sections is justifiable, this is the book I'd probably recommend to anybody looking to understand Marxism. This concludes with an intensive examination of the work and career of Lenin, who is presented as a mediocre thinker but an extremely successful founder of the cult that founded the Soviet state. Its three volumes in English are: 1: The Founders, II: The Golden Age, and III: The Breakdown.
The work was intended to be a "handbook" on Marxism by Kołakowski, who was once an orthodox Marxist but ultimately rejected Marxism. There can be no worldwide, worker's Utopia because man is inherently exploitive and, to believe otherwise, is sheer folly. Please try again. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. [28], Joravsky saw the book as a continuation of arguments over Marxism that Kołakowski had previously engaged in while a member of the Communist Party of Poland. He considered Kołakowski better at describing than criticizing Marxism, and criticized him for over-relying on Böhm von Bawerk's critique of Marx's theory of value. This big book deserves a big review, but I ain't got it in me. Whilst this book is certainly worth reading for an history of Marxist philosophy (albeit skipping over much of the later Soviet and non-European canon), the reader should be very careful before swallowing all of the author's opinions.
I can't read this entire book since it's a huge tome and deeply philosophical which isn't my forte. Written in exile, this. To read Kolakowski's third book on the ugly reality of Marxism from Stalin onward, whilst seeing the contrast of a free and vibrant Poland compared to the soviet nightmare I remembered from my childhood was truly a spiritual experience. He considered Kołakowski lacking in detachment, and criticized him for not considering alternatives to his view that Marx's thought was a philosophical anthropology settled in its essential features by the time of The German Ideology, and for relying on "the notion of totalitarianism", which he considered "worthless as a tool of political analysis". Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. However, I can foresee more likely using it as a reference. In some sense, Main Currents of Marxism represents the major life’s work of Leszek Kolakowski and the culmina- tion of the path that began much earlier, in the. Home Contact Us Help Free delivery worldwide. Indeed, given the subject matter, his lucidity is remarkable. Welcome back.
The work is heavily theoretical, explaining all the ideas of every communist thinker that ever was, even touching on Marx's doctoral dissertation concerning Prometheus and Epicurus.
I picked up this book in order to gain a better understanding of Marxism and its historical significance. Kolakowski is one the great philosophers of the 20th century and writer able to expose the ideas in a clearly way.
This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. By the time I had reached the third book I coincidentally was re-visiting Poland for the first time since the Berlin Wall had fallen. [15] Smith wrote that while Main Currents of Marxism is "written by a deeply disabused Polish ex-Marxist intellectual", it is "an invaluable history across an extended range. Check out the top books of the year on our page Best Books of Towards the end Kolakowski performs an exegesis that postulates how the rather nebulous political underpinnings of Marxism would allow an adherent to steer the socialist ship towards a despotic berth; that its reliance on Hegelian dialectic and the negation of negations would allow future scholars to create their own symbiosis of the Marxist tenets, taking them in unanticipated – but entirely foreseeable – and disastrous directions. [31][32] The book was also reviewed by William P. Collins in The Journal of Politics,[33] the political scientist Michael Harrington in The New Republic,[34] Ken Plumme in Sociology,[35] the philosopher Marx W. Wartofsky in Praxis International,[36] and the historian Tony Judt in The New York Review of Books. First of all, Leszek Ko³akowski was a superb intellectual, philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analysis of Marxist thought, especially his acclaimed three-volume history, Main Currents of Marxism. I did need to read Kolakowski. The reason for the disjunction is that the book was originally issued in three volumes, each one being the size of a normal book. Simply the best objective analysis and evaluation of Marx and Engels I've read by a long shot. It was first published in Polish in Paris inwith the English translation appearing in There was currentss problem filtering reviews right now. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. [30] The book received negative reviews from the sociologist Barry Hindess in The Sociological Review and the sociologist Ralph Miliband in Political Studies. Unfortunately, after he emigrated to the U.S. from his temporary home of England he gradually became more and more conservative, but this book is pretty much straightforward. He also discusses the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. GABY VARGAS COMUNICATE CAUTIVA Y CONVENCE PDF. "[7], According to Kołakowski, Main Currents of Marxism was written in Polish between 1968 and 1976, at a time when it was impossible to publish the work in Communist ruled Poland. He wrote that while Kołakowski's work contained occasional factual errors or dubious interpretations, there were remarkably few of them considering its length. He reaffirmed the value of Marxism as an area of study despite the end of European communism, and suggested that a future revival of Marxism and communism, though far from certain, was still possible.
He then gives an exposition of Marxist thought based on the writings of Marx and Engels. In some sense, Main Currents of Marxism represents the major life’s work of Leszek Kolakowski and the culmina- tion of the path that began much earlier, in the. Main Currents of Marxism remains the indispensable book in its field. Translated from the Polish by P. But Kolakowski reminds us of what Marxism became in the 20th-century and how easily what began as a call for justice became a system that destroyed tens of millions of lives and left easte A brilliant history of Marxism, from its founders through the disintegration of Marxist thought in the early s. But it is a caricature and a bogus form of religion, since it presents its temporal eschatology as a scientific system, which religious mythologies do not purport to be. [37], Blaug considered the book "brilliant" and important to the social sciences. My only criticism of his approach, which reflects his Polish background, is the heavy handed contempt that he attributes to Marxism/Leninism and its resultant growth into Stalinism. Leszek Kolakowski was to the study of Marxism what Gibbon was to the study of the Roman Empire, what Darwin was to the study of evolutionary biology, and what Einstein was to the study of general relativity. In some sense, Main Currents of Marxism represents the major life’s work of Leszek Kolakowski and the culmina- tion of the path that began much earlier, in the. He criticized Kołakowski's lack of sympathy for Marxism, and argued that he focused on Marxist writers only insofar as they could be considered philosophers and distorted Marxism by giving insufficient attention to Marxist economists, historians, and social scientists. But Kolakowski reminds us of what Marxism became in the 20th-century and how easily what began as a call for justice became a system that destroyed tens of millions of lives and left eastern Europe and Russia in economic ruins. Va da sé quindi che quella proposta in questo volume non è assolutamente un'interpretazione "generosa" della storia dei marxismi (e a dire il vero neanche con il socialismo democratico o non marxista), l'autore cerca di collegare con un filo rosso "totalitario" le primissime radici filosofiche hegeliane con il leninismo, il "marxismo-leninismo" (ovvero lo stalinismo) dottrina ufficiale del blocco sovietico, e addirittura la teoria critica della scuola di Francoforte; fornendo sempre l'interpretazione in grado di condannare più radicalmente il marxismo e i marxisti, senza distinzione tra moderati e radicali, revisionisti e ortodossi (una certa pietà è dimostrata solo nei confronti di Bernstein e di parti del pensiero luxemburghiano). Kołakowski criticizes dialectical materialism, arguing that it consists partly of truisms with no specific Marxist content, partly of philosophical dogmas, partly of nonsense, and partly of statements that could be any of these things depending on how they are interpreted. If you read one book on the history of political philosophy, let it be this one. So this can be used to throw poo on everyone who ever came in contact with Lukasz, too! Non potrebbe essere altrimenti, data la biografia dell'autore: polacco, passa da comunista ortodosso a comunista dissidente dopo aver toccato con mano la ripugnante realtà della Russia stalinista durante un viaggio ufficiale; da dissidente sviluppa un'interessante visione umanistica del marxismo duramente avversa allo stalinismo (che in Italia susciterà una certa euforia negli ambienti della sinistra critica verso il PCI) e di conseguenza viene perseguitato dal regime polacco, licenziato e bandito a vita dall'Accademia.
This is gripping scholarship. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Main Currents of Marxism: The Founders, the Golden Age, the Breakdown by Leszek Kołakowski. Not for the faint of heart. However he believed that, due to his background as a philosopher, Kołakowski treated Marxism primarily in philosophical and political terms, thereby distorting the pivotal role of economic theory in Marxism. Leszek Kolakowski was the first recipient of the million-dollar John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and he is the recipient of the 2007 Jerusalem Prize. From philosopher Leszek Kolakowski, one of the giants of twentieth-century intellectual history, comes this highly infuential study of Marxism. He also praised Kołakowski's discussion of Marxism's economic foundations, and his critique of the labor theory of value. While this is a book where skipping sections is justifiable, this is the book I'd probably recommend to anybody looking to understand Marxism. This concludes with an intensive examination of the work and career of Lenin, who is presented as a mediocre thinker but an extremely successful founder of the cult that founded the Soviet state. Its three volumes in English are: 1: The Founders, II: The Golden Age, and III: The Breakdown.
The work was intended to be a "handbook" on Marxism by Kołakowski, who was once an orthodox Marxist but ultimately rejected Marxism. There can be no worldwide, worker's Utopia because man is inherently exploitive and, to believe otherwise, is sheer folly. Please try again. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. [28], Joravsky saw the book as a continuation of arguments over Marxism that Kołakowski had previously engaged in while a member of the Communist Party of Poland. He considered Kołakowski better at describing than criticizing Marxism, and criticized him for over-relying on Böhm von Bawerk's critique of Marx's theory of value. This big book deserves a big review, but I ain't got it in me. Whilst this book is certainly worth reading for an history of Marxist philosophy (albeit skipping over much of the later Soviet and non-European canon), the reader should be very careful before swallowing all of the author's opinions.
I can't read this entire book since it's a huge tome and deeply philosophical which isn't my forte. Written in exile, this. To read Kolakowski's third book on the ugly reality of Marxism from Stalin onward, whilst seeing the contrast of a free and vibrant Poland compared to the soviet nightmare I remembered from my childhood was truly a spiritual experience. He considered Kołakowski lacking in detachment, and criticized him for not considering alternatives to his view that Marx's thought was a philosophical anthropology settled in its essential features by the time of The German Ideology, and for relying on "the notion of totalitarianism", which he considered "worthless as a tool of political analysis". Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. However, I can foresee more likely using it as a reference. In some sense, Main Currents of Marxism represents the major life’s work of Leszek Kolakowski and the culmina- tion of the path that began much earlier, in the. Home Contact Us Help Free delivery worldwide. Indeed, given the subject matter, his lucidity is remarkable. Welcome back.
The work is heavily theoretical, explaining all the ideas of every communist thinker that ever was, even touching on Marx's doctoral dissertation concerning Prometheus and Epicurus.
I picked up this book in order to gain a better understanding of Marxism and its historical significance. Kolakowski is one the great philosophers of the 20th century and writer able to expose the ideas in a clearly way.