- Hardcover: 96 pages
- Publisher: Seagull Books (Nov 15 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1906497265
- ISBN-13: 978-1906497262
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 11.4 x 1.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 222 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #262,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"A very thought-provoking book. . . . This is a welcome contribution in the current political climate of economic crisis, war, and climate chaos. By attempting to reassert what was really meant by communism and analyse attempts at its creation, Ali rebuts the idea that there is no alternative to capitalism."
(Amy Leather Socialist Review )"A welcome defence of the idea that there are alternatives to capitalism."--Solidarity
(Mark Goudkamp Solidarity )
Product Description
November 9, 2009 will mark 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the monumental event that signaled the beginning of the end of Communism in the former Soviet Union. Yet, why was this collapse of Communism considered final, but the many failures of capitalism are considered temporary and episodic? In The Idea of Communism, Tariq Ali addresses this very question.
The idea of Communism, argues Ali, was simple and noble. The Communist Manifesto, which advocated the creation of a society based on the principle of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” rather than a system based on greed and profit, appealed to millions all over the globe. However, Ali argues that the vision of society adumbrated by the founders of Communism was a far cry from what became known as actually existing socialism in the Soviet Union and China. The Communist system that developed ignored Engels’s belief that a workers’ movement and its victory were inconceivable without freedom of the press and assembly. This freedom, Engels insisted, “is the air it needs to breathe.
Here, in a thought-provoking re-evaluation, Ali argues that a new form of socialism and global planning is vital to save the planet from capitalist and environmental degradation.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but in need of some editing, Mar 25 2010
By dizzy dean - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Idea of Communism (Hardcover)
I enjoy reading Ali in other formats, and this work is a fine defense of many of Marx's ideas. The main problem I had with it is that there are too many errors in the text...verb tense, word choice, etc. which should have been caught. For a part of the book, it seemed as if Ali was writing like the USSR was still in existence! Be that as it may, still worth the price of admission as a re-thinking of Marxism...
6 of 13 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great Essay, Shoddy Binding, Feb 1 2010
By John S. Russell - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Idea of Communism (Hardcover)
Ali did not disappoint in this somewhat loosely structured but at times brilliant essay. The small hardback volume was, however, very poorly bound. Pages fell out in clumps on my first reading. I nearly decided to send it back with a demand for repayment, but passed on the bother. I will not, however, buy from this house again.Jack Russell
207-244-5394
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