Terry Eagleton— The early Marx is engaged on an arrestingly original project. No other critic of the system under which he lived had taken it to task for what it does to the human senses. There had been no such phenomenology of capitalism before. In Marx’s view, the capitalist mode
Niall Kishtainy— A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism.’ This is the first line of The Communist Manifesto, which was written in the middle of the nineteenth century and is perhaps the most famous political pamphlet ever. The spectre – something scary and menacing – was the threat to
Laurence Senelick— Only in societies where art and literature are taken so seriously are they regarded as potent and dangerous. The Soviet conviction that culture matters was evident in the attention paid to even minor details of theatrical activity by the highest levels of the state bureaucracy. Unilateral decisions by
Today’s “Why Marx Was Right” blog discussion features an essay by Jake Meador on Chapter 5 of Terry Eagleton‘s Why Marx Was Right, addressing the claim: “Marxism reduces everything to economics.” Jake Meador One of the most common dismissals of Marx accuses him of historical reductionism. “Marx creates a caricature
Another hot topic on our Spring 2011 list is the ongoing debate about the current state of economic affairs and the sustainability of capitalism. One of the most notable Marxist critics, Terry Eagleton, tackles the perception that Marxism is dead in his newest book, Why Marx Was Right. Christopher Benson,