a very concise intro to marxism, or scientific socialism. easy to follow, short, but still packs all the basic knowledge you need to understand the sua very concise intro to marxism, or scientific socialism. easy to follow, short, but still packs all the basic knowledge you need to understand the subject.
it's three chapters. the first about utopian socialists and why they ultimately failed since they didn't create the bigger picture, and also bc the bourgeoisie. the second about the shift in looking a history, how we used to see it as a perpetual circle (of violence & war), instead of what it is: one group of people exploiting another bc they're greedy; creating society based on economy. and how looking at history trough this materialistic lens & realising that capitalism works the way it does bc it's about the owner taking the surplus from the proletariat, let us finally actually develop socialism. chapter three focuses more on development of capitalism, and how that will lead to the proletariat revolution. engels explains how it goes: medieval society (you make what you need, all by yourself) > capitalist revolution (you're a cog in a factory & make more than anyone could need so the owner can get rich) > proletarian revolution (the working masses take over the means of production, allow the production to be planned, and thus rendering the state itself pointless)....more
absolutely feels like the other side of the coin of "exterminate all the brutes", and i highly recommend reading them both close together. personally,absolutely feels like the other side of the coin of "exterminate all the brutes", and i highly recommend reading them both close together. personally, i think this one is better, which seems to be putting me in the minority of reviewers.
focuses heavily on the anthropology side of things. and anyone who spent any time studying that field knows that the forefathers were all ridiculous racist white men who didn't so much try to learn about other societies, as prove their own theories on said societies, which they mostly based on, i don't know, vibes. lindqvist does a great job of showing us all the big names of early anthro & their ideas, and then undermining them in a few succinct sentences.
it's definitely a book on genocide, with all the questions that brings. is genocide carried out only by direct violence? what about bringing new diseases, striping the peoples of their culture & resources, brainwashing them into hating their very roots?...more
not so much a remedy to the housing question (though that is also mentioned, of course), but a discussion on why the proudhonian and bourgeois ideas wnot so much a remedy to the housing question (though that is also mentioned, of course), but a discussion on why the proudhonian and bourgeois ideas wouldn't ever work (and don't make sense). not exactly groundbreaking in 21st century, but still insightful and unfortunately largely relevant.
also engels is an extremely sarcastic writer, amazing...more
a book abt the 2003 war in iraq written with a very clear idea in mind. the idea being that said war (and polish army taking part in it) was a di3.5 ☆
a book abt the 2003 war in iraq written with a very clear idea in mind. the idea being that said war (and polish army taking part in it) was a disgrace (to say the least).
yes, only a small part of the book actually talks abt the role poland played in this war, but that's bc this isn't really a book abt the specifics of the war. instead, it's one showing how this war was perfectly in line with us' politics since its creation, how none of it - not the lies, the tortures, the monetary profits - were anything new for the american elites. that's why the author only talks abt how polish media (and in fact a lot of prominent figures, like stanisław lem or leszek kołakowski) were incredibly pro-war the whole time it was happening (and before).
the first chapter is a(n incomplete) list of the us' "interventions" in countries around the globe, run mostly by the cia. even as someone who was already familiar with almost all of them, it was chilling to see them listed page after page after page... ...more
i wish i could make everyone i know read this book.
it's roughly divided into four parts: 1) a brief history of isntreal and its numerous invasions on i wish i could make everyone i know read this book.
it's roughly divided into four parts: 1) a brief history of isntreal and its numerous invasions on gaza before operation cast lead (wih a focus on the role of anders' army in the nakba); 2) a detailed account of operation cast lead, as seen by the author on the ground; 3) a number of personal stories about martyrs; and 4) a look at isntreal standing in the world, especially its relations with the us and with poland.
i spent the last few months watching videos of massacre after massacre committed by the iof, and yet some of the descriptions in this book still took me by surprise. this part of the book is also very angry, and because of that (and obviously because of the subject itself) is reminiscent of this time we went too far: truth & consequences of the gaza invasion by norman g. finkelstein.
but it's that last part that really shook me to my core. i was in middle school and high school when all those events were taking place, and anyway i don't imagine they were even talked about publicly in the way they should be. i always just thought our gov supports instreal out of shame caused by our antisemitism, but turns out it runs so much deeper than that & it's so much more disgusting. the book looks at how after the fall of communism we turned to privatisation and a focus on military as the means to help our country develop. advancing our army meant in turn creating a closer relationship with the us, who looked at this as a great opportunity to get richer & find a loyal friend. and that in turn of course meant increasing the union with instreal, not only because it's like us' little brother but also because they were like, hey! we're great at fighting terrorism and building guns, let's work together!
the poland-isntreal-us love triangle truly belongs in hell....more
a great book for someone who's only starting to educate themself about palestine!
it only offers a brief history on creation of israHell, but it's stila great book for someone who's only starting to educate themself about palestine!
it only offers a brief history on creation of israHell, but it's still satisfactory and nuanced (and based on the writings of the original zionists), and shows how zionist narrative has been changing over the years.
what the book focuses on, though, are the specific how's of the oppression, with numerous examples. it talks about the gendered violence of the settler colonialism, about how palestinian fight is a feminist one, about the environmental aspect of colonialism (oh, the absurd of the iof being environmentally friendly because it caters to its vegan soldiers!), about pinkwashing. and most importantly: it talks about the connections between all the indigenous people and their struggle for decolonisation.
language-wise, it's very easily digestible, but on the flip side, it can be a tad repetitive across chapters. i'm also not a fan of how the author keeps using the words Black, gay, queer as nouns, in the plural form....more
incredible study on white middle-class women’s feminist struggles, be it for slavery abolition, birth control (“voluntary motherhood”), women suffrageincredible study on white middle-class women’s feminist struggles, be it for slavery abolition, birth control (“voluntary motherhood”), women suffrage, and its ultimate failing into the traps of racism, elitism and capitalism. every time.
written with numerous examples, heavily relying on primary sources, it’s very eye-opening. intersectionality literally is key to our freedom....more
not to use buzzwords, but this essay is a must-read for anyone who wants to clearly see why the zionist settler colonial state of israel is the way itnot to use buzzwords, but this essay is a must-read for anyone who wants to clearly see why the zionist settler colonial state of israel is the way it is. and how palestinians have been resisting it since its conception.
apart from its vital link with imperialism and its inescapable status as a total stranger to the middle east, in the heart of which it has chosen to plant itself, the political embodiment of zionist colonialism (namely, the zionist settler-state of israel) is characterised chiefly by three features: 1) its racial complexion and racist conduct pattern; 2) its addiction to violence, and 3) its expansionist stance.
it’s a very angry book, but also a somewhat hopeful one.
the book focuses on the operation cast lead of december 2008-january 2009, and the goldstone’it’s a very angry book, but also a somewhat hopeful one.
the book focuses on the operation cast lead of december 2008-january 2009, and the goldstone’s UN report stating that “israel” committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. (it was written before goldstone changed his mind about idf intentionally targeting palestinian civilians.) the title itself is a quote from a column by an israeli journalist gideon levy, regarding the report.
it's angry in the sense that finkelstein is very obviously furious with "israel", like any sane person with a working conscience should be. he’s rude and sarcastic, yes, but that doesn’t stop him from being fair and meticulously pointing out every lie & crime of “israel”. there’s a lot of statistics and direct quotes "israeli" politicians and zionist sympathisers and from idf soldiers taking part in the massacre, but still, it's not so much a day-by-day account of what happened in gaza - rather a look at the world's response to it.
and it's (cautiously) hopeful in its overall conclusion: that things are changing. that the general public’s support of “israel” is lowering, becoming less natural. that the propaganda machine is beginning to break. granted, finkelstein wrote it in 2010, and here we are in 2024, exactly three months after the start of the most recent aggression and barely a few years after the aggression of may 2021. but boycotts are losing giants billions of dollars, celebrities’ kids are wearing sweatshirts with palestine motifs, the protests around the whole world haven’t really stopped for a second since october. maybe he is right, however excruciatingly slow this change is....more
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