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For and Against by Robert L. In the lucid style and engaging manner that have become his trademark, Robert L. Heilbroner explains and explores the central elements of Marxist thought: Scholarly without being academic, searching without assuming a prior knowledge of the subject, Dr. Heilbroner enables us to appreciate the greatness of Mark while avoiding an uncritical stance toward his work. Paperback , pages.

Published December 17th by W. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

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To ask other readers questions about Marxism , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Jan 15, Christopher Kanas rated it it was amazing Shelves: It's hard to express how badly this book needs to be in the classes of high school and college political science of today and it's a shame there aren't more books like this, that are so centered in the climate of today's modern politic. I would consider myself center-right leaning politically, but also one that is increasingly becoming discouraged by the corruption I am witnessing of corporate-sponsored politicians on both sides of the aisle.

And if you find yourself along similar lines of thoug It's hard to express how badly this book needs to be in the classes of high school and college political science of today and it's a shame there aren't more books like this, that are so centered in the climate of today's modern politic. And if you find yourself along similar lines of thought, you will probably enjoy this book as it takes a fair and deep look into the reasons Marx criticized the capitalist mindset and also what Marxism's weaknesses are.

Heilbroner's writing style takes a bit to adjust to as he writes academically, critically, and intelligently, and several passages I had to slow myself down and reread paragraphs to make sure I was capturing what was being presented, but the reward of enriching my understanding in the area was worth it. I'd also say that as I read along, his phrasing and style became easier as I began to become familiar with his use of wording.

Marxism: For and Against

He does take the reader through a journey that begins with the attacks on capitalist idealism that Marx had criticized but as the book progresses, there is also a fair look at the idealism that Marx himself is guilty of. I would say I got both a better appreciation of Marx as well as increased contempt. I must credit Marx for being ahead of his time and essentially prophesying what and where capitalism would lead to. Even in the midst of the 's and the prime of the industrial revolution, Marx could clearly see how capitalism, in order to feed itself, would and has led to devastating expansion of property rights, and dehumanizing of the worker.

Where Marx has failed however, is to really put forth a counter-measure that really challenges it without itself becoming it's own beast.

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Monitor Daily Current Issue. This book is closely written and sometimes difficult, but not beyond the average educated reader. Receive exclusive offers and updates from Oxford Academic. James Guenther rated it really liked it Aug 05, Garret Sern rated it liked it Aug 22, That in fact may well have been his stance, but we are reminded that on several points it would be hard to distinguish his position from that of Adam Smith.

It's one thing to be able to point out faults of an existing capitalistic economic society, but it's an entirely another thing to be able to counter those faults without becoming the same faults that one is so trying to escape from. This is Marx's biggest failure imo. He, on one hand, wants to restore the worker to feel a personal connection with their trade, rather than just be a "fill-a-need" random body supporting the machine, but on the other hand, he demands that all humans work as a collective and rid themselves of independent thought and goals.

Marxism: for and against

So which is it Karl? I mean, our we going to be a worker for the corporation or a worker for the collective? Why is one bad and the other good? Why is a corporation robbing one of independence worse than a collective doing the same thing? It's this question that Marx becomes the idealist, and also one he really cannot explain.

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His assumption that the collective is somehow a better system has had enough of history now to explain that the collective in reality means the state owns all the property and has it's will on the people all in the name of greater good, but really, for who's greater good? What I was pleased to see Heilbroner admit too, which I've maintained for years, is that Marxism is at heart, a religion.

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Heilbroner's latest book aims to put us at ease about the whole matter, beginning with its title -- "marxism: There is no feeling of getting only half the story. And there is minimum concealed bias. Heilbroner is scrupulous about declaring his own opinions at every step. And so the great value of this little book is that it enables the interested reader who hasn't the time to study Marx on his own an avocation suited to those who have evenings free for about the next decade to think and speak about Marxism with some of Heilbroner's own clarity and equanimity.

To Heilbroner, Marx's importance lies not so much in his famous prognosis of a capitalist cataclysm as in his creation of "a mode of inquiry," a "combination of insight and method" that "permanently altered the manner in which reality would be perceived thereafter," and in this, Heilbroner says, his influence parallels that of Plato in philosophy and Freud in the analysis of the mind. The task of most of the book is to explain this "mode of inquiry" carefully and patiently, and without Marxist or anti-Marxist jargon.

It is a clear and fascinating explanation. One chapter and there are only five is devoted to the m eaning of "the dialectic. When, after 68 pages, we finnaly encounter the term "dialectical materialism," it strikes our ears not as a buzzword but as a term of real substance. We also smile on learning that Marx himself never used the phrase. The popular perception of Marx as a seething despiser of capitalism is considerably clouded in this account.

That in fact may well have been his stance, but we are reminded that on several points it would be hard to distinguish his position from that of Adam Smith. This article is also available for rental through DeepDyve. Email alerts New issue alert. Receive exclusive offers and updates from Oxford Academic.

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Marxism: For and Against Paperback – December 17, Robert L. Heilbroner was Norman Thomas Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research and author of The Worldly Philosophers and many other books. Robert Heilbroner was among the most renowned economic. Start by marking “Marxism: For and Against” as Want to Read: Robert L. Heilbroner (March 24, – January 4, ) was an American economist and historian of economic thought. The author of some twenty books, Heilbroner was best known for The Worldly Philosophers, a survey.

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