Have you read the Communist Manifesto?

[. ._]

Hey folks!

I was just kinda wondering.

There has been a lot of liberal/conservative/left wing/right wing discussion going on in this forum. I was wondering how many of youses guyses have read The Manifesto. It spells out pretty clearly where the extreme left is coming from.

On a side note. I would like to hear of the best books to read to educate myself on the benefits of the extreme RIGHT.

Should I start with "The Wealth of Nations" or something? Maybe I'll have a change of heart! I don't know. I've never been exposed to pure right-wing ideology before. Maybe it will be better! I'm open for suggestions. And I want the real shit. Not a Rush Limbaugh/Sarah Palin "I'm make my dough from spouting tax cuts" thing- I want the true ideology from a dead person.

OK. Go nuts, and let the expletives fly! I'm all about free speech, baby!

-istp

[BibleMonkey]

...On a side note. I would like to hear of the best books to read to educate myself on the benefits of the extreme RIGHT.....

The disadvantages inherent in the extreme right far outweigh any benefit ( similarly true for the extreme left )


Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler

http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/
Read it to taste evil, albeit an ill written, fairly boring evil , since Hitler had little talent as a writer , although he trained himself to become a persuasive orator.

Remember it , and similar works- to understand why moments of liberation can lead to tyranny-when either extreme left or right is allowed a free hand.


To understand politics start with Plato

==========

I think there's merit in the argument that says that the current debate between left and right is a faux image-since we are currently primarily living in a culture better defined as a Corporatocracy, a situation that evolved as corporations grew larger and larger , they were able to amass political power, and at some point their political power exceeded that of the voters.


( e. g. Witness the multi-trillion dollar bailout , where trillions of dollars of corporate gambling debts have been transferred to the public books )

Similarly, the same event ( mass corporate bailout ) can be pointed to to say that we have become an extremely socialist state-the masses being forced into rewarding a corporate " failing upward" .....

[mcrit]

Yep. "From each according to his ability and to each according to his needs. Great stuff.....if discount basic human nature.

[crooked timber]

from what you've written it sounds like you're looking to delve into these issues against the backdrop of economy. if that's the case and you're looking to get close to the neoliberal/laissez-faire/libertarian flame i'd suggest adam smith, rueff, von mises, lippmann, ricardo and mr chicago school himself, (milton) friedman.

the commie manifesto is more of a prologomenon of a specific strain of socialism written by a young, sophomoric marx probably more comparable to ayn rand and other fairly bubblegum books that are heavy on sabre rattling but light on theory. marx' critique in das kapital (1-3), grundrisse, and keynes all punch more on the weight of the names mentioned above.

if you haven't already, it might also be worth digging into how the depression came about, the new deal, weimar germany, (south american) southern cone economics, hungarian hyperinflation and japan's lost decade

[shannon]

Yes I've read it.
If you're looking for extreme right as far as economic policy you could not go wrong reading some Milton Friedman. His economic principles have driven political policy in the US and the rest of the Americas, and as an extension, war for some time. In fact our current leader is a follower of his.

Actually where is the extreme left. I haven't seen or heard from them in a long time.

[crooked timber]

Actually where is the extreme left. I haven't seen or heard from them in a long time.

they were left in the dust of po-mo theory to carry on their post mortem of '68 in relative (re/)seclusion. there aren't really any hardline leftists today or anyone really doing work in ideological theory since lyotard dropped his bomb (the postmodern condition). most have been folded into the annals of critical theory, rebranding under the flag of the decidedly diluted (ie concerned with hyper plurality, deliberative politics etc) frankfurt school . this sandbox is occupied by: agamben, callinicos, zizek, badiou, eagleton, ranciere, negri, hardt, unger, jameson, habermas, mouffe among others. to be honest most of the influential dudes championing the left died within the last 20 yrs (althusser, deleuze, guattari, lukacs, marcuse)

[Siddley Hawker]

to be honest most of the influential dudes championing the left died within the last 20 yrs (althusser, deleuze, guattari, lukacs, marcuse)

And Yorick. A fellow of infinite jest, alas.

[ottawa,kan]

I second or third Milton Freidman. Can't go wrong there. And yes I've read the manifesto. And yes I think it's a very kind christian philosophy, and sometime after the second coming, we can apply it in heaven.

[Readmenace]

I've read it. If you want some really good stuff from the other side I'd recommend Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. That book changed my life. I was a socialist when I started and 1200 pages later I was a Libertarian. It's pretty long but you can grab the audio book on itunes. If you want to read The Wealth of Nations I'd recommend picking up the Penguin Great Ideas "The Invisible Hand" Its a great abridged version(120 pages).
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDi ... ml?sym=SYN
Again if you wanted to just listen to it you could go here;
http://librivox.org/newcatalog/search.p ... ion=Search
Actually if you wanted to read (listen) anything old this is a great website.
http://librivox.org/