Comments on: Greatest Marxists redux

By: Classic Liberal

Classic Liberal — Thu, 13 Nov 2003 23:10:00 +0000

Chris, you’re absolutely right. I am a “petty-minded troll” and I apologize. It was wrong for me to make a smartassed comment about the world’s greatest Marxists, just as it would be wrong for an atheist to go to a Christian weblog or a skeptic to go to an astrology blog to make snarky comments there. I promise it won’t happen again.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 13 Nov 2003 19:38:11 +0000

So why can’t Marxists write about Marxism? To paraphrase the master himself in the Theses on Feuerbach, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to interpret the interpretations.”

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 13 Nov 2003 19:22:12 +0000

Others not mentioned: Irving Howe, Max Schachtman. Youse are too Euro-centric by half. And, if we included ex-Marxists who have been influential, you could include Irving Kristol & Tom Sowell.

By: Chris Bertram

Chris Bertram — Thu, 13 Nov 2003 11:16:35 +0000

Nah, I’ll pass on the midgets, I’m thinking of making one of the world’s most petty-minded trolls though.

By: Classic Liberal

Classic Liberal — Thu, 13 Nov 2003 11:07:40 +0000

After you’ve finished compiling the list of greatest marxists, how about a list of the world’s tallest midgets?

By: Doug Muir

Doug Muir — Wed, 12 Nov 2003 22:41:32 +0000

Louis Blanc. His History of Ten Years wasn’t just well-written history, it was well-written history with punch and bite and knees to the groin; Louis Philippe himself called it “a battering ram against loyalty” (to the monarchy of Louis Philippe, that is). Blanc’s History of the Revolution of 1848 is good history, good writing, and a fascinating insider account too, while his History of the French Revolution was the canonical work on the subject for two generations, and (I’m told) is still widely read. Now, you could argue that Louis Blanc wasn’t “Marxist”, since most of his political writings predated most of Marx’s. (His career as a political and economic theorist was pretty much done by 1850.) In fact, you could almost call Marx a “Blancist”; he borrowed from Blanc’s ideas heavily. Marx turned against Blanc after 1851, sure, but he never returned the intellectual silverware. Blanc was a very good historical writer, and he was a historian who espoused (and whose writing was driven by) what are generally considered “Marxist” concepts. The fact that quite a few of these concepts predated Marx by a generation or more is hardly Blanc’s fault. Doug M.

By: Lukas

Lukas — Wed, 12 Nov 2003 20:55:17 +0000

For his support of the concept of the economic substructure of society: Jared Diamond

By: josh

josh — Wed, 12 Nov 2003 18:28:53 +0000

Well, I seem to recall Conrad Barwa mentioning Halliday, Hobsbawm, Stedman Jones, Carr, and Robin Blackburn in the comments. Also, Ophelia (who so far as I know hasn’t submitted a list, but should …) may be happy to know that I’ve gotten a submission for Deutscher. I’ve also gotten one for Hobsbawm. And I’ve made up my own list of favourite Marxist historians, to be posted when all the results are in.

By: jacob

jacob — Wed, 12 Nov 2003 16:44:29 +0000

Yeah, I left Thompson off my list simply because I forgot him, and I felt terrible for it after Josh pointed it out to me. Although within the context of only five Marxists, I’m not sure whom I would have removed to fit him.

By: Ophelia Benson

Ophelia Benson — Wed, 12 Nov 2003 16:38:10 +0000

Yeah and Isaac Deutscher, too. Though someone did mention him, I seem to recall – oh, now who was that – oh I know! I did! And was roundly ignored, which tells me that Deutscher is forgotten, which if true is a terrible thing.