Friday 3 May 2013

Two Views on Marx.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits". (Mat 7:15-16 NKJV)

This is the work of Brad DeLong, professor of Economics and chair of the Political Economy major at the University of California, Berkeley: Understanding Karl Marx: Hoisted from the Archives from FourYears Ago May Day Weblogging

The video lecture below (one out of this series of lectures) is the work of some guy whose name I'm not even sure of:


Both works mention the same things (for instance, commodity fetishism), but both are very different.

Their authors interpret Marx in diametrically opposed ways: both cannot be right.

To me, it's evident that one of these works is the product of honest intellectual effort; it aims to teach you something, to give you something new. It's equally evident -- to me -- that the other one is an example of propaganda, by an ideologically-driven and arrogant individual, whose sole aim is to destroy.

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Now, I'm not here to tell you who's who. My opinion on this, realistically, is irrelevant. It's your opinion that matters here.

So, take your time. Judge these two guys through their work. The links are there.

This, writ large, is the challenge of our time: choose.

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PS,

I suppose I'll eventually have to write something about Malthus, as the subject of the living condition of the working class in Britain was mentioned. Oh, well.

Update:
04-05-2013 Added the Matthew quotation, which seemed oddly appropriate.

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