Primary Source for Stalin?
Generally, personality cults are most common in regimes with totalitarian systems of government, that seek to radically alter or transform society according to (supposedly) revolutionary new ideas. Often, a single leader becomes associated with this revolutionary transformation, and comes to be treated as a benevolent "guide" for the nation, without whom the transformation to a better future cannot occur. This has been generally the justification for personality cults that arose in totalitarian societies of the 20th century, such as those of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. The creation of such a vast cult often led to criticism of the regimes of Joseph StalinIosif (Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin ( Russian: Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin , original name Ioseb Jughashvili ( Georgian: Russian: Iosif Dzhugashvili see Other names section ( December 21 [ December 9, Old Style], 1879 1 March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik rev and Mao Zedong in particular. During the peak of their reigns both these leaders appeared as god-like omniscient rulers, destined to rule their nation for all eternity. Government orders prescribed the hanging of their portraits in every home and public building, and many artists and poets were instructed to only produce works that glorified the leader. To justify this level of worship, both Mao and Stalin tried to present themselves as personally humble and modest, and would often characterize their vast personality cults as nothing more than a spontaneous show of affection by their people. Stalin in particular used this excuse to justify the Communist Party's massive campaign of renaming things in his honor (see List of places named after StalinDuring Joseph Stalin's rule, many places, mostly cities, in the Soviet Union and other communist countries were named or renamed in honor of him as part of the cult of personality. Most of these places had their names changed back to the original ones sho). Cults of personality can collapse very quickly after the ousting or death of the leader. Stalin and Mao both provide examples of this. In some cases, the leader formerly the subject of a cult of personality becomes vilified after his death, and often a massive effort at renaming and statue-removal ensues.
Are most Americans' opinions about Karl Marx, socialism, and communism based on knowledge from books or from hearsay?
99% hearsay. Capitalism has deafened, blinded & muted the truth about socialism, Marx, & communism. In fact despite several countries being labeled as communistic - communism has never existed on earth nor is likely to given the fact that it is purely theoretical and a virtual utopian state of existence created by the uniform cooperation of all humans.Socialism is a prerequisite for reaching a state of equilibrium with nature where all needs are met.Capitalism benefits the few and thrives on consumption aka waste and unbridled wants which displace the disadvantaged humans -which are most of the 7 billion humans on earth.The media is owned, sponsored & managed by capitalists.Socialism is based on the simple fact that as resources become scarce humans will have to cooperate with one another to survive.In essence humans will have to ultimately work together to preserve, restore and embellish upon nature. The alternative which is a real possibility is that the few in power will destroy the masses to preserve resources for themselves.That is presently what is happening in an extremely subtle and insidiously slow manner.Such things as climate change for example threaten two-thirds of the worlds population who live along the shores of the Oceans.Likewise pollution coupled with wasteful consumption is reducing natural food sources that nature produces.All of this creates profits for those who covet the land & indenture humans using jobs as bait.Working together using nature as the primary source for meeting all needs should be the goal of 7 billion humans.Instead we have the rich and powerful pulling all the strings for humanity while building underground palaces & refuges for themselves in anticipation of the doom they are bringing down upon humankind!Our oceans capacity to feed humanity is diminishing while our air and water are being polluted.Add to that the diseases contrived in laboratories designed to destroy billions of lives in a targeted manner and the scenario for depopulating the planet becomes crystal clear.This may seem extreme on the surface but is actually in plain sight for all to see - and quite simple.Climate change, biological weapons, famine, disease, poverty, pollution, war and a multitude of destructive forces are on display on TV sets across the planet.It's a very sad sitcom!
Is the communist manifesto by karl marx an academic source?
ABSOLUTELY. The communist manifesto is an excellent source. Anyone who tells you that using such a book makes you a communist, or that the ideas aren't valid because communism hasn't succeeded, needs to get their head out of the McCarthy era. Marxist ideas and Marxist criticism form the cornerstones of economics and many kinds of literary criticism. Don't deny yourself access to a valuable resource just because some people have been taught to fear the name Karl Marx. You're doing LITERARY CRITICISM? THEN YES, YES, ABSOLUTELY THE MANIFESTO IS A SOURCE! Marxist criticism is one of the cornerstones of all critical theory today!
Good Ayn Rand primary sources for students/classmates to read?
In my philosophy class I'm doing a class presentation on Ayn Rand and I am required to give my classmates a 1-2 page primary source for them to read the night before to give them some insight on the presentation before hand. I looked around and only could find secondary sources about her. Are there any good websites that I could look at to find what I need. In addition direct links would be appreciated.
How would one discuss the function of the state according to Karl Marx?
I think that one important dimension of ‘the state’ for Marx is that its functions to a large extent depend on the developments and changes in capitalism. So I think you cannot answer a question about *the function* of the state in capitalism except at such a high level of generality as to be almost meaningless.At different times in his life, as capitalism changed, Marx presented the functions of the state differently. In the *Manifesto*, the state is the committee of the ruling classes (capitalists of agriculture, of manufacturing, and of finance); because these three groups of capitalists frequently have opposing interests or interests in tension with the others (think tariffs, for instance), the state is sometimes the locus where disagreements among capitalists are fought; but since the state is dominated by capitalists, even if of differing interests, whenever the proletariat threatens most capitalists unite against them.In the *18th Brumaire*, Marx sees the state as relatively autonomous from the struggles of capitalism, while still committed to maintaining capitalism. In France, the state of Napoleon III rested on the apolitical peasantry, who, unable to unite and voice their own interests, were united and given ideas to voice by Napoleon III. (See *Marx-Engels Reader* p 608). (If this reminds you of Nixon’s ‘silent majority’ and of current Trump supporters, you should not be surprised: apolitical like the peasants, but motivated to action, or at least to voting, by the agency of others.)Note: by relatively autonomous, I mean that the state is able to act against the interests of the capitalists or of some capitalists (it does not just do their bidding), or to choose which course to pursue (so that, for instance, it is the interests of the capitalists to have a tax cut for the rich; but exactly how that tax cut plays out is in the hands of the politicians to some extent).As you can see from the above, Marx did not, I think, ever seriously see the state as passive, as a conveyor belt that simply enacted the interests of capitalism. The state did in the end act to try to maintain capitalism, but because of divisions within the capitalist class and because of the need to mobilize the population as democracy slowly spread in Europe, how any specific state at any specific stage of capitalist development acted to preserve and extend the capitalist class varied.
What version of the capital written by Karl Marx should I get from Amazon?
Das Kapital is a tough book to get into. You really need a strong grounding in political economy before you start. It's "primary source material", meaning that it's an attempt to prove a thesis, rather than an introduction for the lay reader. If you need a gentler introduction, try the Gateway edition. It's been abridged, but that's a good thing, because the full edition is a major slog. If you want the full edition, the Penguin edition is a good deal. It's two volumes, and each is a weighty tome by itself. The translation is accurate, and written by a translator who knows economics. It's available online, too, if you want to start reading before you get your copy.
How did Karl Marx earn his wealth?
Like many revolutionaries across time and space, Karl Marx learned about the inequities of capitalism first hand. Much of his early wealth was unearned.Karl Marx's father (Herschel Marx) came from a relatively wealthy middle-class family which owned a number of vineyards. His father also served as a lawyer, no doubt adding to the family wealth. While Herschel advocated for reform of the absolute monarchy in Prussia early in his life he later came to terms with the monarchy, which probably helped with revenue.Karl's dad got him into a number of fine schools. He wasn't a very good student so the family connections came in handy (more exposure to how unfair the system was). His father wanted him to get into law, but Marx preferred philosophy and history.Karl married a woman (Jenny von Westphalen) from the Prussian noble class (causing a great deal of scandal), which could have been another source of Kapital. Karl's uncle (Benjamin Philips) was a banker and industrialist and a source of loans for Karl and his wife while in exile in London. I guess Karl didn't mind leaning on banking in order to be able to afford to rail against it.Karl wrote for a number of radical newspapers and published a number of manuscripts, pamphlets and books. In his first few years in London the Marx family lived in extreme poverty, relying on money from Frederich Engels (who had revenue coming in from a family business - cotton industry I think) to make ends meet. I wouldn't be surprised if he took some income for living expenses while serving as the leader of the General Council of the International Workingmen's Association. It would taken much since by then he had gotten used to living on the cheap.There's more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kar...
I am working on a theory that Karl Marx was fundamentally right in his theory of class struggle but absolutely wrong in his theory of value. What should I read?
He was correct on both counts. Capitalism conflates price and value, knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.Here are two introductory essays to Marxian Economics. Written by members of the working class in clear and concise language.A summary of Marx's explanation of wages, prices, profit and commodities.1: The Labour Theory of Value is a theory in the science of political economy to explain how the working class are exploited under capitalism and how capitalist society works. This article also explains such phenomena as wages, prices, and profits. Why is the labour theory of value important? https://www.worldsocialism.org/s...Marx's analysis of long term trends in the rate of profit.2: The rate of profit measures the return on invested capital over a given period and is usually expressed as a percentage. So, if a capital investment of £ 100,000 turns over in a year and the profit is £20,000 then the rate of profit is 20,000/100,000 or 20 per cent per annum.https://www.worldsocialism.org/s...More on economics here> https://www.worldsocialism.org/s...Any serious questions about any of this can be put on this discussion forum here, https://www.worldsocialism.org/s...We have been answering workers questions for over 114 years.
Why do sociologists use secondary data in their research?
There are several reasons to use secondary research, but the most basic reason is to save resources. Using data that has already been collected saves time, money, and effort. Large-scale surveys and other methods of collecting data are costly, and it takes a long time to develop high-quality surveys. Using secondary data also allows for multiple research projects to be conducted using the same data set. This can help researchers build on each others' findings, and can help verify the findings of a particular researcher. Furthermore, some research, such as historical-comparative studies, can only be conducted using secondary data (unless you have a time machine!). The use of secondary data stretches back to Marx and Durkheim, so it is very much a part of the history of sociology. There is a great entry on secondary data analysis in the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, which you can access online.
Who said "the meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism?" Please give a PRIMARY SOURCE?
It is popularly thought that Karl Marx said this, but I can find it in none of his books. Do you know from what source or sources this quote derives? I suspect it is somehow constructed, hybridized or misattributed. Please do NOT link to internet websites that attribute the quote to Marx. I am aware a lot of people think it was his. Please instead tell me about a book or scholarly article that confirms its lineage.