Marx In 60 Minutes

Author : Walther Ziegler
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 114 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2016-07-08
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783741227691

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Marx in 60 Minutes by Walther Ziegler Pdf

Never before or since has a single philosopher produced such a tremendous effect as Karl Marx. His great vision of a society without private property was heeded worldwide and had huge historical effects. Allegiance to his ideas was proclaimed by revolutionaries, parties, governments and states. Marxism spread all around the globe. Marxist revolutions occurred in countries as different as Russia, China, Vietnam, Cuba, Nicaragua and Mozambique as well as many others, until at one point almost a third of humanity were living under communism. But some hundred years after Marx’s death the communist world that he had inspired fell apart. After the fall of the Iron Curtain many claimed that Marx had been entirely in error and that the sole viable economic system is really capitalism after all. It was hoped that democracy, market economy, and a fair distribution of wealth could all be combined together. But this optimism did not last long. The global economic and financial crises of recent decades have profoundly shaken belief in the power of the market to regulate itself. It has become ever clearer that capitalism does indeed display the structural flaws that Marx described in his main work, Capital. Certain of Marx’s predictions, such as the forming of powerful economic monopolies and the ever-growing gulf between rich and poor, have already come true. Others can be seen approaching on the horizon of current social developments. His acute critique of capitalism is, then, more relevant today than ever. There is no question but that Marx still has a lot to say to us. The book Marx in 60 Minutes explains in clear and perspicuous terms, using some seventy key quotations from Marx’s works, such topics as the materialist philosophy of history, the doctrine of “base and superstructure”, Marx’s critique of religion, and the analyses developed in Capital of “surplus value”, capital accumulation, and the immiseration of the workers. In the second part of the book, entitled “Of what use is Marx’s discovery to us today?”, Marx’s insights are applied to the present situation. The book forms part of the popular series Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes.

Author : Walther Ziegler
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 482 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2016-08-04
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783741241468

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Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes - Volume 2 by Walther Ziegler Pdf

"Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes” is the second ‘omnibus’ volume drawn from the popular book-series of the same name. It comprises the five books, already published as separate volumes, "Marx in 60 Minutes", "Freud in 60 Minutes", "Sartre in 60 Minutes", "Camus in 60 Minutes", and "Heidegger in 60 Minutes". Each short study sums up the key idea at the heart of each respective thinker and asks the question: “Of what use is this key idea to us today?” But above all the philosophers get to speak for themselves. Their most important statements are prominently presented, as direct quotations, in speech balloons with appropriate graphics, with exact indication of the source of each quote in the author’s works. Between 40 and 80 representative passages are given from the work of each of the five philosophers. This light-hearted but nonetheless scholarly precise rendering of the ideas of each thinker makes it easy for the reader to acquaint him- or herself with the great questions of our lives. Because every philosopher who has achieved global fame has posed the “question of meaning”: what is it that holds, at the most essential level, the world together? There have emerged here a range of very different answers. In Marx, it is the relations of production – that is to say, the conditions under which we labour and produce the goods we need – which ultimately determine our sense of our lives, our thinking, and our whole culture. In Freud, it is the libido and thus the energy of our drives, which we can either live out, repress, or sublimate. In Sartre it is the absolutely free human will which compels Man to make himself what he is. In Heidegger, what absorbs us is the struggle for the authenticity of ‘Dasein’ and the ‘care’ for the Being of the world. Camus is the only philosopher in this series who gives no answer at all to the “question of meaning”. There is no “meaning”, says Camus; life is absurd and depends merely upon a sequence of random chance events. In other words, the meaning of the world and thus of our own lives remains, among philosophers, a topic of great controversy. One thing, though, is sure: each of these five thinkers struck, from his own perspective, one brilliant spark out of that complex crystal that is the truth.

Author : Walther Ziegler
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 114 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2022-11-03
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783756864638

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Epicurus in 60 Minutes by Walther Ziegler Pdf

The philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BC) has been controversial since antiquity. His provocative key idea is of compelling simplicity. Every human being possesses, by nature, an internal compass. In order to be happy he must do what causes him pleasure and joy and avoid what causes him unpleasure and harm. He writes: "Pleasure is the starting point and goal of living blessedly [...] (It is) our first innate good, and [...] our starting point for every choice and avoidance." Already newborns follow this "pleasure principle". But this discovery, which might at first seem so obvious, struck Epicurus's contemporaries as a monstrous provocation. The notion that the highest goal of life is enjoying pleasure stands in stark contrast to the then-established teachings of Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics. These latter saw reason and a life lived by reason as the highest goal of Man. Because Epicurus accepted women into his school and even had a love affair with one of them, his contemporaries called him a "glutton" and "sex fiend". The Greek poet Timon described him as "doggish", the Stoic Epictetus as a "wastrel". Christian authors later even called him the Antichrist. But these critiques are fundamentally false, because beyond a superficial striving for pleasure, Epicurus's deeper concern was a lifelong, painstaking "care of the self". His questions, then, remain burningly relevant. What are the basic human needs whose satisfaction yields a happy life? Which needs are really necessary to life and which not? How, concretely, should we deal with these needs: for example with the need for food, drink, sexual intercourse and friendship? The book contains almost a hundred quotes from this charismatic ancient philosopher. It appears as part of the beloved series "Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes" which has now been translated worldwide into six languages.

Author : Walther Ziegler
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 614 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2023-01-12
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783756872053

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Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes - Volume 5 by Walther Ziegler Pdf

"Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes Volume 5" comprises the five books "Adorno in 60 Minutes", "Habermas in 60 Minutes", "Foucault in 60 Minutes", "Rawls in 60 Minutes", and "Popper in 60 Minutes". Each short study sums up the key idea at the heart of each respective thinker and asks the question: "Of what use is this key idea to us today?" But above all the philosophers get to speak for themselves. Their most important statements are prominently presented, as direct quotations, in speech balloons with appropriate graphics, with exact indication of the source of each quote in the author's works. This light-hearted but nonetheless scholarly precise rendering of the ideas of each thinker makes it easy for the reader to acquaint him- or herself with the great questions of our lives. Because every philosopher who has achieved global fame has posed the "question of meaning": what is it that holds, at the most essential level, the world together? For Adorno it is the dialectical development of civilization from the Stone Age up to capitalism along with the alienation of Man from Nature that goes with it. Habermas, by contrast, sees in this historical process of development the chance to gradually improve society through the emancipatory power of language in communicative action. Foucault remains sceptical here and reveals to us the rigid structures in which we, as modern individuals, are trapped. Rawls develops a complex and compelling procedure for the creation of an ideally just state of affairs. Popper, finally, establishes a quite new theory of science whereby every scientific truth has only a provisional character so that it must eventually be relieved and replaced by better truths. In other words, the meaning of the world and thus of our own lives remains, among philosophers, a topic of great controversy. One thing, though, is sure: each of these five thinkers struck, from his own perspective, one brilliant spark out of that complex crystal that is the truth.

Author : Walther Ziegler
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 121 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2020-04-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783750470897

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Popper in 60 Minutes by Walther Ziegler Pdf

Karl Popper (1902-1994) is one of the great thinkers of the modern age. He developed his key idea, the "open society" already at age 17. Popper at the time believed passionately in Newton's theory of gravitation, by which the science of the day explained the motion of all bodies on earth and in the heavens. But during the great eclipse of 1919 observations were made that confirmed for the first time Einstein's theory of relativity. The London Times wrote: "Scientific Revolution; New Theory of the Universe; Newton's Conception Overthrown." If this is so, concluded Popper, and if a genius like Newton can prove to have been wrong and his knowledge, after two hundred years, can be replaced by a better knowledge, then perhaps there are no such things as truths "true once and for all". It was at this point that he developed his brilliant key idea: "Scientific knowledge is not knowledge; it is only conjectural knowledge." Every scientific theory must count as "true" only for so long as it cannot be refuted by some counter-example or replaced by a better theory. And just for this reason modern society must always be open to critiques and new theories. This applies also, indeed quite especially, to politics. Instead of calling, like Plato, for an ideal state, or pursuing, like Marx and Hegel, "totalitarian" philosophical-historical goals, the scientific method of trial and error must also be applied to politics. Was Popper right? Is all our knowledge merely conjectural knowledge resting on trial and error? And did Plato, Hegel and Marx really pave the way for totalitarianism? Is what we need to improve society really rather the method of "hard science"? Can we solve our problems using Popper's "piecemeal social technology"? Popper gives clear and unmistakable answers. The book appears as part of the popular series "Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes".

Author : Walther Ziegler
Publisher : BoD - Books on Demand
Page : 106 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2019-01-22
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9782322109678

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Marx en 60 minutes by Walther Ziegler Pdf

Jamais auparavant et jamais plus un philosophe n'eut d'impact aussi considérable que Karl Marx. Sa grande vision d'une société sans propriété privée reçut un écho mondial. Des révolutionnaires, des partis politiques, des gouvernements et des États entiers se réclamèrent de lui et de sa philosophie. Le marxisme se répandit dans le monde entier. Des révolutions eurent lieu dans des pays aussi divers que la Russie, la Chine, le Vietnam, Cuba, le Nicaragua et le Mozambique, jusqu'à ce que près d'un tiers de l'humanité vive sous le communisme. Près de cent ans après la mort de Marx, le monde communiste qu'il avait contribué à établir s'effondra. Nombreux furent alors ceux qui dirent que Marx s'était trompé et que le capitalisme était finalement l'unique système économique viable. On espérait pouvoir concilier la démocratie, l'économie de marché et une répartition équitable des richesses. Mais cet optimisme n'allait être que de courte durée. Les crises financières et économiques globales allaient profondément ébranler la confiance dans l'économie de marché. De plus en plus, il s'avère que le capitalisme souffre précisément des faiblesses structurelles décrites par Marx dans son oeuvre principale « Le Capital ». Certaines de ses prédictions, quant à la monopolisation progressive ou à l'écart grandissant entre riches et pauvres, se sont désormais réalisées. D'autres se profilent déjà à l'horizon. Sa critique fine et acerbe du capitalisme est donc plus que jamais d'actualité. Indubitablement, Marx a encore beaucoup de choses à nous dire. Sur la base de soixante-dix citations, le livre « Marx en 60 minutes » offre un éclairage sur sa philosophie de l'histoire, sa théorie de l'infrastructure-superstructure, sa critique de la religion ainsi que ses analyses sur la plus-value, l'accumulation et la paupérisation. Dans la deuxième partie du livre, ses conclusions sont appliquées à la situation actuelle. Le livre est publié dans la collection à succès « Grands penseurs en 60 minutes ».

Author : Walther Ziegler
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 126 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2016-07-08
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783741227677

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Hegel in 60 Minutes by Walther Ziegler Pdf

Already as a student Hegel was often reprimanded for excessive drinking and gambling and he is surely one of the most unconventional – today, one might say “coolest” – thinkers of all time. He is sometimes mockingly accused of having been drunk when he hit on his key idea of a “World Spirit”. Nevertheless, his philosophy remains fascinating and highly relevant even today. Hegel was the first philosopher to realize the full implications of the dimension of “becoming”. He can fairly be called the Charles Darwin of philosophy. Because for Hegel everything – literally everything – is in constant motion. Human life has as much the character of a process as do Nature and History. A human being comes into the world as a tiny baby and becomes a child, an adolescent and finally an adult. Likewise, human history marches onward from small beginnings. One epoch follows another. The expression “spirit of the times” that we use so casually today is in fact one we owe to Hegel’s great discovery that every epoch possesses a specific spirit that completely permeates it. This “spirit of the age” – or, as Hegel also called it, “World Spirit” – manifests itself in all the ideas held by this age’s people regarding morality, justice, art, music and architecture. But Hegel says more. A second contention central to his great philosophical discovery was that these different epochs and their “spirits” do not follow one another merely randomly and by chance but rather obey a logical principle of movement: the so-called “dialectic”. The pendulum of history swings, “dialectically”, first in one direction, then in the other. But human history is nonetheless steering its way, slowly but unstoppably, toward a great final goal. The book Hegel in 60 Minutes explains, using the best quotations from Hegel’s work and many examples, how this “dialectic”, and thus the motor of human history, is argued by him to function. Many books claim to clearly explain the ideas of the notoriously difficult philosopher Hegel. But this one really does this. All the exciting questions raised by Hegel’s fascinating philosophical vision are all answered here: at what point do we reach “the end of History”? Are we only spectators of this History, or actors in it? Who or what is the “World Spirit”? What is the meaning of life? Of what use is Hegel’s discovery to us today? The book forms part of the popular series Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes.

Author : Walther Ziegler
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 570 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2017-03-09
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783741241451

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Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes - Volume 1 by Walther Ziegler Pdf

"Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes Volume 1" comprises the five books, already published as separate volumes, "Plato in 60 Minutes", "Rousseau in 60 Minutes", "Smith in 60 Minutes", "Kant in 60 Minutes", and "Hegel in 60 Minutes". Each short study sums up the key idea at the heart of each respective thinker and asks the question: "Of what use is this key idea to us today?" But above all the philosophers get to speak for themselves. Their most important statements are prominently presented, as direct quotations, in speech balloons with appropriate graphics, with exact indication of the source of each quote in the author's works. This light-hearted but nonetheless scholarly precise rendering of the ideas of each thinker makes it easy for the reader to acquaint him- or herself with the great questions of our lives. Because every philosopher who has achieved global fame has posed the "question of meaning": what is it that holds, at the most essential level, the world together? There have emerged here a range of very different answers. In Plato, for example, the "Idea of the Good" is that to which we need to open our souls; in Rousseau, it is rather only in our own original nature that we need to trust; in Adam Smith, it is in self-interest, which spurs on each individual and is finally transformed, by an "invisible hand", into the common good; in Kant it is the application of Reason which frees us and makes us capable of extraordinary moral actions; and in Hegel, finally, everything is held together by the dialectical self-development of the World-Spirit, which drives onward from epoch to epoch through the deeds of individuals and of nations until it has finally reached its great goal. In other words, the meaning of the world and thus of our own lives remains, among philosophers, a topic of great controversy. One thing, though, is sure: each of these five thinkers struck, from his own perspective, one brilliant spark out of that complex crystal that is the truth.

Author : Christian Fuchs
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 416 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2015-10-23
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781317364498

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Reading Marx in the Information Age by Christian Fuchs Pdf

Renowned Marxist scholar and critical media theorist Christian Fuchs provides a thorough, chapter-by-chapter introduction to Capital Volume 1 that assists readers in making sense of Karl Marx’s most important and groundbreaking work in the information age, exploring Marx’s key concepts through the lens of media and communication studies via contemporary phenomena like the Internet, digital labour, social media, the media industries, and digital class struggles. Through a range of international, current-day examples, Fuchs emphasises the continued importance of Marx and his work in a time when transnational media companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook play an increasingly important role in global capitalism. Discussion questions and exercises at the end of each chapter help readers to further apply Marx’s work to a modern-day context.

Author : Paul Strathern
Publisher : Philosophers in 90 Minutes (Pa
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1566633559

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Marx in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern Pdf

Strathern briskly outlines the development of Marx's thought as a philosopher and political economist; and as with all titles in this series, illuminates the man behind the ideas.

Author : Ranganayakamma
Publisher : Sweet Home Publications
Page : 640 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2024-07-02
Category : Art
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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An Introduction to Marx’s ‘Capital’ by Ranganayakamma Pdf

Karl Marx’s ‘Capital’ is a work that discusses scientifically not only economic and political issues but also the entire process of development of human society. ‘Capital’ consists of 4 volumes. The title of the first volume is ‘Process of Production of Capital’. This contains 8 parts and a total of 21 chapters. The title of the second volume is ‘Process of Circulation of Capital’. This contains 3 parts. The total number of chapters is 21. The title of the third volume is ‘Process of capitalist production as a whole’. This contains 7 parts. The total number of chapters is 52. The fourth volume is in the form of three separate volumes, each one of which is called a ‘part’. The common title of all the three parts is ‘Theories of Surplus Value’. All the three parts contain a total of 24 chapters. Each one of these 3 parts has an ‘Addendum’. All these, as a whole, constitute ‘Capital’. This book is an introduction to Marx's Capital.

Author : Marshall Rockford Goodman
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2015-08-22
Category : History
ISBN : 9781329358362

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Karla Marx [and the Man-haters] by Marshall Rockford Goodman Pdf

With eye-opening revelations, ""Karla Marx and the Man-haters"" explores the past and present politics of the women's movement in seven chapters: Politics, Family, Media, Government, Education, Finance and Religion. More than 400 endnotes and citations are provided. Karl Marx compiled ""Manifesto of the Communist Party"" in 1848. Now we have Karla Marx, who personifies today's radical feminist activist with her egregious messages of liberation and equality that covertly limit our rights and subtly usurp our freedom through authoritarian control. "Karla Marx" was first published in 2008. Now this latest edition incorporates updates, revisions and original material in two new chapters and more than 75 new pages. (An electronic version is also available most through most online retailers.)

Author : Walther Ziegler
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 106 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2020-03-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783750460232

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Adorno in 60 Minutes by Walther Ziegler Pdf

Adorno is one of the most charismatic thinkers in philosophical history. The bald-headed professor in horn-rimmed glasses gave our modern civilization a fatal diagnosis - perhaps the most fatal one conceivable: we may have raised ourselves through science, capitalism and techniques of state administration to the position of masters over Nature and brought this latter under our control; but we have, precisely thereby, also enslaved ourselves. We have become in the end manipulated victims of the mass consumer society that we ourselves created. All our lives are lived in delusions whose shell we cannot penetrate. "Wrong life cannot be lived rightly": this famous dictum of Adorno's symbolizes, still today, modern Man's uncertainties and contradictions. On the one hand we Westerners enjoy, thanks to capitalism, unprecedented medical and technical blessings; on the other, we feel we're losing ourselves, becoming slaves. Many people sell their labour-power all day and then spend the evening in front of the TV which dangles before them a happy and adventurous world that is long since lost to them. Are we all completely manipulated? Has the Enlightenment project of freeing Man, through reason and science, from superstition really, as Adorno claims, turned into its opposite? Is he right in thinking that science itself is leading us into the danger of a new barbarism? Adorno gives extremely exciting and original answers to these questions. The book "Adorno in 60 Minutes" explains, step by step, his main works, aided in this by over 50 direct quotations from them. In the last chapter "Of What Use is Adorno's Discovery for Us Today?" it is shown what burning relevance his Critical Theory has for the personal life of every one of us today. The book is published as part of the popular series "Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes".

Author : Peter Hetherington
Publisher : Pingora Press
Page : 696 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2023-12-13
Category : History
ISBN : 9781662937149

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The Power Matrix by Peter Hetherington Pdf

America seems divided as never before, segregated into political tribes with antithetical beliefs. But are these sides really that different? Does virtue lie at just one political extreme? On what are our political opinions and affiliations based? Is one side correct and the other wrong? Is the divide really a conflict between socialism and capitalism, and if so, what do these ideologies mean and how did they evolve? The Power Matrix attempts to answer these questions graphically using the simple assumption that everything in the universe is based on energy. This basic understanding allows one to construct graphs chronicling how different forms of complexity emerged. Human society is just another complex system that conforms to the laws of nature. Examining the origins and evolution of society allows us to see the modern world in context and explains why our current circumstances are so unique and fragile. Perhaps this perspective will make it easier for Americans and to discover that our friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens who disagree with us are not immoral or ignorant, and that maybe everyone has a unique perspective and something worthwhile to say.

Author : United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 332 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 1984
Category : Christianity
ISBN : LOC:0010122031A

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Marxism and Christianity in Revolutionary Central America by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism Pdf