windinthewires's review against another edition
3.0
I have conflicting feelings about this book. The first few chapters were really hard for me to get through, mainly because of how theoretical the writing is, and I struggled to understand the ideas being developed since I couldn’t relate the theory to reality.
I enjoyed the later chapters a lot more when the arguments got a bit more practical and explicitly linked to reality and not just a theoretical framework. It was still confusing at times to someone not very used to these kinds of theoretical texts and who isn’t very well-versed in Marxism to begin with, but I understood enough to make me continue reading. Or maybe I didn’t actually understand what the book is ”supposed to” say, who knows, but it still gave me some interesting insights and thoughts that made me enjoy reading it.
There’s a lot that I like about this book, like the idea that there is no such thing as a healthy individual mind when capitalist society itself, which we all live in, is sick and that we are all shaped by that sickness but that we also struggle against it.
I like the core idea of the book, that we should look for ways of changing the world that doesn’t involve seizing power because power is power and will always corrupt those who have it. I like the idea of anti-power, of having a society not based on value and capitalistic greed but instead on humanity and the mutual respect of everyone’s dignity. I like the arguments against elite-run revolution, because I’ve always struggled with the idea of an elite group (especially when it’s framed as intellectuals saving the uneducated) leading the revolution of the masses. To me it seems that the only possible outcome is the reproducing of the oppressive system that we wanted to replace, so it was nice seeing those thoughts reflected in this book.
What I struggle with most, aside from the parts I found difficult to understand, is the lack of an answer to the question of how society CAN be changed. The ways in which we can NOT change it is thoroughly discussed, but when it comes to an answer the only one given is ”there is no answer”. While I appreciate that conclusion in the sense that it’s realistic and because I’ve always struggled with the idea that there’s a straightforward answer to something so complex as dismantling capitalism (like ”just take state control and everything will be great!”), I also dislike it since it left me feeling unsatisfied and almost defeated because change seems so impossible. I almost prefer a clear-cut answer that has a lot of issues to not having any idea of what can be done.
In conclusion: it’s an interesting read that didn’t change my life but raised some interesting questions that I will carry with me, even though the lack of answers frustrated me.
I enjoyed the later chapters a lot more when the arguments got a bit more practical and explicitly linked to reality and not just a theoretical framework. It was still confusing at times to someone not very used to these kinds of theoretical texts and who isn’t very well-versed in Marxism to begin with, but I understood enough to make me continue reading. Or maybe I didn’t actually understand what the book is ”supposed to” say, who knows, but it still gave me some interesting insights and thoughts that made me enjoy reading it.
There’s a lot that I like about this book, like the idea that there is no such thing as a healthy individual mind when capitalist society itself, which we all live in, is sick and that we are all shaped by that sickness but that we also struggle against it.
I like the core idea of the book, that we should look for ways of changing the world that doesn’t involve seizing power because power is power and will always corrupt those who have it. I like the idea of anti-power, of having a society not based on value and capitalistic greed but instead on humanity and the mutual respect of everyone’s dignity. I like the arguments against elite-run revolution, because I’ve always struggled with the idea of an elite group (especially when it’s framed as intellectuals saving the uneducated) leading the revolution of the masses. To me it seems that the only possible outcome is the reproducing of the oppressive system that we wanted to replace, so it was nice seeing those thoughts reflected in this book.
What I struggle with most, aside from the parts I found difficult to understand, is the lack of an answer to the question of how society CAN be changed. The ways in which we can NOT change it is thoroughly discussed, but when it comes to an answer the only one given is ”there is no answer”. While I appreciate that conclusion in the sense that it’s realistic and because I’ve always struggled with the idea that there’s a straightforward answer to something so complex as dismantling capitalism (like ”just take state control and everything will be great!”), I also dislike it since it left me feeling unsatisfied and almost defeated because change seems so impossible. I almost prefer a clear-cut answer that has a lot of issues to not having any idea of what can be done.
In conclusion: it’s an interesting read that didn’t change my life but raised some interesting questions that I will carry with me, even though the lack of answers frustrated me.
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