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eduardoandgo's review
3.5
Really liked the sections Criticisms of the Manifesto and The Communist Manifesto Today.
brandonadaniels's review
5.0
About the closest thing I have found to taking a college class on the Manifesto. I’m a fan of Mieville’s fiction, and it’s cool seeing this other side of him. He also reads the audiobook, and has a good voice for it.
_tourist's review against another edition
on the manifesto of the communist party;
the communist manifesto is particular to its time, but general in its ambitions. yet i am dubious that the best response we have to class antagonism is to fall into battle lines and finally subordinate ourselves to a party we are assured ‘represent[s] the interests of the movement as a whole.’ (2.5).
can i countenance a text that practically froths at the overwhelming ‘productive forces’ used by the bourgeoisie to ‘subjugate nature’ being laid in the laps of the ‘communist party’, lowercase or not?
on mieville’s analysis;
‘…these utopians pursue rarefied social experiments - alternative modes of living, for example - of kinds that can never exist more than fleetingly and interstitially in capitalism.’ well let me not be slow about it. i can never exist more than fleetingly and interstitially in any system, capitalist or not. ‘the slow accretion of tiny victories and defeats’ begins with our interpersonal relations; in other words, our lifestyles, our ‘modes of living’.
to my mind, mieville’s analysis and gloss of the manifesto is not enough to bring it into the 21st century. he relies overly on phrases such as ‘but this does not invalidate the manifesto’s position on /x/‘. after the seventh incantation of such a phrase, it really begs the question ‘why not?’. surely we can do better.
the ratio of hate-evangelism to climate analysis was also interesting.
the communist manifesto is particular to its time, but general in its ambitions. yet i am dubious that the best response we have to class antagonism is to fall into battle lines and finally subordinate ourselves to a party we are assured ‘represent[s] the interests of the movement as a whole.’ (2.5).
can i countenance a text that practically froths at the overwhelming ‘productive forces’ used by the bourgeoisie to ‘subjugate nature’ being laid in the laps of the ‘communist party’, lowercase or not?
on mieville’s analysis;
‘…these utopians pursue rarefied social experiments - alternative modes of living, for example - of kinds that can never exist more than fleetingly and interstitially in capitalism.’ well let me not be slow about it. i can never exist more than fleetingly and interstitially in any system, capitalist or not. ‘the slow accretion of tiny victories and defeats’ begins with our interpersonal relations; in other words, our lifestyles, our ‘modes of living’.
to my mind, mieville’s analysis and gloss of the manifesto is not enough to bring it into the 21st century. he relies overly on phrases such as ‘but this does not invalidate the manifesto’s position on /x/‘. after the seventh incantation of such a phrase, it really begs the question ‘why not?’. surely we can do better.
the ratio of hate-evangelism to climate analysis was also interesting.
schwarmgiven's review
4.0
China is clever & persuasive. Very few people have thought about the Manifesto like this--as a literary object, a piece of writing that kicked off the Manifesto craze.
Lots of good history--too many modern references to Palestine and Trump feel petty--but the stuff about what was going on when the Manifesto was written is good—a solid overview of some of Marx's academic axe-grinding, which I like.
Honest review of the criticism of the Manifesto and objective acknowledgments of its weaknesses.
It is a good read and a quick overview of the Current communist thinking.
Lots of good history--too many modern references to Palestine and Trump feel petty--but the stuff about what was going on when the Manifesto was written is good—a solid overview of some of Marx's academic axe-grinding, which I like.
Honest review of the criticism of the Manifesto and objective acknowledgments of its weaknesses.
It is a good read and a quick overview of the Current communist thinking.
occlude's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.5
A fascinating, thought provoking read. The Manifesto raises a number of issues which are as relevant today as they were at the time.
Mieville's analysis and contextualisation are invaluable, particularly where he ventures into a themes which the Manifesto touches only briefly like race. Minus half a star for Mieville's propensity for five dollar words, which make it less accessible and a clunkier read.
Mieville's analysis and contextualisation are invaluable, particularly where he ventures into a themes which the Manifesto touches only briefly like race. Minus half a star for Mieville's propensity for five dollar words, which make it less accessible and a clunkier read.