Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice little piece of history., 15 May 2004
I studied classical sociology at college and, of course, this included good old Marxism. Marxism is built upon a simple idea: that the rich exploit the poor and eventually the poor will rise up. This is easy to understand! The other, more subtle, bits about Marxism are not so easy to understand mainly due to the terminology. All that "negative surplus value" stuff hurts your head after a while. This little gem, which is basically a comic book, explains everything effectively and quickly. The problem with Marxism, and Marx admitted it, was that the working classes had little time to spend pouring over books, more so his. The working classes of his time wouldn't have been able to read anyway. Although this book uses words it would have been easier to read than 'Das Kapital'. Marx should have had himself a good business advisor.
So, if you fancy becoming a communist/socialist, passing your school exams, or winning the pub quiz this is the book for you!!! This book would also suit lazy university students doing the odd essay on globalisation or oppressed McJob workers who can't spend the time to wade through the works of Marx & Engels.
It is quite funny in places too because it was written in the 1970s. The author clearly believed all the world's problems were caused by America as if capitalism didn't exist in Latin American or Eastern European countires. Under a list of "great people inspired by socialism" are, amongst others, the names of Stalin, Tito, and oddly, Gandhi. I never knew the Mahatma was a communist but there you go.
A good read!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clears the fog surrounding marxism!, 4 Sep 2002
I read this book whilst preparing for a seminar on Karl Marx. i searched for books that gave me an accurate yet easy to understand run down on marxism. I felt its cartoons and jokes made the reading far less boring than other text books i had read. the detailed glossary at the back also helped me to understand some of the more complicated langauge. I felt it was a great book to give a grounding on the subject and helped me to understand the more complex books on marxism. I would recommend it to anyone who has read other texts on Marxism and are still no further in understanding the ideology.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A surprisingly impressive introduction to Marxist thought, 10 Jan 2004
A lot of people probably think they know what Marxism is all about, but in reality only a precious few have any intimate acquaintance with the man's writings and ideas. Only the hardiest of souls can pour through the voluminous pages that constitute Marx's significant body of work, writings that are as dense and complex as just about anything you would ever hope to find. No single book can communicate the depth and breadth of Marxism, but a single book, namely Marx For Beginners by Rius, can and does offer readers an interesting, comprehensible introduction to the basic principles and themes of one of the world's greatest thinkers. I might point out the fact that I personally detest Marx with a passion; the man indirectly caused more trouble than any other individual in history. It is important to know one's enemies well, though, and that is why I have studied Marx to a limited extent.This book was actually one of several required readings in a college course I took on the history of socialism. I had to laugh when I first saw the actual book as it looks like a book of cartoons. Don't let the seeming simplicity of the book fool you, though. Rius uses cartoons and tiny bits of comedy in order to make one's introduction to the subject as interesting as possible, and he covers the basics quite well indeed: Marx's philosophy, his economic doctrine, and his concept of historical materialism. This is an increasingly complex triumvirate of concepts. Actual quotations from Marx himself often drop in front of you like a ton of bricks, but Rius uses this building material to construct a humble edifice of understanding and instruction. He especially excels at placing Marx's ideas in their original historical context, summarizing the evolution of society over the years and pointing to the sources from which Marx drew most heavily: German philosophy, English political economy, and French socialism. You may just be skimming the deep waters of Marxism, but before you know it you've actually learned something about what Marx thought and why he thought it. To further help you along, Rius provides a pretty impressive little glossary of terms at the end and offers a few suggestions on the subject of further reading for those who would like to pursue the subject further. Whether you hate him or love him, Marx is important, and Marx for Beginners is the most accessible gateway to his philosophy and economic theories that I know of.
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