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Marx: Philosophy in an Hour

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Marx: Philosophy in an Hour

By: Paul Strathern
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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About this listen

Philosophy for busy people. Listen to this succinct account of the philosophy of Karl Marx in just one hour.

Karl Marx's philosophical critique of capitalism and his solution of communism directly led to the formation of the communist state in the Soviet Union. Whilst this great venture has now all but completely failed, Marx’s philosophy has proved to be arguably the most influential of the twentieth century; the influence of Marxism can be seen in subjects as diverse as the infamous policies of Joseph Stalin to many of the progressive humanitarian reforms of the twentieth century.

The audiobook is an expert account of Marx’s life and philosophical ideas – entertainingly written and above all easy listening. Also included are selections from Marx’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place Marx in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

©2013 Paul Strathern (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government Society Feel Better Stalin Socialism Capitalism

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Critic reviews

‘Well-written, clear and informed, they have a breezy wit about them . . .I find them hard to stop reading.’ New York Times

‘Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise’ Wall Street Journal

‘Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character . . . I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization.’ Boston Globe

‘A godsend in this era of the short attention span.’ New York Times
All stars
Most relevant  
It gave good background, as well as the ideas. it was particularly good to listen to in Audio book form.
It was notably objective.

I enjoyed listening to it more than once

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This is is one of the best (along with socrates, Plato and augistine) produced by the couple. I really anjoyed it.

One of the best by Paul and jonathan

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I wonder what Marx would have thought about everything done in his name? Although I know a little about Marxism, I knew virtually nothing about KM and I was surprised to learn that he had such a lackadaisical attitude to life. Despite what followed, he was far from being a great revolutionary himself!

Fascinating

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Interesting to remember Das Capital was published only four years after the end of the civil war in the USA. Which was about whether it was OK to keep slaves.. Oh well..

Excellent

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Naturally due to the recording length (1hr:22mins), it serves as an overview rather than in depth review. However, it does succinctly supply the key points to help you decide if Marx was one of the good guys or not.

A compelling and insightful read!

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I would have preferred it to have offered more insight.
As it was more like a novel
of which I'm not a fan.

More so history than philosophy

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Very shallow commentary on Marx that rarely goes further than the biographical. The ideas that are discussed are not taken seriously and more detailed analysis can be found on Wikipedia. The author prefers to mock Marx, while failing to actually engage with his ideas. The title is a misnomer as this book is very short on the Philosophy and runs well over an hour. Wouldn’t recommend.

Nothing you couldn’t read on Wikipedia

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I was hoping for a balanced view of the ideas of Marx but this audiobook has an air of sneer and mockery of his ideas. I was disappointed in this. Many nations have declared themselves Marxist but I didn't want to hear about failed translation of his theories. I wanted to hear about Marx.

Biased and unbalanced

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Somewhat informative history of Marx and his works though blatantly unbalanced and condescending throughout. Not a good starting point for anyone truly interested in his work, though perhaps useful as a guide to common criticisms levelled against his work to prepare rebuttals for.

A criticism of Marxism by an unabashed capitalist

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This is not an introduction to Marx as a philosopher or theorist. It is, rather, a hatchet job biography that concentrates and amplifies Marx's personal shortcomings as an individual and as a husband. Marx's ideas are not explored in any detail or depth - and when they are the author rapidly dismisses them with crude historical arguments that lack nuance and credibility. The work of a serial hack.

A biased biography of Marx

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