The Communist Manifesto Review - A Short, Concise Summary

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Now largely discredited after it inspired - or some say was manipulated by - the murderous, brutal regime of Leninist/Stalinist Soviet Russia, The Communist Manifesto contains great insight into the limitations and superficiality of a Capitalist society; both the instability of the economic structure, and the shallow philosophical implications of consumerism inherent in a capitalist system. It predicts the overthrow of the elites in society by the workers, known as the bourgeois and the proletariat respectively, and the eventual abolition of all social, economic classes.

Marx saw a consistent pattern in history; that there has always been one minority ruling class exploiting the larger, workers class; his view of history is summarized in his assertion that 'All history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. He implored all the various communist groups scattered around Europe to incite revolution, in order to overthrow the self-interested, apathetic ruling classes and establish a society where class did not exist: where material would be evenly distributed to prevent inequality.

"A spectre is haunting Europe--the spectre of Communism"

Published in 1848, The Communist Manifesto was penned mostly by Marx at the request of various communist groups in Europe. The stated aim of this enterprise was to create a document that clarified and illuminated the beliefs and doctrines of communism in the face of a concerted campaign from opposing political parties who were sabotaging communism by spreading a wave of malicious falsities. The book contains a highly moralistic message of despair at the exploitation of the many by the few; the large disproportionate between the value of an individuals work, and the amount of wage they receive for it. Marx witnessed in his day the consequences of the Industrial Revolution: the squalor, the poverty and the unrest, and felt indignation at such blatant exploitation.

Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution

What shrouds this work in infamy is the application of it's principles and repute in subsequent years. Lenin, and then Stalin, ran an increasingly violent and cruel state under the guise of communist principles. Collectivization was utilized, as well as centralizing the means of production, yet Stalin embarked on genocidal campaigns, and brutally neglected a criminal amount of Russian people. It is not right to associate Stalinist Russia with The Communist Manifesto. The manifesto challenges both previous and current economic, and the consequent social, systems; and it further encourages us to review and reconsider our conceptions about the world. It is by no means the manual to violent dictatorships that it is often misconceived as, and even if you strongly believe in capitalism, it remains an interesting discourse on economics and human nature.

The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world, unite!

Luke Bodell is a freelance author living in Bath, England. He runs a book review website that provides brief, concise reviews on books in Top 10 Lists, to help people decide new books to read.

Read many more at http://www.top10books.org/

Congress Looks to Avert Eurozone Struggles and Damage to Sterling US Credit Rating

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This week, President Obama urged congress to reach a compromise on the so-called debt ceiling-the legal ceiling for federal debt-and agree on a new budget that would balance America's books. Policy wonks and politicos have prophesized that any prolonged, bipartisan stalemate would plunge America into economic turmoil anew. It seems the congressional "Gang of Six, "composed of the top lawmakers on either side of the isle, has finally agreed to move forward with talks to cut nearly 3.7 trillion dollars in federal spending over the next 10 years. Though it is unclear from what programs and jurisdictions this money will come, it is clear that reaching a final version any compromise and subsequent bill, in the bipartisan House and Senate, will be long and anguished.

Credit card bills become a headache for everyone

Much of America will be relieved that the US government isn't going to shutdown as it threatened many times earlier this spring. Some might recall the thousands of government employees furloughed because lawmakers couldn't reach an agreement over the federal budget.

Evidently, even the most powerful people in the country are struggling to reign in spending and control their credit.

These temporary lapses in government underscore the availability, or lack thereof, of new credit and new credit alternatives. US lawmakers are effectively engaged in what many credit card customers would recognize as a credit card negotiation.

Like all credit card consumers with revolving debt, many lawmakers are getting their first significant taste of the anxiety and pressure that comes when creditors call and you can't pay up-in this case, failure to pay up could mean years of political backlash from angry voters. What's worse, a federally sized "credit card negotiation" gone wrong could undermine the frail but recovering international economy.

Unlike the Eurozone

Over the past year, the US, despite opinions and forecasts to the contrary, has weathered rough economic forecasts with brassy conviction. Much of the Eurozone, in countries like Italy, Spain and Greece, has suffered a paralyzing series of severe economic shocks equivalent to nation-sized bankruptcy. Not a few times have financial earthquakes punished the Eurozone and pushed it to the brink. International creditor and banking confidence has been rattled by high unemployment in pivotal Eurozone countries and the reduction of hundreds of billions of dollars of European consumer debt to "junk" status.

Of course, no one can argue that the United States and the Eurozone haven't fallen upon similar hard times. Historically, however, there has always been a major difference in the outlook of American consumers and Europeans-American confidence usually prevails over hardship. That appears to still resonate with a bipartisan Congress this week: Americans move forward.

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Game Change - The Audio Drama of a Presidential Campaign - Audiobook Review

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Game Change, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin and narrated By Dennis Boutsikaris, had Washington shaking even before it went on sale. It reveals some shocking information about the 2008 presidential campaign. The authors went out of their way to find out the back story and gossip from numerous angles on the candidates and on others around them. Senator Harry Reid, leader of the Senate, was singled out for racially insensitive words about then Senator Barrack Obama.

The authors leave no one out. They have written about Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards's wife, going into tantrums and swearing like crazy about him and his antics. The authors expose more about the Sarah Palin selection and how rushed the process was. Not only was no one in the Republican leadership consulted, but little thought and consideration appears to be given to the choice. The choice was a tactic to knock the Obama campaign off guard and that part worked until Palin self destructed in numerous interviews.

Then Senator Barrack Obama is shown to be heavily staged throughout the campaign. They show the two sides of the man, calm cool and collected when on the stump, profane with flashes of anger off the stump. "This #@!% would be really interesting if we weren't in the middle of it."--Barack Obama, September 2008

Hillary and Bill Clinton take their lumps too. President Clinton's inappropriate comments and Obama's observation that Hillary could not control her husband. The book also covers Obama's hard sell to get Clinton on board for Secretary of State. The book opens doors into other mysteries from the campaign like Giuliani's Florida gamble and why he left the race.

When listen to the book it's like living through the campaign once again, but you get to be the fly on the wall with inside view of what really goes on. You will get insights that will inform you, but also make you angry. This should have come out during the campaign, but the press was not doing its job well. Maybe that's the most damning insight of all. If you're a political junkie like me, get the audio book and enjoy the drama.

Listen to the audio sample of the Game Change Audiobook.

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Alex Nesbitt provides audio book reviews from CastLibrary.com Audiobook Store.