Requiem for Marx

by Yuri N. Maltsev (Editor)

Requiem for Marx by Yuri N. Maltsev (Paperback - Jun 1993)

Genres: Economics, History, Philosophy, Politics, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Patrick Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the editor's main essay on the fall of the Soviet Union a couple years ago. I have skimmed some of the other essays but not found time to finish them.

Yuri Maltsev's essay was very good, quite perceptive, as well as full of first hand data and analysis from his unique perspective of being "the last defector" before the lifting of the Iron Curtain.

[Yuri Zbitnoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there's one philosopher in the history of modern civilization whose work is both obscenely overrated and rife with demonstrably bad ideas, shoddy logic and contempt for everything decent in the world, it is surely the work of Karl Marx.

Edited by a former Soviet economist and featuring essays written by legends of Austrian economics, Requiem for Marx is perhaps the definitive demolition of a philosophy that's been walking through the campuses of the West like a maggot ridden zombie corpse and spreading the mental plague of socialism everywhere it goes.

Marxism is a toxic cesspool of idiotic nonsense that's wrought misery in every circumstance it's been attempted. This funeral is long overdue.

full review here:
http://wp.me/p6lj8t-al

[Daniel Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you boil it all down Marx was a bum. He lived off the charity of others his whole life - never willing to work. His scholarship was lazy and incomplete; words that were central to his historical and economic analysis like "class" were never even defined by him. His main contributions were in polemics and regurgitating other people's ideas. And central to his theory of class struggle was an easily debunked theoretical framework: labor theory of value. It really is amazing how many people are smitten by the religiosity of his utopian and nonsensical ideas.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this compilation.

Yuri Maltsev was an ex-soviet economic planner. His story is amazing, born in Russia, becomes a economic planner and later on stumbles across western economic theory in the vaulted basement in the library of Moscow.

Under penalty of a harsh prison sentence secretly studied until the wall came down. He then moved to America becoming an anti-socialist pro free market economist.

[Josh Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's common for supporters of free markets to attack Marxism on the basis of what has been done by followers of Marx. "Marxism is wrong because Lenin did X." This book (a series of essays) shows what is wrong with Marxism in and of itself, and thus enables the reader to become a more effective advocate of freedom. One comes away from this book with an understanding of the logical fallacies, inconsistencies, and hypocrisies of both Marxism and Marx himself.

[John Boettcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you think that government, socialism, or communism is a good thing, read this book. The author himself defected from the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War and has been all over the world, trying to teach people about the nastiness and brutality of communism. His lectures on YouTube are fantastic and you won't be disappointed by listening to them or by reading this book, a scathing criticism of the man who propagated the murder of millions in the 20th century alone.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of essays critiquing and documenting the history, philosophy, and biography of Karl Marx from various free market perspectives. Though scholarly, the essays make for a lively and engaging read.

[Sammy_90 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Thankful for having the chance to read it.

[Kat M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating! I learned a good deal about Marx, the man and his philosophy. There are several different perspectives on why his philosophy had the impact it did, which is an interesting question in and of itself, but also an important question.