Roger Kimball - Leszek Kolakowski, Main Currents of Marxism

[@reallycoolgal]

Wow, I’m so glad someone is talking about Kolakowski. I’m saddened that no one has heard of him at my university.

[@uhuhuuuhhh9883]

This ia a truly great book by a true genius.

[@Attalic]

@@uhuhuuuhhh9883 Minus the fact that his critique of Structural Marxism was the worst critique I have ever witnessed in my entire life.

[@Maranna95]

36:20 and on: 'Writing about the a-morphist new left of the 1960s for example, Kolakowski notes that "Although ideological fantasies of this movement were no more than a nonsensical expression of the whims of spoiled middle class children, and while the extremists among them were virtually indistinguishable from fascist thugs, ..."' Mid 2020s anyone? How very demotivating to see that it all just keeps repeating itself, despite everybody's good intentions..

[@jesusissouthern]

People don’t get smarter. They just learn more.

[@josephevans5785]

Sad that more people don’t know about Kolakowski, since he has historically been the official standard. He leveled my understanding of Marx, separating historical myth from fact. I also have Walicki’s “Marxism and the Leap to the Kingdom of Freedom: Rise and Fall of the Communist Utopia,” And some others by Laqueur, Pipes, books by anti-Soviet Marxists and non-Marxists.

[@gagamba9198]

Thanks for uploading this speech.

[@thomaspropst2705]

very timely in June 2020, Thanks for this wonderful presentation.

[@philipdraper7284]

It’s quite a read so far. Incredibly hidden title as far as I am concerned. There is probably good reason why it is not as popular-there is a wellspring of “hidden people” that all seemed to have certain answers to what truly ailed western society but whose work is largely buried and the spotlight given to far lesser individuals whose work merely skims the surface.

[@neeloor2004able]

Excellent 👌