A scholarly study thoroughly researched but ponderous and suitable only for those with a burning desire to see Marxist...
A detailed debunking of Marxist philosophy.
Eubank (The Case Against Capital, 2001), a former computer programmer and consultant, says his book is intended “to show that Marx’s central accusation against capitalism—that it enriches capitalists only via their exploitation of laborers, through the extraction of unpaid ‘surplus value’ from them—is a fallacy.” The author adeptly uses Marx’s own work Capital: A Critique of Political Economy to skewer the socialist philosopher, highlighting statements Marx made and refuting them one by one. Eubank adds his own commentary (which is unerringly critical of Marx) and cites the writings of others to support his pro-capitalist argument. Essentially, chapters follow the basic format of quoting passages from Marx’s work and lambasting them. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is the comparison of Marxist theory to the economic theory of Adam Smith. In this section, Eubank contrasts Marx’s labor theory—which he says “has all the typical characteristics of ‘paranoid conspiracy theories’ or ideologies”—to Smith’s labor theory, which “is more a ‘labor, rents and profits’ theory than a ‘labor theory.’ And ultimately, as a theory of what determines market price, [Smith’s] is a “supply-and-demand” theory, not a labor theory at all.” Ultimately, Eubank concludes: “Smith writes as a scientist or investigator of the facts, Marx as a medieval Scholastic.” Unfortunately, the book has a weakness: it is dull and plodding rather than lively and engaging. Quite a bit of the text in the 500-plus pages seems to take on Marx’s writings at a highly technical level. At times, the sentence-by-sentence analysis feels dry and pedantic, certain to be tiresome for the average reader. And since the book concentrates almost solely on a single work of Marx’s, it has a very narrow focus. As a result, this tome is likely to be most appropriate for academics and others with more than a casual interest in Marxist philosophy as it compares to capitalism.
A scholarly study thoroughly researched but ponderous and suitable only for those with a burning desire to see Marxist theory deconstructed.Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2011
ISBN: 978-1463434151
Page Count: 516
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Skilled and graceful exploration of the soul of an astonishing human being.
Full-immersion journalist Kidder (Home Town, 1999, etc.) tries valiantly to keep up with a front-line, muddy-and-bloody general in the war against infectious disease in Haiti and elsewhere.
The author occasionally confesses to weariness in this gripping account—and why not? Paul Farmer, who has an M.D. and a Ph.D. from Harvard, appears to be almost preternaturally intelligent, productive, energetic, and devoted to his causes. So trotting alongside him up Haitian hills, through international airports and Siberian prisons and Cuban clinics, may be beyond the capacity of a mere mortal. Kidder begins with a swift account of his first meeting with Farmer in Haiti while working on a story about American soldiers, then describes his initial visit to the doctor’s clinic, where the journalist felt he’d “encountered a miracle.” Employing guile, grit, grins, and gifts from generous donors (especially Boston contractor Tom White), Farmer has created an oasis in Haiti where TB and AIDS meet their Waterloos. The doctor has an astonishing rapport with his patients and often travels by foot for hours over difficult terrain to treat them in their dwellings (“houses” would be far too grand a word). Kidder pauses to fill in Farmer’s amazing biography: his childhood in an eccentric family sounds like something from The Mosquito Coast; a love affair with Roald Dahl’s daughter ended amicably; his marriage to a Haitian anthropologist produced a daughter whom he sees infrequently thanks to his frenetic schedule. While studying at Duke and Harvard, Kidder writes, Farmer became obsessed with public health issues; even before he’d finished his degrees he was spending much of his time in Haiti establishing the clinic that would give him both immense personal satisfaction and unsurpassed credibility in the medical worlds he hopes to influence.
Skilled and graceful exploration of the soul of an astonishing human being.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2003
ISBN: 0-375-50616-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2003
The textured perspective that emerges in candid and quirky interviews with gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth is marred by a reductive approach to sexuality. Journalist Chandler follows six teenagers over a few years, through crucial points in their coming-out processes. (The book grew out of a series of articles he wrote for the Minneapolis Star- Tribune.) Attempting to give a broad overview of the sexual- minority youth experience, Chandler devotes some chapters to the young people's (and, in some cases, their parents') personal stories and some to broad generalities about homosexuality and young people. The teens' narratives are often powerful; though there is a good share of coming-out clichÇs (``I always felt different,'' ``She was always such a tomboy,'' etc.), the author also includes the kinds of particularities that bring such stories to life. One girl, for instance, takes her mother to a gay nightclub so she can see what it's like; in another celebratory family moment, a father delights his daughter and her friends by joining them in a raucous lesbian-sex joke-telling session. Chandler, who is heterosexual, negotiates the diversity of queer youth culture more open-mindedly than most mainstream journalists, neither avoiding nor reviling drag queens, tattooed girls, and shirtless young women at pride marches. Unfortunately, the Homosexuality 101 sections are simplistic; in a chapter called ``The Roots of Homosexuality,'' Chandler reassures his readers ad nauseam that gay people do not ``choose'' to be gay and that an individual's essential sexual identity is fixed and unchangeable. Chandler's approach to homosexuality has the effect of unnecessarily distancing these kids from readers, who he seems to assume are straight and have never questioned their heterosexuality. The personal narratives here are compelling, but unfortunately, Chandler seems determined not to let his readers identify with his subjects. (Author tour)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-8129-2380-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Times/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1995
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