Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and the author of the best-selling God Is Not Great. His books published by Verso include The Trial of Henry Kissinger, No One Left to Lie To, The Missionary Position, Unacknowledged Legislation, The Parthenon Marbles, Hostage to History, and more.Blog
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"The most brilliant Marxist intellectual"— Christopher Hitchens reviews The Letters of Rosa Luxemburg
Christopher Hitchens is a divisive figure for many on the Left. But despite some of his politically problematic positions, his knowledge of the Marxist canon—Trotsky's thought in particular— is a welcome antidote to those public intellectuals who wholly dismiss Marxism as an unwelcome chapter in the triumphant narrative of democratic liberalism. Hitchens refers to precisely this intellectual repudiation in his review of The Letters of Rosa Luxemburg in the Atlantic. The generally accepted verdict on twentieth century ideology, he writes, is "that its 'totalitarian' character eclipses any of the ostensible differences between its 'left' and 'right' versions." Scholars who castigate Marxism without scrutinizing the serious variances and debates within it risk severely limiting their knowledge of modern history. In this milieu, one figure who has earned and deserves public attention is Rosa Luxemburg, who, for Hitchens is
... the most brilliant-and the most engaging-of these Marxist intellectuals was Rosa Luxemburg, the Polish-born Jew who was the most charismatic figure in the German Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Discussions
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Here in the UK, it is very hard to get a copy of this book for under £25. I have requested on the Amazon.co.uk site that a Kindle edition be published (giving the scarcity of this book) but I fear that it may take some time.So, here I am. Pleading with you to please, please make this book available to those who wish to pay a fair price for it, and not an exorbitant amount as listed on Amazon.May this reach the necessary people promptly! and if not... please log onto Amazon.co.uk and request the publisher create a kindle edition.That is all, thank you.