French & German government reading Das Kapital - even Sarkozy? WTF?

[Yazman]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article4974195.ece


Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, has been photographed reading Das Kapital. Germany's Finance Minister, Peer Steinbrück, recently said: “Certain parts of Marx's thinking are really not so bad”. Pope Benedict XVI has praised Marx's “great analytical skill”. So far this year 40,000 tourists have visited Marx's birthplace in Trier. And - are you ready? - director Alexander Kluge is making a movie out of Das Kapital.

I know this is relatively old, but what's the deal with this? I already knew about its quick climb in sales these past two years or so, but I did not know that Sarkozy was reading it. Seems quite bizarre to me, wtf reasons would he be reading it for? Maybe they're doing a bit of research on "the enemy" as they have been saying there is a big threat of revolution in France?

[Pirate turtle the 11th]

I hate to break it to you all but that das kapital movie is gonna be shit.

[Raúl Duke]

I hate to break it to you all but that das kapital movie is gonna be shit.

How can you make a movie about a academic/analytical book about capitalism?

Maybe it's possible to make a movie about the Manifesto if one gets very creative but...

I just doubt it.

Why these people are reading it...
Well I suppose they just want to see "the other side's point of view" since they've probably heard some people (I heard that some people in Germany had stated this, perhaps some memebers of Die Linke) that "Marx was right" so they want to see for themselves if this is possibly true or not.

[STJ]

This movie will be total crap.

[KC]

How can you make a movie about a academic/analytical book about capitalism?

They already made a play about it (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/nov/09/arts.books), which is apparently pretty damn good.

[KurtFF8]

Capital is an explanation of Capitalism. Not only socialists have read it throughout history. Even the back cover of the most recent penguine edition claims that it helped spawn the popularity of Social Democratic parties throughout Europe and helped them to develop their own platforms.

Not only communists read Marx. Capitalists did/do too.

[cyu]

Maybe they're doing a bit of research on "the enemy" as they have been saying there is a big threat of revolution in France?


Maybe not even that - if revolution is coming, they probably want to save their own skins as well. Post-revolution, it would be much better for Sarkozy to have people who remembered him reading Marx than for people who only remember him ordering police attacks on union members.

[Pogue]

From comments below article:



Connected with this:Don't forget Nazism branched off from Communism,hence the root of the word Nazism,(I belatedly discovered):National Socialism.So in the blink of an eye Socialism can turn into Nazism(eg former Iraq) + pro Nazis might be found within Socialism as another means to world domination.

Joan Moira Peters, Whangarei ,

[Pogue]

Maybe not even that - if revolution is coming, they probably want to save their own skins as well. Post-revolution, it would be much better for Sarkozy to have people who remembered him reading Marx than for people who only remember him ordering police attacks on union members.

Please tell me you are joking here.

[KC]

Maybe not even that - if revolution is coming, they probably want to save their own skins as well. Post-revolution, it would be much better for Sarkozy to have people who remembered him reading Marx than for people who only remember him ordering police attacks on union members.

http://www.meikathon.net/roflmao/facepalm4.jpg

[Andropov]

Please tell me you are joking here.
Sweet jesus wept, I actually agree with you.

[Pogue]

Sweet jesus wept, I actually agree with you.

Is that supposed to have some sort of impact on me?

[Andropov]

Is that supposed to have some sort of impact on me?
Yes.

[Pogue]

Yes.

It doesn't. I was just questioning something a comrade said because I found it absurd, I don't need a posse of tag alongs telling me how much they appreciated it. Its hardly a big deal, you don't need to tell me everytime I say something you agree with.

[Andropov]

It doesn't. I was just questioning something a comrade said because I found it absurd, I don't need a posse of tag alongs telling me how much they appreciated it. Its hardly a big deal, you don't need to tell me everytime I say something you agree with.
Are you for real?

[Angry Young Man]

You want Gerry Brickhammer to do a film about Das Kapital. "One man's struggle against the accumulation and concentration of wealth into the hands of the owners of the means of production, leading to crises in which the only solution is for the workforce to seize all means of production and exchange and run them democratically for the use of all society. 'Brilliant,' says Empire; '5 stars,' says the Mirror."

And the truth of the matter is that they are looking for a way to weasel capitalism out of this mess, now that we know that Keynes has failed as hard as Smith. Even capitalists accept Das Kap as an analysis of capitalism par excellence.

[Pirate Utopian]

I wonder if it will be a comedy.

[Black Dagger]

Moved to chit-chat.

[Pirate Utopian]

This movie will be total crap.
Yeah STJ in chit-chat just as I like it!

[Schrödinger's Cat]

Maybe Sarkozy likes to read. *Gasp!*

[Angry Young Man]

Does he like to read unforgiving economic analyses? What a weirdo!