Top Ten Most Harmful Books

[DarkTravesty]

I found this list during a random Google search, rather interesting and I am mildly enraged by it. It lists the Communist Manifesto as being a more harmful book than Mein Kampf, which I find to be an outright travesty. But, my views do differ from many of my other fellow Leftists. Check it out and discuss, rather interesting.

Ah, and by the way, I posted this here because I was not sure where else to put it, I am myself a Trot-Leninist type.

http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=7591

[YSR]

"Fascism is capitalism in decline" someone once said. (Forgot who, whoops!)

Mein Kampf naturally isn't as dangerous to these judges, who have less to lose from anti-Semitism than from class consciousness.

Hahaha, I'm reading the rest of this list. Of course, there's Marx (twice!), Dewey, Kinsey, Mao, etc. But on the "honorable mentions" part of the list, I see Rachel Carson's Silent Spring! How is this dangerous, except if you happen to be the executives of Mansanto? I mean, what the hell?

[Phalanx]

Besides being one of the most biased lists I've ever read, it was alright. Aside from the obvious attempt to discredit the left, the Kinsey Report and the Feminine Mystique had no place there.

[Phalanx]

Originally posted by Young Stupid [email protected] 23 2006, 05:20 AM
"Fascism is capitalism in decline" someone once said. (Forgot who, whoops!)
Off topic, but that's a stupid quote. Italy, Spain, and Germany are all capitalist countries after being ruled by fascist regimes.

No hard feelings man, I just wanted to finally say what had been on my mind for awhile now.

[DarkTravesty]

By the way, I sent them a nicely written email concerning this article that they will put in the trash bin, but if you feel like doing the same perhaps they will notice. Not sure if it will do any good, but might as well make ourselves heard by their otherwise deaf ears.

[MrDoom]

The panel was entirely conservative, it said so at the beginning of the article.

Bunch of loons, they are.

[BobKKKindle$]

The book is a recipe for ever-expanding government. When the business cycle threatens a contraction of industry, and thus of jobs, he argued, the government should run up deficits, borrowing and spending money to spur economic activity

Although this is not strictly related to Revolutionary Socialism, this is a gross misrepresentation of Keynesian economics. The Management of Aggregate Demand to maintain high levels of National Output does not necessarily include a budgetary defecit, for there are many ways of raising aggregate demand without high levels of Government Expenditure. The Reduction of Interest Rates, and the relaxation of credit restrictions encourages Consumer Expenditure by offering a lower return on Savings, and encourages Corporate Investement through lower interest accumulation and greater ease in withdrawing loans. Keynesian economics was a key factor in offering an uninterrupted boom in Western European economies from 1950 - 1970. Even if increased expenditure does play a role in Keynesianism, the defecits that result are suppossed to be negated by net Surplus Budgets during periods of high inflation. This ensures that the economy operates at the Optimum level of Ouput and Employment at every point in the buisness cycle so as not to suffer udner high inflation or employment.

It is also Highly ironic that a conservative newspaper chooses to criticize Keynesian Economics, because the United States is currently operating under an economic System that will be familiar to Trotskyists - A Permanant Keynesian Arms economy, in which high levels of Output and Employment are sustained through the maintinance of Demand for Arms, thus stimulating the arms industry. High levels of Demand for Military hardware can only be sustained through high levels of government expenditure on the Military. This Concept was first introduced in the era of 'Reaganomics' - so often glorified as the miracle of Neo liberalism - and it was the production of arms that was responsible for the success of the American Economy during this period. And it is the high levels of Military Expenditure that are widely responsible for the American budget Defecit today.

[encephalon]

whaddya know, the ruling class despises articles that empower the oppressed. Surprise, surprise.

[Marion]

Originally posted by Chinghis Khan+Jul 23 2006, 05:26 AM--> (Chinghis Khan @ Jul 23 2006, 05:26 AM)
Young Stupid [email protected] 23 2006, 05:20 AM
"Fascism is capitalism in decline" someone once said. (Forgot who, whoops!)
Off topic, but that's a stupid quote. Italy, Spain, and Germany are all capitalist countries after being ruled by fascist regimes.

No hard feelings man, I just wanted to finally say what had been on my mind for awhile now. [/b]
I don't know if I personally agree with the statement, but something can be in decline and then reinstate itself. I suppose its the difference between saying "fascism is capitalism in decline" and "fascism is capitalism in terminal decline".

I'm pretty sure I remember seeing the same book list a year or two ago.

[Whitten]

"The Origin of Species" was in the honourable mentions section. They're just a bunch of conservative nutters

[RaiseYourVoice]

nothing new, when i spend my year in the U.S. i went to the library and asked for the communist manifesto, they said "isn't that some book written by some philosofer? we dont have that i think"
just for fun i asked for mein kampf, they said "wait we have 2 versions somewhere here"

:rolleyes:

[loveme4whoiam]

Originally posted by The summary of the Manifesto+--> (The summary of the Manifesto)The Evil Empire of the Soviet Union put the Manifesto into practice.[/b]

:lol: Laugh my mother fucking ass off :lol:


The summary for Das Kapital
Marx theorized that the inevitable eventual outcome would be global proletarian revolution. He could not have predicted 21st Century America: a free, affluent society based on capitalism and representative government that people the world over envy and seek to emulate.

Jesus, I'm fucking crying at this shit. For Jebus' sake, the honourable mentions include On Liberty and The Origin of Species!

[YSR]

Khan, I suggest you check out: http://www.prole.info/pamphlets/insurrectionsdie.pdf

It illustrates the connection between big capital and fascism.

[bezdomni]

"Fascism is capitalism in decline" someone once said. (Forgot who, whoops!)
It was Lenin, and he said "Fascism is capitalism in decay".

That list is BS. Why is Machiavelli not on there?

[Invader Zim]

This list has been compiled by a mixture of conservatives and libertarians, what do you expect?

I would say that the most dangerous book is Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged, because if you drop that vast monster on your foot you are going to know all about it.

[Eleutherios]

If a book's harmfulness is going to be judged by the amount of suffering and death it has caused, and the amount of pleasure it has denied to people, then the Bible and the Qur'an are without a doubt the two most harmful books in all of history.

This list of harmful books is only valid if your definition of "harmful" is that which leads people away from conservative neo-liberalism.

"The Manifesto envisions history as a class struggle between oppressed workers and oppressive owners, calling for a workers’ revolution so property, family and nation-states can be abolished and a proletarian Utopia established. The Evil Empire of the Soviet Union put the Manifesto into practice."
The Soviet Union abolished property, family and nation-states? :blink:

"Das Kapital forces the round peg of capitalism into the square hole of Marx’s materialistic theory of history, portraying capitalism as an ugly phase in the development of human society in which capitalists inevitably and amorally exploit labor by paying the cheapest possible wages to earn the greatest possible profits."
Well, duh, that's what happens in a profit-driven economy! How alienated do you have to be from reality to not see that this is going on? :wacko: Even the most pro-capitalist "human resources manager" will tell you that their job is to get the most work out of people for the least money.

[B.E. Jones]

It does say that the list was put together by a panel of 15 conservative scholars so I think thats the biggest clue to the results haha.

[Zero]

So I suppose this is our reading list or what?

[Eleutherios]

Haha, take a look at the books that they do recommend:
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/sarticle.php?id=743
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/sarticle.php?id=3906

EDIT: The reason they don't mention Macchiavelli on their list of the most harmful books is because they love the guy:
"Niccolo Machiavelli served for 14 years in the late 15th and early 16th centuries as a top bureaucrat and diplomat for the city of Florence. Then he found himself briefly jailed for his service. In his retirement, Machiavelli wrote The Prince, in which he advocates a realistic, rather than moralistic, approach to affairs of state. His argument is based on the assumption that fallen man, with an imperfect nature, inevitably pursues self-interest. 'Men are less hesitant about harming someone who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared because love is held together by a chain of obligation which, since men are a sorry lot, is broken on every occasion in which their own self-interest is concerned,' he wrote, 'but fear is held together by a dread of punishment which will never abandon you.'"

[FriedFrog]

You're damn right these books are harmful.

They actually dare challenge the status quo.

[DarkTravesty]

I saw that one coming: the Bible is ranked #1 must read, and the entire rest of the list is peppered with Christian works.

[Sadena Meti]

Look at the description for #10 on the list. They blame FDR for the current 8 trillion deficit.

This site is good for a laugh. Until you realise just how many people think this way.

[YSR]

Thanks CPA!

[Whitten]

Haha, they support "The Republic", which is used by many to justify facsism and similar ideologies, yet cant stand "Das Capital" or the Manifesto... typical right wing nutters

[Goatse]

When I read the Bible being number 1, I almost choked on my apple.

[RevSouth]

Originally posted by [email protected] 24 2006, 03:34 PM
When I read the Bible being number 1, I almost choked on my apple.
Mmmmh. Apple.


The Evil Empire of the Soviet Union put the Manifesto into practice.

Haha. Because the US is a beacon of moral superiority. Obviously they do not know much about the USSR and its state capitalism.


He could not have predicted 21st Century America: a free, affluent society based on capitalism and representative government that people the world over envy and seek to emulate.

Hilarious. Do they know about 15% of the United States lives below the poverty line? And that the reason the U.S. is doing so well, for those who think it is, is it's client states, that is where the destructively low wage labor takes place now.


meaning many American students may not encounter the most important book of all time in a classroom setting until they reach college.

Oh no! These poor students won't get to read the Bible! Thats terrible! I read this American right bullshit quite a bit, and they constantly use this quote, "When man stops believing in God, he'll believe in anything." Yeah, such as a society where a large percentage of the population isn't getting fucked over. I propose a new quote. "When man believes in God, he'll believe anything."

[R_P_A_S]

hahahaaahahahahaaAHAHAHAH
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


He could not have predicted 21st Century America: a free, affluent society based on capitalism and representative government that people the world over envy and seek to emulate. :lol: :rolleyes:

WHAT they said about Capital

[EwokUtopia]

In no particular order:

Mien Kampf - Obvious
Leviticus - If you sit next to a man who has had a discharge from his member, wash, pray, call a rabbi, and dont be gay
Revelations - How one mans bad acid trip came back to haunt us all
The Turner Diaries - The muds are comming for our aryan babies :blink:
Ayn Rand - Anything by this crusty old hag deserves a slap on the face (especially Anthem)

not quite 10, but its late and I'm out of thinkage, help me out on this one, comrades.

[Zero]

The Prince - When I want to study how to brainwash the population of a country I'll look at FOX news.

[R_P_A_S]

Originally posted by [email protected] 25 2006, 04:40 AM
The Prince - When I want to study how to brainwash the population of a country I'll look at FOX news.
are you talking about Niccolo Machiavelli?

[CrazyModerate]

This would be my list of ten recommended books for economics, politics, sociology, and philosophy.

[Zero]

Originally posted by "R_P_A_S"
are you talking about Niccolo Machiavelli?

Yes.

[R_P_A_S]

Originally posted by Zero+Jul 26 2006, 06:46 AM--> (Zero @ Jul 26 2006, 06:46 AM)
"R_P_A_S"
are you talking about Niccolo Machiavelli?

Yes. [/b]
hmm. i have to read that book. to get it. because I remember it was popular in high school since 2pac shakur the rapper took that alias. then again he contradicts himself. being the son of a black panther.

[colonelguppy]

lol the kinsey report

to be fair, keynes book was pretty damaging thanks to all the governments who misapplied his theories (i say that as if there was a way to really apply them right).

[HinduKush]

Kinsey Report

"The 1953 book also included reports of sexual activity involving girls younger than age 4, and suggested that sex between adults and children could be beneficial"

thats fucked up

[Sankara1983]

Interesting that there's not even an "honorable mention" of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This book has actually led to reprehensible acts, unlike most of the ones actually listed.