Admittedly, I didn't read the whole book myself, but most of the first chapter is available for free on Google Books. That spurred me to write all that I've written thus far, though I've been busier work-wise as of recent years. So, discuss.
Okay, I was thinking of doing an outline of sorts in OpenOffice and then pasting it here. I actually have read the whole first chapter, though I must admit that it was nearly 5 months ago and I've forgotten most of it. I'll reread it tonight or tomorrow then probably have it up by Saturday. This is my Thanksgiving break, so yeah. Also check out my post in the other thread about dividing chapters up amongst users (assuming we all agree on the outline thing).
A lot of the book is online, yes, but not all. Therefore I started this thread a while back. Admittedly I haven't made much progress, since I have no experience doing OCR. I can pull apart the book though and do the scanning still. But not now or very soon
Q, I actually really like the idea of forming a group at some point and basically having a 'pot' where we all chip in cash for books that we want, then someone gets it and tears it apart to make a good high quality OCR. There are certainly some books in the HM series that I think it would be worth doing with.
Wikipedia: Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic conversion of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. Very interesting. I don't have this machine however.
Q, I actually really like the idea of forming a group at some point and basically having a 'pot' where we all chip in cash for books that we want, then someone gets it and tears it apart to make a good high quality OCR. There are certainly some books in the HM series that I think it would be worth doing with. Yes Do you have OCR knowledge though? The platforms on which OCR is most developed / userfriendly is on Windows and OS X (especially the latter I guess, given the strong graphical tradition of Macs). So I'm a bit out of luck with my Linux platform. There is however an online service of ABBYY Finereader that does the scanning for you. There you pay per page. You buy "page credits" of 50 (3,50 Euro), 100 (5 Euro) or 200 pages (7 Euro). Lih's book would then cost 33 Euro's, just for the OCR service. I guess we could split that amount, but it leaves the question of how good this service is and, if not perfect, how much extra work is needed to get the formatting (really, text flow) right for an ebook document. Very interesting. I don't have this machine however. OCR is typically software.
Well actually both of my machines are Macs, but I don't know of any software specifically that's up to the task. I've heard of ABBYY Finereader but I've never tested it.
Okay, here are some quotes from the first section, "Marx & Engels." Still a WIP, obviously, but I just wanted people to know what I'm thinking of for the format. In addition to listing relevant quotes, I think we should also attempt to outline key concepts. For instance, one could make an outline highlighting the key points of the merger formula, its connection to Marx, Engels, Kautsky, Lenin, etc. Chapter 1: The Merger of Socialism and the Worker Movement Marx & Engels “The Communist Manifesto states this task as follows: 'The immediate aim of the communists is the same as that of all the other proletarian parties: formation of the proletariat into a class, overthrow of bourgeois rule, conquest of political power by the proletariat'. Marx's Inaugural Address in 1864 for the Working Men's International Association puts it more succinctly: 'To conquer political power has therefore become the great duty of the working classes'” (Lih 43). Engels, Conditions of the Working Class in England: “It is evident that the worker movement is divided into two sections, the Chartists and the Socialists. The Chartists are the more backward, the less developed, but they are genuine proletarians all over, the representatives of their class. The Socialists are more far-seeing, propose practical remedies against distress, but, proceeding originally from the bourgeoisie, are for this reason unable to amalgamate completely with the working class. The merger [Verschmelzung] of Socialism with Chartism, the reproduction of French Communism in the English style, will be the next step, and has already begun. Then only, when this has been achieved, will the worker class be the true leader of England. Meanwhile, political and social development will proceed, and will foster this new party, theis new departure of Chartism” (Lih 45) – emphasis mine. “I have quoted Kautsky's and Lenin's summary of Engels in order to bring out the crucial importance of this chapter for both men. They saw it as the first statement of the essence of their political creed. And yet it is well-nigh impossible to find any mention of this chapter in the secondary literature. Thus the view from WITBD implies a revised Marxist canon” (Lih 45). ---- Kautsky in Friedrich Engels: His Life, His Work, His Writings (pp. 5-6) and Lenin in Polnoe sobranie sochinenii, 5th ed. (p. 8). “The third section [of The Communist Manifesto] turns to the question of how to merge [socialism and the worker movement]. This section – 'Socialist and Communist Literature' – is where the political strategy inherent in the merger formula first begins to be worked out. Marx invites us to observe the self-destruction of all forms of socialism except the kind that reaches out to the worker movement. The aggressively polemical tone is in its way a compliment to the socialists. Marx wants to persuade other socialists that their great duty is to further this process. They are the aware element, they are the ones who can be directly convinced by abstract reasoning and literary polemics. When the socialists have been swung round, they themselves will start spreading awareness in the worker milieu” (Lih 45). “The five targets subjected to critique in the final section of the Manifesto are not just a random assortment but represent most of the logical possibilities of opposition to the merger strategy. As such, they foreshadow the bulk of the polemics unleashed later by Social Democracy against its competitors. The first target is feudal or reactionary socialists. The merger strategy will not work here because these are the wrong socialists. Their demagogic flirting with the workers covers up a will to dominate the worker movement. Various forms of 'state socialism' continued to challenge the Social Democracy throughout the nineteenth century” (Lih 47).
I don't know whether to put my musings on Lassalle here in this discussion or make a separate one. Let's just say I've got so many things to say on contemporary issues.
