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Thoughts on Howard Zinn and his works?
Recently I happened to receive a copy of Howard Zinn's book "A People's History of the United States", which even as a European, I found fascinating to read. It was almost like a "behind-the-scenes" of where America came from and how it became precedent setter for capitalists regimes everywhere.
What do people here think of both him and his works?
He's boring. Personally I think he aligns himself with the too-obvious school of American leftism: the wrong people are in prison, haves vs. have-nots, corporate control of media, etc.; these things are of course all true, but merely pointing them out isn't useful, I don't think, for moving anyone in any direction except for increased awareness.
From what I have read of him I don't gain any inspiration other than a vague "this sucks, something should be done". Real leftist writing should make me want to blow the hell out of things.
[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]-5.25, -6.62
"This is the point on which one cannot and should not concede: today, the actual freedom of thought means the freedom to question the predominant liberal-democratic “post-ideological” consensus — or it means nothing".
--Slavoj Žižek[/FONT]
I think his works are important in regards to left-wing thought. It is certainly a lot more in touch with with the modern world than Das Kapital. Other than a few Spelman College sit-ins and some Civil Rights activism, I don't think that he was a revolutionary, per se, but his interest was mainly Historical documentation, and politics second. He seems to me to be a "democratic socialist", or maybe an Anarchist, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind a little agitative pressure from the proletariat during times of real tension with the bourgeoisie.
I like Howard Zinn, and think he's said a lot that I can agree with. He is indeed an Anarchist, and has stated it several times on various subjects.
For example: Interview with Howard Zinn on Anarchism.
"We are free, truly free, when we don't need to rent our arms to anybody in order to be able to lift a piece of bread to our mouths."
- Ricardo Flores Magón
"I am resolved to struggle against everything and everybody."
- Emiliano Zapata
An invaluable activist and public educator. One of the best leftists published in the last 50 years in the U.S.
Howard Zinn is pretty good but if you cite him in a paper or something, I've learned that it will instantly put the factuality of the paper into doubt.
I like what I've read of him but I don't know about how "good" he is as a historian.
I'm on some sickle-hammer shit
Collective Bruce Banner shit
FKA: #FF0000, AKA Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath
I fail to see how capital isn't in touch with the modern world.
I'm sorry, I must have slept through the part where we abolished capitalism.
"From the relationship of estranged labor to private property it follows further that the emancipation of society from private property, etc., from servitude, is expressed in the political form of the emancipation of the workers; not that their emancipation alone is at stake, but because the emancipation of the workers contains universal human emancipation – and it contains this because the whole of human servitude is involved in the relation of the worker to production, and all relations of servitude are but modifications and consequences of this relation."
- Karl Marx -
I guess that he's a good introduction to left-type politics for the uninitiated.
"Win, lose or draw...long as you squabble and you get down, that's gangsta."
The People's History is the best single volume on the history of the United States.
[FONT=Verdana]Economic Left/Right: -7.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.13[/FONT]
"Kick over the wall 'cause government's to fall,
How can you refuse it?,
Let fury have the hour, anger can be power,
D'you know that you can use it?"-The Clash, "Clampdown"
Howard Zinn may not be a Lars Lih, but his books should be made into essential reading material for every high school in the US. His books aren't dense, wordy, or boring to read. They're concise, argumentative, and very much relevant to the American working class today. In short, anybody new to the left who is eager to learn and anybody interested in a leftist interpretation of US history should read his stuff -- especially A People's History of the USA. I remember reading Zinn in my history class last year and actually having solid class material to back up my points when discussions came along.
"Face the world like a roaring blaze, before all the tears begin to turn silent. Burn down everything that stands in our way. Bang the drum."
Howard Zinn may not be a Lars Lih, but his books should be made into essential reading material for every high school in the US. His books aren't dense, wordy, or boring to read. They're concise, argumentative, and very much relevant to the American working class today. In short, anybody new to the left who is eager to learn and anybody interested in a leftist interpretation of US history should read his stuff -- especially A People's History of the USA. I remember reading Zinn in my history class last year and actually having solid class material to back up my points when discussions came along
"Face the world like a roaring blaze, before all the tears begin to turn silent. Burn down everything that stands in our way. Bang the drum."
I like it. I mean it's not perfect (but then again, what is?) but it's much more sane and clear than the American Exceptionalism shit that some segments of society are pushing here, trying to white wash history while removing mentions of labor struggle, radicals, slavery, downplaying the civil rights movement and unions, etc.
When I first read it four years ago it really made me rethink my previous views on American society and history. Four years later I still appreciate its worth, and how Zinn's work will probably live beyond his death.
Last edited by Red Commissar; 11th February 2011 at 01:09.
Oops. I meant that the language is a lot more modern. There are a few things that Marx and Engels came up with that wouldn't fit very well today.
I'd find myself agreeing with the majority, that he provides a good insight into how the "clean", free version of history which mainstream revisionist historians tend to spread.
One thing that stands out to me personally is his anti-war work, arising from his direct experience as a aviator in WWII and his partaking in the first napalm atrocity in an unknowing capacity.
What's so great about Lars Lih? What has he written aside from Lenin Reconsidered?Howard Zinn may not be a Lars Lih, but his books should be made into essential reading material for every high school in the US. His books aren't dense, wordy, or boring to read. They're concise, argumentative, and very much relevant to the American working class today. In short, anybody new to the left who is eager to learn and anybody interested in a leftist interpretation of US history should read his stuff -- especially A People's History of the USA. I remember reading Zinn in my history class last year and actually having solid class material to back up my points when discussions came along
I think Howard was one of the treasures of the U.S. left. The People's History of the United States is an excellent book; one must keep in mind however that Zinn did not go much for the notion of "objectivity" when it comes to doing history. He wrote this history to give unapologetic expression to the points of view (and as an advocate for) of the disenfranchised and oppressed people's in american history.
Equally satisfying is the Zinn reader which contains a wide-ranging collection of some of his best essays and polemics. One of my favourite essays therein is "The Limits of the New Deal."
