31–40 of 252 posts
Has anyone here actually read Mein Kampf? Doing so is probably banned in Germany and I am not sure what there is other than kiddie porn or some al-qaeda training manual that you totally would not want in your browsing history. There could come a time when no living person has read Mein Kampf and nobody would know first hand why it is wrong.
"However they may be as economic theories, Fascism and Nazism are psychologically far sounder than any hedonistic conception of life." This seems wrong (with hindsight, I suppose). My mental image of Orwell is that he was quite sharp. How did he manage to get this bit wrong so badly? Does anyone know the reason?
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This is wrong. It's hard to succinctly characterize Orwell's political views[1], but it's simply incorrect that he was "a communist" for any length of time. An uncharitable reading of your comment might be simply that you think democratic socialism and communism are the same thing, in which case it might be very helpful for you to read some of Orwell's political essays [2] and other non-fiction. 'Homage to Catalonia' is wonderful.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Political_views [2] http://georgeorwellnovels.com/essays/
Has anyone here actually read Mein Kampf? Doing so is probably banned in Germany and I am not sure what there is other than kiddie porn or some al-qaeda training manual that you totally would not want in your browsing history. There could come a time when no living person has read Mein Kampf and nobody would know first hand why it is wrong.
It is amazing though how it pretty much spells out exactly what he would end up doing once he took power, in all the horrid detail, and yet some politicians of the time believed that simple appeasement would work...
As someone else here said, the lesson is that crazy people sometimes mean what they say, even when it sounds totally crazy.
Has anyone here actually read Mein Kampf? Doing so is probably banned in Germany and I am not sure what there is other than kiddie porn or some al-qaeda training manual that you totally would not want in your browsing history. There could come a time when no living person has read Mein Kampf and nobody would know first hand why it is wrong.
Having anything about Mein Kampf in your browser history is absolutely zero problem in the US at least.
You could read about Hitler and read his book all day long if you like, nothing will come of it. Not an exaggeration, not a joke.
Mein Kampf can be purchased at just about any major bookstore in the US. Very few people in this country would find it weird or shocking if you read that book. If you proclaim an association with his ideas or the Nazi movement, that's an entirely different matter.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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> He was a communist for a long time, then got disenchanted because of Stalin (he wrote 1984 in this period). This is wrong. It's hard to succinctly characterize Orwell's political views[1], but it's simply incorrect that he was "a communist" for any length of time. An uncharitable reading of your comment might be simply that you think democratic socialism and communism are the same thing, in which case it might be v…
I assume this is posted and up voted now because of the similarities to Putin? Anyway, let me recommend "Down and out in Paris and London". It taught me more about the human condition, and why you want to stamp out poverty and let everyone to be able to have a humane life, than most any book I ever read. Also, imho after learning a bit about Eastern Europe after 1945, I put "Animal farm" along "1984". It is a master…
Even Putin's attempts at nationalistic projection have been remarkably pathetic by historical comparison. Putin's dominance of Russia won't leave the mark / impact that other far more dangerous people throughout history have. Stalin would eat Putin for lunch.
I expect Putin to be forced out of office, rather than die in office. If Putin's inner circle wanted him gone, he'd be gone tomorrow. Eventually they'll tire of him.
Has anyone here actually read Mein Kampf? Doing so is probably banned in Germany and I am not sure what there is other than kiddie porn or some al-qaeda training manual that you totally would not want in your browsing history. There could come a time when no living person has read Mein Kampf and nobody would know first hand why it is wrong.
The annotated version is legal, the unannotated version is illegal.
If you guys know a lot about the period, I just transcribed it on Genius and I'd appreciate some help annotating it: http://history.genius.com/George-orwell-review-of-mein-kampf... (full disclosure I work at Genius.)
Has anyone here actually read Mein Kampf? Doing so is probably banned in Germany and I am not sure what there is other than kiddie porn or some al-qaeda training manual that you totally would not want in your browsing history. There could come a time when no living person has read Mein Kampf and nobody would know first hand why it is wrong.
>Doing so is probably banned in Germany and I am not sure what there is other than kiddie porn or some al-qaeda training manual that you totally would not want in your browsing history. So, merely reading it transforms you into a monster?
"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana Somebody asked, why this document is so high up-voted. I would say, we can't up-vote it enough, when we have the chance to learn from history and especially from the dark sides of history and from people like George Orwell. Chance is very big, that a new era of darkness could fall on humanity, if we don't stop it at the right time (and no…