A friend sent me this link to Human Events, a conservative news magazine I had never heard of, which asked a panel of conservative scholars to come up with the list of the 10 most harmful books of the 19th and 20th centuries. The question, I think, is ridiculous, but their responses are both humorous and scary, depending on how you look at it. Particularly check out the "honorable mention" category.
Didn't "God is Dead" come from Thus Spoke Zarathustra? I haven't read The Gay Science, so it might be there as well. I personally think it is telling that they put The Communist Manifesto over Mein Kampf. By that logic, Communism and Fascism are both bad, but it is slightly better to be genocidal than anti-capitalist.
You get that sense from this other Human Events article on the New York Times Marxist agenda. Apparently examining the issues of class in America is a revolutionary activity. Which, I think, is my biggest problem with this particular brand of conservatism: it wants to silence any inquiry that opposes its activities/ideologies. I’m not saying brands of liberalism don’t do the same, but it seems to me most liberalism (even as it is classically defined) is a proponent of pluralist thinking and speech. If you propose a "most harmful book list," you’re obviously not encouraging the free exchange of ideas.
In other news, today is my last day of classes in my first year of Graduate School. That went by really fast.
Hey Pauly!
I particularly love this description of Das Kapital:
(on Marx) "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."
Hahaha, that is rich!
Secondly; the Human Events hit-list is a list of my favorite works of all time... does this make me a bad person? ;)
Posted by: mikey at June 2, 2005 08:15 PMCongratulatons Paul!!! I am proud of you!
Posted by: Charity at June 3, 2005 06:49 AMThanks, Charity!
Mike, I wrote a big long response but this thing isn't letting me post it. It must be a communist plot.
Hey, are you married?
Posted by: paul at June 3, 2005 09:47 AMAre you proposing to me Pauly? Hahaha, yeah man, Leslie and I made it official two weeks ago. A good time was had by all.
Posted by: mikey at June 3, 2005 02:40 PMShoot, I missed my chance. Well, congratulations to both of you. That is really awesome. Are you in Edmonton this summer?
Posted by: paul at June 3, 2005 02:53 PMYes sir, I'm working for the City of Edmonton this summer (road crew). Leslie is still supervising at the downtown YMCA. We both wanted to get out of the city and head down to Lethbridge for the summer, but, we also both hate moving, so here we are. It should be good though, as there are plenty of decent mountain bike trails around and I'm only a few hours away from the mountains. What about you? Any plans for the summer?
Posted by: mikey at June 4, 2005 11:26 AMI'm going to be studying French for the bulk of it, hanging out here for the rest. It should be good!
Posted by: paul at June 7, 2005 03:24 PMthat list was hilarious. I promise you one day Paul I'm going to slip into one of your classes un-announced and stir up some trouble!
Posted by: JosiahQ at June 12, 2005 07:55 AMI'd enjoy it. I probably wouldn't recognize you due to your recent spat of working out.
Congrats on your new house.
Posted by: paul at June 12, 2005 06:04 PM