Topic: Karl Marx

Readers Write: Video games foster unthinking acts; Marxism endures in China

Letters to the Editor for the April 15, 2013 weekly print issue: Video games train people to respond without thinking – the same motor memory employed in firing a gun. And in spite of China's capitalist boon, cardinal Marxist axioms are still deeply embedded in Chinese political ideology.

Editor's Blog Chinese communism: cause or club?

It has long since walked away from its founding principles, but the Chinese Communist Party still has a hammerlock on power in the world's most populous nation. How long will the Chinese people tolerate a ruling clique that can't be voted out of office?

Chinese Communist Party: Communism under construction

The Chinese Communist Party does ideological gymnastics to create theory to justify party practice.

Hugo Chávez wins Venezuelan presidential election

Chávez, who has led Venezuela for nearly 14 years, won 54.42 percent of the vote against former Miranda Gov. Henrique Capriles last night.

"Lincoln's Hundred Days" and "Seward"

Two new Lincoln-related biographies offer further evidence that we will never tire of reading about our sixteenth president.

Karl Marx: 10 great quotes on his birthday

May 5 marks the birthday of Karl Marx, who provided intellectual foundation for an array of regimes that at one time governed nearly half of Earth's population.

Tax VOX Can the US tax system be fair?

Two economists, a tax historian, and a philosopher debated what a 'fair' tax code means at an Urban Institute panel this week. 

Cowboy culture in suburban Bavaria: 'Wilkommen pardner!'

In suburban Bavaria, cowboy culture is greeted with a howdy -- and a German twist.

5 non-fiction 2011 National Book Award finalists

The 2011 National Book Award winners will be announced on Nov. 16. Which of these five books will be the winner of the award for non-fiction?

Does 'Occupy Wall Street' have leaders? Does it need any?

As politicians and the media scramble to identify 'Occupy Wall Street' leaders, members of the protest movement are not playing along. But do they really need any? There are pros and cons to leaderless movements.

Is the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement being hijacked by newcomers?

More people and organizations are joining Occupy Wall Street or expressing solidarity every day. Whether it's an infusion of vital energy or a force that tears at cohesion is up to the movement.

90 years of China's Communist Party: from secret society to 'harmonious society'

China's Communist Party has transformed from the secretive, illegal revolutionary force that it was 90 years ago to a political party at the helm of a rapidly changing China.

Morning roundup: Iraq, Tunisia, and the Arab soul

Vitriol in political rhetoric: Did it play a part in the Arizona shooting?

The Arizona shooting suspect has been called 'unstable,' and no motive has been identified. But did the vitriol that has been present in the debates over immigration and health care trigger the attack?

The genius of Adam Smith

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is now available as a free e-book. Why bother reading something so old? Here's why.

Yes, we really do want markets in everything (Part II)

We might want to compensate for some of the effects of free markets, we might insist upon providing care to those who cannot cope with them, but we really would like markets to be the basis of resource allocation. Even in education and medicine.

Why do Americans get the Constitution so wrong?

There’s no excuse for misquoting and misunderstanding the US Constitution. But public figures ranging from Nancy Pelosi to Rush Limbaugh do it all the time.

European students protest US-style 'capitalist education'

A decade ago tuition reform was introduced to get European students to graduate in under five years. Today debate is hot over how struggling Eurozone countries can keep intact free education for all.

Advice to college graduates from Obama, McCain, and Souter

It's the time of year for advice and inspiration for college graduates. Former Justice David Souter, who rarely makes public speeches, is among those offering words of wisdom this year.

Breakfast with Socrates

An Oxford don turned management consultant shows how your most mundane moments are grounded in philosophy.

In Texas, free-market economists get a boost from government

The Texas Board of Education says students will be exposed to free-market economists like Milton Friedman and Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek.

The UK and the failure of Keynesian economics

The UK is ground zero for testing Keynesian economics. Guess what? It's not working. 

Is it art? For performance artist Tino Sehgal, it's immaterial.

A new interactive installation at the Guggenheim Museum draws onlookers into a conversation that itself becomes part of the art.

Is Hiroshima memorial a fair legacy for Harry Truman?

In Potsdam, Germany, debate rises over a memorial that marks President Harry Truman's 1945 decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

Berlin Wall's fall: Four former East Germans assess changed lives

On 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, those who lived behind the Iron Curtain talk of both disappointments and unexpected opportunities.