Quote of the day: In memoriam

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 21:32:00 +0000

Celebrated Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawn left behind a wealth of insightful critiques and comments when he passed away early Monday morning. We find this simple thought, which Hobsbawn uttered in 1998, bears repeating:

"The world will not get better on its own."

Eric Hobsbawm in quotes

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:24:00 +0000

In the early hours of Monday morning, celebrated British historian, staunch Marxist and public intellectual Eric Hobsbawm died at age 95.

Hobsbawm's ideas will long survive him, especially through his major works, "The Age of Revolution," "The Age of Capital," "The Age of Empire," "History of the 20th Century," "The Age of Extremes," which has been translated into 40 languages since its 1994 publication. Despite shifting trends in the academy, Hobsbawm stuck by his Marxist guns throughout. Here are a few of his thoughts on war, capital and nationhood:

On war and capitalism:

"War has been the most convenient pseudo-solution for the problems of twentieth-century capitalism. It provides the incentives to modernization and technological revolution which the market and the pursuit of profit do only fitfully and by accident, it makes the unthinkable (such as votes for women and the abolition of unemployment) not merely thinkable but practicable. What is equally important, it can re-create communities of men and give a temporary sense to their lives by uniting them against foreigners and outsiders. This is an achievement beyond the power of the private enterprise economy when left to itself." (The Observer Review, 1968.)

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Quote of the day: In memoriam

Eric Hobsbawm in quotes