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American Marxism
The six-time #1 New York Times bestselling author, Fox News star, and radio host Mark R. Levin explains how the dangers he warned against in the “timely yet timeless” (David Limbaugh, author of Jesus Is Risen) bestseller Liberty and Tyranny have come to pass.
In 2009, Mark R. Levin galvanized conservatives with his unforgettable manifesto Liberty and Tyranny, by providing a philosophical, historical, and practical framework for halting the liberal assault on Constitution-based values. That book was about standing at the precipice of progressivism’s threat to our freedom and now, over a decade later, we’re fully over that precipice and paying the price.
In American Marxism, Levin explains how the core elements of Marxist ideology are now pervasive in American society and culture—from our schools, the press, and corporations, to Hollywood, the Democratic Party, and the Biden presidency—and how it is often cloaked in deceptive labels like “progressivism,” “democratic socialism,” “social activism,” and more. With his characteristic trenchant analysis, Levin digs into the psychology and tactics of these movements, the widespread brainwashing of students, the anti-American purposes of Critical Race Theory and the Green New Deal, and the escalation of repression and censorship to silence opposing voices and enforce conformity. Levin exposes many of the institutions, intellectuals, scholars, and activists who are leading this revolution, and provides us with some answers and ideas on how to confront them.
As Levin writes: “The counter-revolution to the American Revolution is in full force. And it can no longer be dismissed or ignored for it is devouring our society and culture, swirling around our everyday lives, and ubiquitous in our politics, schools, media, and entertainment.” And, like before, Levin seeks to rally the American people to defend their liberty.
In 2009, Mark R. Levin galvanized conservatives with his unforgettable manifesto Liberty and Tyranny, by providing a philosophical, historical, and practical framework for halting the liberal assault on Constitution-based values. That book was about standing at the precipice of progressivism’s threat to our freedom and now, over a decade later, we’re fully over that precipice and paying the price.
In American Marxism, Levin explains how the core elements of Marxist ideology are now pervasive in American society and culture—from our schools, the press, and corporations, to Hollywood, the Democratic Party, and the Biden presidency—and how it is often cloaked in deceptive labels like “progressivism,” “democratic socialism,” “social activism,” and more. With his characteristic trenchant analysis, Levin digs into the psychology and tactics of these movements, the widespread brainwashing of students, the anti-American purposes of Critical Race Theory and the Green New Deal, and the escalation of repression and censorship to silence opposing voices and enforce conformity. Levin exposes many of the institutions, intellectuals, scholars, and activists who are leading this revolution, and provides us with some answers and ideas on how to confront them.
As Levin writes: “The counter-revolution to the American Revolution is in full force. And it can no longer be dismissed or ignored for it is devouring our society and culture, swirling around our everyday lives, and ubiquitous in our politics, schools, media, and entertainment.” And, like before, Levin seeks to rally the American people to defend their liberty.
9 pages, Audible Audio
First published July 13, 2021
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About the author
Mark R. Levin
26 books739 followersMark Levin has become one of the hottest properties in Talk radio, his top-rated show on WABC New York is now syndicated nationally by Cumulus Media. He is also one of the top new authors in the conservative political arena. Mark's radio show on WABC in New York City skyrocketed to Number 1 on the AM dial in his first 18 months on the air in the competitive 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM time slot. Mark's book Men in Black was released February 7, 2005 and quickly climbed to Number 3 in the nation on the New York Times Best-Seller list. When your book is endorsed by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, you know you have a winner on your hands. In a short period of time, Mark has become one of the most listened to local radio Talk show hosts in the nation.
Mark Levin took over the WABC 6:00 PM slot on September 2, 2003. Before that, he hosted a popular Sunday afternoon program. "He's smart, witty, and fast on the draw," according to WABC Program Director Phil Boyce. "He has this sharp sarcastic wit that can easily stun his opponents. I know I would not want to debate him." Mark's show follows the ever popular Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on WABC, but everyday he manages to come up with a new twist on the day's top news events, as well as his own unique information. His passion and intellect have made him a favorite of tens of thousands of radio listeners in the New York City area.
Mark has been a frequent guest and substitute host on The Sean Hannity Show, and has also been an advisor to Limbaugh, who frequently refers to him on the air with the nickname "F. Lee Levin." He is perhaps more well-known for his nickname, "The Great One," coined by his friend Hannity.
Mark Levin is one of America's preeminent conservative commentators and constitutional lawyers. He's in great demand as a political and legal commentator, and has appeared on hundreds of television and radio programs. Levin is also a contributing editor for National Review Online, and writes frequently for other publications. Levin has served as a top advisor to several members of President Ronald Reagan's Cabinet - including as Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of the United States. In 2001, the American Conservative Union named Levin the recipient of the prestigious Ronald Reagan Award. He currently practices law in the private sector, heading up the prestigious Landmark Legal Foundation in Washington DC.
Source: http://marklevinshow.com/article.asp?...
Mark Levin took over the WABC 6:00 PM slot on September 2, 2003. Before that, he hosted a popular Sunday afternoon program. "He's smart, witty, and fast on the draw," according to WABC Program Director Phil Boyce. "He has this sharp sarcastic wit that can easily stun his opponents. I know I would not want to debate him." Mark's show follows the ever popular Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on WABC, but everyday he manages to come up with a new twist on the day's top news events, as well as his own unique information. His passion and intellect have made him a favorite of tens of thousands of radio listeners in the New York City area.
Mark has been a frequent guest and substitute host on The Sean Hannity Show, and has also been an advisor to Limbaugh, who frequently refers to him on the air with the nickname "F. Lee Levin." He is perhaps more well-known for his nickname, "The Great One," coined by his friend Hannity.
Mark Levin is one of America's preeminent conservative commentators and constitutional lawyers. He's in great demand as a political and legal commentator, and has appeared on hundreds of television and radio programs. Levin is also a contributing editor for National Review Online, and writes frequently for other publications. Levin has served as a top advisor to several members of President Ronald Reagan's Cabinet - including as Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of the United States. In 2001, the American Conservative Union named Levin the recipient of the prestigious Ronald Reagan Award. He currently practices law in the private sector, heading up the prestigious Landmark Legal Foundation in Washington DC.
Source: http://marklevinshow.com/article.asp?...
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March 9, 2022
You are probably familiar with the Dunning-Kruger Effect, whether or not you have previously encountered the term itself. Basically, it is a psychological phenomenon which manifests itself in individuals who are utterly incompetent at a certain task, yet think they are experts at the task in question. I believe that Mark R. Levin, the author of this book, is a living illustration of the Dunning-Kruger Effect in action.
According to this book, the United States is in grave danger. Our cities are burning. This is our last chance to save the republic. Our liberty is at stake. It is a dire emergency. This has been the conservative byline since about 1990, and for good reason. Look out your window and watch the flames engulfing your city or town. Go on and try to say the word "woman" out loud in public—you will be arrested immediately by the Thought Police. Nice try. (As we all know, that word has been totally banned.)
This book has nothing to do with Marxism, American or otherwise. In case you were hoping it would be a serious discussion of certain Marxist ideals and how they may or may not be influencing American society (which would be quite an interesting and valuable book, in my opinion), you are duck out of luck. Instead, the best way I can describe this book is that it is approximately 300 pages of esoteric block quotes, hyperbolic extrapolation, and Ayn Rand worship, in that order.
Levin's arguments always take the same form. First, he exhumes a forgotten example of something, as far to the left as possible. Chances are, you have never heard of it, and nobody else has either. He then extrapolates furiously until he reaches the electoral majority in the United States, who are—gasp!—liberal. Levin then claims that the example in question is absolute proof that America is under attack by the extreme left. There are millions who share these same obscure beliefs, he cries, and they are all Marxists. Seriously. That's how he does it.
You can use any example in the book to illustrate Levin's tortured acrobatics. (Strap yourself in.) For instance, Levin reminds us of a late academic named Derrick Bell. What, never heard of him? Levin stresses that Bell believed in some pretty radical, racist things, but does not actually quote Bell expressing these shocking sentiments. A plurality of this book, if not a majority, is comprised of block quotes, but the best Levin can do is to quote Bell blandly intellectualizing on the subject of racism in America. Instead, to prove Bell was a racist bigot, Levin quotes another source; this source claims Bell was a racist this-and-that. Alright, let's play along. We are told the following: Bell believed that any blacks who were not in favor of getting rid of white people were effectively brainwashed. Today, a few people on the extreme left are still influenced by Bell. BLM is supported by the extreme left. BLM preaches equal treatment for blacks, and millions of Americans support equal rights for all races. Therefore... drumroll... millions of Americans agree with everything Derrick Bell ever wrote, and believe it's time to get rid of whitey once and for all, overthrow the government, and teach critical race theory to preschoolers. Get it?
Levin fancies himself an academic and a historian, but this book shows that he has little respect for history. To him, history is a file cabinet full of empirical evidence to rifle through and cherrypick and manipulate, solely to support his ultra-right commentary. Instead of adapting his arguments to fit history, Levin does it the other way around, twisting and contorting examples from the past to "prove" his points. No example is too tired, irrelevant, or forgotten, in Levin's eyes. I kept waiting for him to bring up Chappaquiddick. (It's useful to point out here that Levin was trained as a lawyer, and this is, of course, how lawyers operate—they dig through legal examples from the past to find something—anything—which supports their position on a current case. What Levin doesn't seem to have realized is, this method of proving a point makes little sense outside of a courtroom.)
Unfortunately, this is really the only way that Levin knows how to argue; he did the same in his previous book, Unfreedom of the Press (another comedy classic). In order to prove their mendacity, Levin took pains to point out that during World War II, the New York Times barely reported the ethnic cleansing taking place in Nazi Germany, which is very true indeed. Never mind that the same could be said of any newspaper in the world at the time, since the Final Solution was a closely-guarded secret amongst the Third Reich's elite. They knew they were losing the war, and endeavored to complete the killings as fast as possible before they were found out. According to Levin, since the NYT did not do a good job reporting the Holocaust in 1944, their reporting cannot be trusted in 2021, and everyone who works within said organization supports genocide, then and now. I am no cheerleader; there are plenty of legitimate criticisms that could be leveled at the Times, and yet this is the sort of eye-rolling, sophomoric pablum that Levin fills his books with.
Back to our Marxist nightmare. Levin also touches on climate change, and reveals how it's all just a cover for the "degrowth" movement. Oh yes. Levin blows the lid off of this nefarious plot to "save the planet," and the conspiracy goes deeper than we had ever imagined. The degrowth movement apparently comprises a small group of extreme leftists who want to take us back to the pre-Industrial Revolution way of life. Basically, they are luddites of the Ted Kaczynski variety. Since degrowthers are concerned about the planet, that means anyone who also is concerned about Earth, and thinks it's a dangerous, shortsighted idea to rape its natural resources for all they are worth, is a degrowther by proxy. Millions among us are secret participants in this foul deception, under the guise of "caring" about the "environment." They are coming to tear down your double-wide and replace it with an environmentally-friendly mud hut, held together with wax paper. It's all in the name of "fighting climate change," which is, of course, just a sneaky code phrase for towing away your F-150, covered in those beautiful Trump flags, and replacing it with a Vespa.
Remember, according to Levin, this is all happening right now. Open your window, and try not to inhale any smoke from the nearby burning buildings. Listen carefully and you will hear the degrowthers approaching in their electric wimpmobiles—and they're coming for you. The dots were there all along; all Levin had to do was connect them. Take that, Karl.
I could go on and belabor my point further, but I am just too tired after spending all day tearing down statues of Ronald Reagan. Yes, Levin's tone is so stridently one-note alarmist and heavy-handed that the book quickly becomes a painful chore to read. Yes, the book is packed with filler and lengthy, irrelevant tangents. Yes, Levin either isn't capable of paraphrasing what others wrote, or is simply too lazy to bother. Yes, the endnotes are a total scream, with all the usual right-wing nutjob red flags present: Breitbart, PJ Media, Newsbusters, Project Veritas, Washington Times, Daily Caller, you name it. (Surprisingly, Levin shows a modicum of restraint and does not cite the Gateway Pundit.)
Read this book if you must, but please do not pay for it. (I certainly didn't.) This book is obviously not written to inform or educate. It is a tool for generating sales from dullards with a confirmation bias. After all—Levin is a true patriot, and what's more American than lazy profiteering?
According to this book, the United States is in grave danger. Our cities are burning. This is our last chance to save the republic. Our liberty is at stake. It is a dire emergency. This has been the conservative byline since about 1990, and for good reason. Look out your window and watch the flames engulfing your city or town. Go on and try to say the word "woman" out loud in public—you will be arrested immediately by the Thought Police. Nice try. (As we all know, that word has been totally banned.)
This book has nothing to do with Marxism, American or otherwise. In case you were hoping it would be a serious discussion of certain Marxist ideals and how they may or may not be influencing American society (which would be quite an interesting and valuable book, in my opinion), you are duck out of luck. Instead, the best way I can describe this book is that it is approximately 300 pages of esoteric block quotes, hyperbolic extrapolation, and Ayn Rand worship, in that order.
Levin's arguments always take the same form. First, he exhumes a forgotten example of something, as far to the left as possible. Chances are, you have never heard of it, and nobody else has either. He then extrapolates furiously until he reaches the electoral majority in the United States, who are—gasp!—liberal. Levin then claims that the example in question is absolute proof that America is under attack by the extreme left. There are millions who share these same obscure beliefs, he cries, and they are all Marxists. Seriously. That's how he does it.
You can use any example in the book to illustrate Levin's tortured acrobatics. (Strap yourself in.) For instance, Levin reminds us of a late academic named Derrick Bell. What, never heard of him? Levin stresses that Bell believed in some pretty radical, racist things, but does not actually quote Bell expressing these shocking sentiments. A plurality of this book, if not a majority, is comprised of block quotes, but the best Levin can do is to quote Bell blandly intellectualizing on the subject of racism in America. Instead, to prove Bell was a racist bigot, Levin quotes another source; this source claims Bell was a racist this-and-that. Alright, let's play along. We are told the following: Bell believed that any blacks who were not in favor of getting rid of white people were effectively brainwashed. Today, a few people on the extreme left are still influenced by Bell. BLM is supported by the extreme left. BLM preaches equal treatment for blacks, and millions of Americans support equal rights for all races. Therefore... drumroll... millions of Americans agree with everything Derrick Bell ever wrote, and believe it's time to get rid of whitey once and for all, overthrow the government, and teach critical race theory to preschoolers. Get it?
Levin fancies himself an academic and a historian, but this book shows that he has little respect for history. To him, history is a file cabinet full of empirical evidence to rifle through and cherrypick and manipulate, solely to support his ultra-right commentary. Instead of adapting his arguments to fit history, Levin does it the other way around, twisting and contorting examples from the past to "prove" his points. No example is too tired, irrelevant, or forgotten, in Levin's eyes. I kept waiting for him to bring up Chappaquiddick. (It's useful to point out here that Levin was trained as a lawyer, and this is, of course, how lawyers operate—they dig through legal examples from the past to find something—anything—which supports their position on a current case. What Levin doesn't seem to have realized is, this method of proving a point makes little sense outside of a courtroom.)
Unfortunately, this is really the only way that Levin knows how to argue; he did the same in his previous book, Unfreedom of the Press (another comedy classic). In order to prove their mendacity, Levin took pains to point out that during World War II, the New York Times barely reported the ethnic cleansing taking place in Nazi Germany, which is very true indeed. Never mind that the same could be said of any newspaper in the world at the time, since the Final Solution was a closely-guarded secret amongst the Third Reich's elite. They knew they were losing the war, and endeavored to complete the killings as fast as possible before they were found out. According to Levin, since the NYT did not do a good job reporting the Holocaust in 1944, their reporting cannot be trusted in 2021, and everyone who works within said organization supports genocide, then and now. I am no cheerleader; there are plenty of legitimate criticisms that could be leveled at the Times, and yet this is the sort of eye-rolling, sophomoric pablum that Levin fills his books with.
Back to our Marxist nightmare. Levin also touches on climate change, and reveals how it's all just a cover for the "degrowth" movement. Oh yes. Levin blows the lid off of this nefarious plot to "save the planet," and the conspiracy goes deeper than we had ever imagined. The degrowth movement apparently comprises a small group of extreme leftists who want to take us back to the pre-Industrial Revolution way of life. Basically, they are luddites of the Ted Kaczynski variety. Since degrowthers are concerned about the planet, that means anyone who also is concerned about Earth, and thinks it's a dangerous, shortsighted idea to rape its natural resources for all they are worth, is a degrowther by proxy. Millions among us are secret participants in this foul deception, under the guise of "caring" about the "environment." They are coming to tear down your double-wide and replace it with an environmentally-friendly mud hut, held together with wax paper. It's all in the name of "fighting climate change," which is, of course, just a sneaky code phrase for towing away your F-150, covered in those beautiful Trump flags, and replacing it with a Vespa.
Remember, according to Levin, this is all happening right now. Open your window, and try not to inhale any smoke from the nearby burning buildings. Listen carefully and you will hear the degrowthers approaching in their electric wimpmobiles—and they're coming for you. The dots were there all along; all Levin had to do was connect them. Take that, Karl.
I could go on and belabor my point further, but I am just too tired after spending all day tearing down statues of Ronald Reagan. Yes, Levin's tone is so stridently one-note alarmist and heavy-handed that the book quickly becomes a painful chore to read. Yes, the book is packed with filler and lengthy, irrelevant tangents. Yes, Levin either isn't capable of paraphrasing what others wrote, or is simply too lazy to bother. Yes, the endnotes are a total scream, with all the usual right-wing nutjob red flags present: Breitbart, PJ Media, Newsbusters, Project Veritas, Washington Times, Daily Caller, you name it. (Surprisingly, Levin shows a modicum of restraint and does not cite the Gateway Pundit.)
Read this book if you must, but please do not pay for it. (I certainly didn't.) This book is obviously not written to inform or educate. It is a tool for generating sales from dullards with a confirmation bias. After all—Levin is a true patriot, and what's more American than lazy profiteering?
July 13, 2021
Mark shines a light on all the crazy that perpetuates the headlines of today’s media: BLM, Antifa, CRT, “The Squad”, Activists, Socialists, and every sort of Equity you can think of. These have become a collective identity and class consciousness that is the foundation of “American Marxism”. It’s insidious.
Levine gives more than most authors. His perspective is well documented and supported as are his suggestions for how to take up the cause to restore democracy to our country and his plan is very specific:
BOYCOTT - DIVESTMENT - SANCTIONS - a plan that has been used on the nation of Israel can be applied to various factions within our own country’s business, finance, education and government in order to bring them to heel, to return to sanity.
From there, Mark goes on with a detailed plan to rescue education, (both lower and higher), major corporations, climate initiatives and a start with law enforcement and the sheer lack of responsibility on the part of government to take responsibility for charging participants of BLM, Antifa, and other social causes that have killed, destroyed, stolen, burned…
Palpable, personal and practical - “American Marxism” is a book to challenge and give hope for the future if we get involved. God Bless America, please📚
Levine gives more than most authors. His perspective is well documented and supported as are his suggestions for how to take up the cause to restore democracy to our country and his plan is very specific:
BOYCOTT - DIVESTMENT - SANCTIONS - a plan that has been used on the nation of Israel can be applied to various factions within our own country’s business, finance, education and government in order to bring them to heel, to return to sanity.
From there, Mark goes on with a detailed plan to rescue education, (both lower and higher), major corporations, climate initiatives and a start with law enforcement and the sheer lack of responsibility on the part of government to take responsibility for charging participants of BLM, Antifa, and other social causes that have killed, destroyed, stolen, burned…
Palpable, personal and practical - “American Marxism” is a book to challenge and give hope for the future if we get involved. God Bless America, please📚
November 19, 2021
It is not hyperbole to say that America’s institutions are under a serious threat by a malignant force that seeks to undermine them. Critical Theory is a manifestation of Marxism and it is responsible for spawning movements that want to completely destroy and replace our institutions. If you’re going to criticize Critical Theories, it’s important to know what the pioneers behind them have said so we can best know how to fight against them in the war of ideas. Critical Race Theory, in particular, is given a lot of focus in this book, and for good reason.
July 23, 2021
A commentary, history, and guidebook on today's most pervasive socio-political movement. In true Levinian fashion, we are taken straight to school on issues we live, suffer, and seek to overcome. This book is painful. I needed frequent breaks. That is a by-product of Levin's unfiltered style, which many of his listeners and readers know so well.
Five stars
Five stars
August 3, 2021
Well written and thought provoking. This is not your typical screed from a political pundit. Since I have a degree in political theory and political philosophy, it is clear to me that Levin has a grasp on the philosophical and historical basis of the rise of totalitarian and Marxist ideologies and the dangers that the United States faces from those espousing those ideologies. I suggest further reading from many of his cited sources and authorities including Hannah Arendt, Thomas Sowell and others.
July 10, 2021
Reviewed on Hannity show on Friday. People if we want to save our country read this
July 19, 2021
Mark Levin covers so much in this book. The part that struck me between the eyes was the fact that an unbelievably high percentage of conservatives self-censor, especially on social media.
Yup, yup. That's me. Guilty as charged. When I was looking for a publisher or agent, I was advised to watch what I posted online--don't get political. So I took that advice. And self-censored a lot. Whenever I wanted to post something, I usually stifled it. The one time I actually posted something conservative, I was attacked. Social media gave me huge writer's block. That's why when I was encouraged to fast from social media by spiritual leaders, the two recommended weeks stretched to years.
I was told not to get political online, but what they really meant was don't get conservative. Liberal authors can post all they want. So here goes. With Mark Levin's permission, I am a Ronald Reagan Republican, pro-life to the core, pro-family, pro-Christianity. I believe the founding fathers were inspired by God, Abraham Lincoln should be celebrated not canceled, and Carl Marx was evil. Anything spawned by Marxism sucks in that evil. I am shocked that so many influential Americans happily describe themselves as "trained Marxists." That is terrifying. Everyone should read this book because, as Mark Levin quotes from Thomas Paine, "These are the times that try men's souls."
Yup, yup. That's me. Guilty as charged. When I was looking for a publisher or agent, I was advised to watch what I posted online--don't get political. So I took that advice. And self-censored a lot. Whenever I wanted to post something, I usually stifled it. The one time I actually posted something conservative, I was attacked. Social media gave me huge writer's block. That's why when I was encouraged to fast from social media by spiritual leaders, the two recommended weeks stretched to years.
I was told not to get political online, but what they really meant was don't get conservative. Liberal authors can post all they want. So here goes. With Mark Levin's permission, I am a Ronald Reagan Republican, pro-life to the core, pro-family, pro-Christianity. I believe the founding fathers were inspired by God, Abraham Lincoln should be celebrated not canceled, and Carl Marx was evil. Anything spawned by Marxism sucks in that evil. I am shocked that so many influential Americans happily describe themselves as "trained Marxists." That is terrifying. Everyone should read this book because, as Mark Levin quotes from Thomas Paine, "These are the times that try men's souls."
October 5, 2022
This was an extremely lazy effort from Mark Levin. The majority of this book is quotations. Of course, if you are going to argue against the position of someone you are going to use quotations at times, but Levin depends on them for absolutely everything. If there is a topic he wants to discuss - Critical Race Theory, for example - he'll introduce it and try to explain what it is using quotes, then he'll quote his adversaries, and then he'll use quotes to attack his adversaries.
Besides for introducing who he's quoting, his own contributions are minimal. Something like "Indeed, today we see this strategy playing out in communities all across the country..." or "Hence, as we see today, the spawning of numerous movements based on these beliefs..." are often times, for all intents and purposes, what Levin himself has to add to a topic. At times he'd just offer a quote and then simply write "so true." Levin even continually quotes himself throughout the book! Countless times he quotes passages from his previous books.
The general tenor of the book is like someone sitting around a campfire trying to scare children with stories about Slender Man, except the boogeyman here is Marxism. It's alleged that Marxism is everywhere, insidiously releasing its nefarious poison all throughout American society. Pepe the rape skunk was cancelled - soon we'll all be in gulags! Perhaps the most ludicrous assertion is that corporate boardrooms and corporations are havens for Marxism. Imagine, a union busting plutocrat like Jeff Bezos is really a Marxist!
His statements regarding social media were also something that stood out for being a uniquely bad take. Social media do not censor anyone who challenges the orthodoxy of the Democrat party, as Levin claims; instead they actually tend to be right-wing echo chambers. Every day you can see what the 10 top-performing link posts on U.S. Facebook pages are, ranked by total interactions. It's usually Fox News, Dan Bongino, Ben Shapiro, Sean Hannity, Franklin Graham, Newsmax, etc.
I'd also like to point out what happened when right-wingers, rabble-roused into feeling like they were victimized by social media, went and created their own social media safe space on Parler. The CEO had to come out and publicly ask them to stop posting pictures of their poop and threatening to kill each other, or they would be banned there too. Perhaps they just don't know how to behave in a civil manner?
In other areas Levin is completely contradictory; for example, when he complains about what is being taught in schools, he writes "Teachers are paid to teach, and by teach we mean objective, factual, scientific, mathematical learning." Do you? Because when the topic of climate change is brought up, for which there is an overwhelming scientific consensus, suddenly we get rants about how it's anti-American and anti-capitalist etc.
Levin writes comments about the left such as "their obsessive and unremitting war against the candidacy and presidency of Donald Trump." Now, maybe many of his radio listeners have the memory of a goldfish, but I can remember Levin's show before Trump was elected. Levin didn't support Trump, claimed he would never vote for him and said he was a Never-Trumper. Levin supported Ted Cruz, who called Trump "utterly amoral" and a "pathological liar." Only when they realized the inevitable direction the GOP was heading towards did they both become the disingenuous sycophants they currently are. Disliking Donald Trump does not make you a Marxist, it just makes you a minimally decent human.
Ultimately, the Republicans can't approach voters saying they want to support the extremely rich and the corporate world and harm you, so please give me your vote. That wouldn't work (although at least they'd be honest about their actual intentions), so instead we get this silly culture war stuff. Plug something like Critical Race Theory into Google trends. CRT has been around for decades, but interest in it only suddenly exploded in March of 2021? Why? Because the damage control over the events of Jan 6th was wrapping up, Hunter Biden's laptop story failed to gain the traction they wanted, and they needed new fuel for the right-wing outrage machine.
Besides for introducing who he's quoting, his own contributions are minimal. Something like "Indeed, today we see this strategy playing out in communities all across the country..." or "Hence, as we see today, the spawning of numerous movements based on these beliefs..." are often times, for all intents and purposes, what Levin himself has to add to a topic. At times he'd just offer a quote and then simply write "so true." Levin even continually quotes himself throughout the book! Countless times he quotes passages from his previous books.
The general tenor of the book is like someone sitting around a campfire trying to scare children with stories about Slender Man, except the boogeyman here is Marxism. It's alleged that Marxism is everywhere, insidiously releasing its nefarious poison all throughout American society. Pepe the rape skunk was cancelled - soon we'll all be in gulags! Perhaps the most ludicrous assertion is that corporate boardrooms and corporations are havens for Marxism. Imagine, a union busting plutocrat like Jeff Bezos is really a Marxist!
His statements regarding social media were also something that stood out for being a uniquely bad take. Social media do not censor anyone who challenges the orthodoxy of the Democrat party, as Levin claims; instead they actually tend to be right-wing echo chambers. Every day you can see what the 10 top-performing link posts on U.S. Facebook pages are, ranked by total interactions. It's usually Fox News, Dan Bongino, Ben Shapiro, Sean Hannity, Franklin Graham, Newsmax, etc.
I'd also like to point out what happened when right-wingers, rabble-roused into feeling like they were victimized by social media, went and created their own social media safe space on Parler. The CEO had to come out and publicly ask them to stop posting pictures of their poop and threatening to kill each other, or they would be banned there too. Perhaps they just don't know how to behave in a civil manner?
In other areas Levin is completely contradictory; for example, when he complains about what is being taught in schools, he writes "Teachers are paid to teach, and by teach we mean objective, factual, scientific, mathematical learning." Do you? Because when the topic of climate change is brought up, for which there is an overwhelming scientific consensus, suddenly we get rants about how it's anti-American and anti-capitalist etc.
Levin writes comments about the left such as "their obsessive and unremitting war against the candidacy and presidency of Donald Trump." Now, maybe many of his radio listeners have the memory of a goldfish, but I can remember Levin's show before Trump was elected. Levin didn't support Trump, claimed he would never vote for him and said he was a Never-Trumper. Levin supported Ted Cruz, who called Trump "utterly amoral" and a "pathological liar." Only when they realized the inevitable direction the GOP was heading towards did they both become the disingenuous sycophants they currently are. Disliking Donald Trump does not make you a Marxist, it just makes you a minimally decent human.
Ultimately, the Republicans can't approach voters saying they want to support the extremely rich and the corporate world and harm you, so please give me your vote. That wouldn't work (although at least they'd be honest about their actual intentions), so instead we get this silly culture war stuff. Plug something like Critical Race Theory into Google trends. CRT has been around for decades, but interest in it only suddenly exploded in March of 2021? Why? Because the damage control over the events of Jan 6th was wrapping up, Hunter Biden's laptop story failed to gain the traction they wanted, and they needed new fuel for the right-wing outrage machine.
July 31, 2021
This book is pure propaganda. It's constant fear mongering is downright disturbing at times.
Levin never examines his own concepts of what the 'good' is and just assumes inherent goods in America's past. He also never delves into his own party's past when it makes sense to do so. Often, when he discusses groups, it'd be quite easy to compare what he says to groups in the current Republican party and its past. The book is incredibly one-sided in its focus on left-leaning authoritarian mindsets while never challenging the concept of right-leaning authoritarian mindsets. He seems to systematically discount the danger of right-leaning authoritarianism. He doesn't even consider other more collectivist societies in other countries in his single-minded pursuit of individualism as an inherent good. He argues against any collectivization, such as unions, leagues or a greater good of community. In chapter 3, he cries against indoctrination, but then doesn't believe that reverence for tradition, custom, faith, or patriotism are types of indoctrination. Not considering faith or patriotism indoctrination is a really wild argument.
The complete lack of critical argumentation is this book is perhaps the biggest downfall of it in my mind. He never delves into why the 'leftist' arguments might make sense. He always presents them as strawmen arguments and doesn't dive into the more substantive arguments going on within the progressive movements. Nor does he ever get into comparative analysis on these arguments or why he thinks America has it 'right' while other countries whose policies progressives are building upon have it 'wrong'.
In chapter 5, which is nominally about climate change, Levin enjoys quoting very right-wing economists, while not giving any room to those economists who have since broken down much of what the likes of F. A. Hayek and Milton Friedman said about their economic theories. He's happy to take what they said as absolute fact while questioning the consensus in climate science about anthropogenic climate change. So his conclusion here is experts who I agree with are intelligent and should be listened to, while experts I disagree with are indoctrinated and can't be listened to. It's wildly one-sided and in bad faith. Levin is not at all openminded to opposing viewpoints and sees them as something to discount and slander so as to confirm his pre-existing notions. He consistently calls out the degrowth movement while setting aside and seldom bringing up the sustainable growth movement, which has significantly more support. Once again causing this chapter to just be a full on bad faith strawman argument in the political fight about what to do about climate change.
I've heard Mark Levin complain when liberals take statements from conservative out of context and summarize the entire conservative movement based on those statements from a minority or the craziest members of the far-right movement. It's not a particularly fair thing to do, I agree. But this entire book is just doing the same thing on the other side, he's picking and choosing quotes that are far from consensus and summarizing the entire democratic socialism/progressive movements through the wildest statements of it's members. It feels just as unfair from this side I assure Levin.
Levin never examines his own concepts of what the 'good' is and just assumes inherent goods in America's past. He also never delves into his own party's past when it makes sense to do so. Often, when he discusses groups, it'd be quite easy to compare what he says to groups in the current Republican party and its past. The book is incredibly one-sided in its focus on left-leaning authoritarian mindsets while never challenging the concept of right-leaning authoritarian mindsets. He seems to systematically discount the danger of right-leaning authoritarianism. He doesn't even consider other more collectivist societies in other countries in his single-minded pursuit of individualism as an inherent good. He argues against any collectivization, such as unions, leagues or a greater good of community. In chapter 3, he cries against indoctrination, but then doesn't believe that reverence for tradition, custom, faith, or patriotism are types of indoctrination. Not considering faith or patriotism indoctrination is a really wild argument.
The complete lack of critical argumentation is this book is perhaps the biggest downfall of it in my mind. He never delves into why the 'leftist' arguments might make sense. He always presents them as strawmen arguments and doesn't dive into the more substantive arguments going on within the progressive movements. Nor does he ever get into comparative analysis on these arguments or why he thinks America has it 'right' while other countries whose policies progressives are building upon have it 'wrong'.
In chapter 5, which is nominally about climate change, Levin enjoys quoting very right-wing economists, while not giving any room to those economists who have since broken down much of what the likes of F. A. Hayek and Milton Friedman said about their economic theories. He's happy to take what they said as absolute fact while questioning the consensus in climate science about anthropogenic climate change. So his conclusion here is experts who I agree with are intelligent and should be listened to, while experts I disagree with are indoctrinated and can't be listened to. It's wildly one-sided and in bad faith. Levin is not at all openminded to opposing viewpoints and sees them as something to discount and slander so as to confirm his pre-existing notions. He consistently calls out the degrowth movement while setting aside and seldom bringing up the sustainable growth movement, which has significantly more support. Once again causing this chapter to just be a full on bad faith strawman argument in the political fight about what to do about climate change.
I've heard Mark Levin complain when liberals take statements from conservative out of context and summarize the entire conservative movement based on those statements from a minority or the craziest members of the far-right movement. It's not a particularly fair thing to do, I agree. But this entire book is just doing the same thing on the other side, he's picking and choosing quotes that are far from consensus and summarizing the entire democratic socialism/progressive movements through the wildest statements of it's members. It feels just as unfair from this side I assure Levin.
July 22, 2021
Let's be clear - this book should be filed under fiction - poorly written fiction at that. It's really difficult to make it through this regurgitation of fox news. Useful to know what the people who are actively trying to destroy our country think though.
July 15, 2021
Mr. Levin exposes what is unfolding before our eyes. Just ask the fine folks protesting in Cuba. We do not want that nightmare to come to fruition in the USA.
August 23, 2021
I really want to accuse Levin of bad faith but I think he's just an idiot. He obviously didn't do an ounce of research on anything he talks about in this insanely stupid piece of fascist propaganda. Critical theory is also known as the Franklin School from Berlin and was created by Herbert Marcuse? Criticism of critical theory is one of the main points of the book and he can't even be bothered to get the name of the school, the city it was from, or the founder(s) right? Hilarious. Idiotic. It's also plainly obvious he's read Marx with the same zeal as he did the critical theorists: none. The guy is an idiot who heard this nonsense he's spouting off here from someone else and just recited it verbatim, just as he expects you geniuses here who are about to give this turd a five star review to.
I'd like to point out that the Nazis used the term Cultural Bolshevism to criticize everything they didn't approve of culturally, which included everything to the left of full blown fascism. When the critical theorists came around, the Nazis accused them of being Cultural Bolshevist scholars and the idea stuck around on the right, turning into what the American fascists in the GOP today refer to as Cultural Marxism. Transgender people? Cultural Marxism. Gay marriage? Cultural Marxism. Hollywood cast a black actor as a character who was played by a white person in the original? Cultural Marxism. It's amusing to me that an American fascist would title his book discussing this idea American Marxism. A little too on the nose, though I'm sure he, like you five star givers here on Goodreads, has no idea that he's basically a Nazi.
I'd like to point out that the Nazis used the term Cultural Bolshevism to criticize everything they didn't approve of culturally, which included everything to the left of full blown fascism. When the critical theorists came around, the Nazis accused them of being Cultural Bolshevist scholars and the idea stuck around on the right, turning into what the American fascists in the GOP today refer to as Cultural Marxism. Transgender people? Cultural Marxism. Gay marriage? Cultural Marxism. Hollywood cast a black actor as a character who was played by a white person in the original? Cultural Marxism. It's amusing to me that an American fascist would title his book discussing this idea American Marxism. A little too on the nose, though I'm sure he, like you five star givers here on Goodreads, has no idea that he's basically a Nazi.
October 1, 2021
Not an "enjoyable" read, but a necessary one. From the introduction to book: "As Levin writes: 'The counter-revolution to the American Revolution is in full force. And it can no longer be dismissed or ignored for it is devouring our society and culture, swirling around our everyday lives, and ubiquitous in our politics, schools, media, and entertainment.'”
July 13, 2021
Great book by great author. Those who gave few stars must be Dems who did not read the book and/or are so close-minded and ill-informed that their reviews should be ignored.
September 13, 2021
This book was depressing to read, especially in the late evening. The author has described in detail, what I believe is the driving force of division in the United States of America.
August 12, 2021
In his latest book, Mark Levin offers a scholarly look at some of the mass movements that have swept across America over the last few years with lightning speed, leaving behind a trail of destruction like an atom bomb. Levin did not write American Marxism in an easy to read style. Rather, he looks to the Leftists starting with Rousseau, Marx, and Engels and the modern day professors like Marcuse and Crenshaw who have used a Marxist analysis to develop so-Called Critical Theory Of race, gender, and almost everything imaginable. Most authors buttress their work with short quotes taken out of context or paraphrasing. Not Levin. He gives the reader full paragraph quotes so there can be no mistake about the source material he critiques. While this style of writing provides accuracy, it results in dense reading and may lose some readers more conditioned to quick headlines.
As Levin aptly demonstrates, the modern critical theory movements draw their inspiration from classical Marxism which twists history into simple stories of oppressed classes and oppressors and offers as the only solution tearing everything down. Ultimately, as Levin demonstrates, these movements are based on lies or over-simplifications and are simply a means for some to amass power while, just as all fascists do, oppressing opposition speech.
The speed and pervasiveness by which these Marxist critical theory movements have moved through modern society leaves few easy solutions, Levin explains, other than becoming active in local politics and local school boards and boycotting businesses that have succumbed to crazy political ideas.
One would expect not everyone to agree with Levin’s perspectives, but even those who disagree should take his analysis seriously and not dismiss it out of hand.
As Levin aptly demonstrates, the modern critical theory movements draw their inspiration from classical Marxism which twists history into simple stories of oppressed classes and oppressors and offers as the only solution tearing everything down. Ultimately, as Levin demonstrates, these movements are based on lies or over-simplifications and are simply a means for some to amass power while, just as all fascists do, oppressing opposition speech.
The speed and pervasiveness by which these Marxist critical theory movements have moved through modern society leaves few easy solutions, Levin explains, other than becoming active in local politics and local school boards and boycotting businesses that have succumbed to crazy political ideas.
One would expect not everyone to agree with Levin’s perspectives, but even those who disagree should take his analysis seriously and not dismiss it out of hand.
October 2, 2022
This book explains why America is all screwed up. The Marksism belief which has been proven not to work, is pervasive in our sosiety today.
July 20, 2021
As expected, this was an excellent book. Levin provides well documented and supported details of the current movement to advance a Marxist agenda in the United States. This is something many are unaware of, but this book shall enlighten the unaware. At times, the book is heavily academic and somewhat sickening, only because it refers to groups gaining power that are unapologetically anti-American. The final chapter suggests what Americans can do to combat this poisonous movement.
October 15, 2021
Mark’s best book yet that every American should read!
October 18, 2021
American Marxism by the six-time #1 New York Times bestselling author, Fox News star, and radio host Mark R. Levin explains how the dangers he warned against in the “timely yet timeless” (David Limbaugh, author of Jesus Is Risen) bestseller Liberty and Tyranny have come to pass. In 2009, Mark R. Levin galvanized conservatives with his unforgettable manifesto Liberty and Tyranny, by providing a philosophical, historical, and practical framework for halting the liberal assault on Constitution-based values. That book was about standing at the precipice of progressivism’s threat to our freedom and now, over a decade later, we’re fully over that precipice and paying the price. In American Marxism, Levin explains how the core elements of Marxist ideology are now pervasive in American society and culture—from our schools, the press, and corporations, to Hollywood, the Democratic Party, and the Biden presidency—and how it is often cloaked in deceptive labels like “progressivism,” “democratic socialism,” “social activism,” and more. With his characteristic trenchant analysis, Levin digs into the psychology and tactics of these movements, the widespread brainwashing of students, the anti-American purposes of Critical Race Theory and the Green New Deal, and the escalation of repression and censorship to silence opposing voices and enforce conformity. Levin exposes many of the institutions, intellectuals, scholars, and activists who are leading this revolution, and provides us with some answers and ideas on how to confront them. As Levin writes: “The counter-revolution to the American Revolution is in full force. And it can no longer be dismissed or ignored for it is devouring our society and culture, swirling around our everyday lives, and ubiquitous in our politics, schools, media, and entertainment.” And, like before, Levin seeks to rally the American people to defend their liberty. Loaded with very perceptive views about what is happening to American society and values by those seeking to undermine and eventually overthrow our government by creating anarchy using our own institutions against us!
July 17, 2021
Mark Clearly calls out the efforts of those who have taken power in the highest offices
Being Proud of America and the freedom and opportunity it stands for I purchased this book to give me knowledge of things I am concerned about . Mark Levin has proven to be a source of information and Truth for everyone that shares concerns about what is taking place now in America .
Knowing the Truth is essential in confronting confusing and misleading narratives .
I am so thankful for Mark's honesty and calling out the offenders of freedom for precisely what they are.
Wishing for the best for Mark as he informs everyone of the changes our nation is encountering
and what to expect it they are allowed to continue.
Being Proud of America and the freedom and opportunity it stands for I purchased this book to give me knowledge of things I am concerned about . Mark Levin has proven to be a source of information and Truth for everyone that shares concerns about what is taking place now in America .
Knowing the Truth is essential in confronting confusing and misleading narratives .
I am so thankful for Mark's honesty and calling out the offenders of freedom for precisely what they are.
Wishing for the best for Mark as he informs everyone of the changes our nation is encountering
and what to expect it they are allowed to continue.
July 25, 2021
A Critical Book for the Times
This is a must-read for anyone who values freedoms. Levin scrutinizes the Marxist practices in place and anyone with half a brain can see what is happening to our Republic. He is detailed and documented in his examples. The last chapter outlines some ways to retaliate and work to regain our freedom and our Republic. I highly recommend this book that is a necessary blueprint for our future.
This is a must-read for anyone who values freedoms. Levin scrutinizes the Marxist practices in place and anyone with half a brain can see what is happening to our Republic. He is detailed and documented in his examples. The last chapter outlines some ways to retaliate and work to regain our freedom and our Republic. I highly recommend this book that is a necessary blueprint for our future.
July 24, 2021
Urgent Book to Read
The perils facing our nation from liberal left-wing politicians, BLM, CRT, and Marxism are explored it detail. It is eye opening to see how our personal liberties are being destroyed. Excellent book!
The perils facing our nation from liberal left-wing politicians, BLM, CRT, and Marxism are explored it detail. It is eye opening to see how our personal liberties are being destroyed. Excellent book!
Read
July 17, 2021It's sad to see that those who wish to remain blind to reality review a book that they haven't read. Zoe and Joshua in particular. I can't wait to get my copy.
July 23, 2021
Mark explains just how dire the situation that America faces is. This book clearly identifies the problem, and suggests many courses of action to correct it. Decades of no pushback on the Marxist agenda has left most of our institutions vulnerable to this radical anti-American idealogy. Like Mark says, the time to sit back and allow this to happen has ended. Every patriotic American most stand up for their country now.
Read
July 22, 2021Eye opening
A must read for anyone who wants a well documented description of how Marxism has creeped into most facets of our society. This book is especially relevant as we are facing previously unseen suppression of any opinions that run counter to the current agenda of the combined alliance of the democratic party, big tech, media and the entertainment industries.
A must read for anyone who wants a well documented description of how Marxism has creeped into most facets of our society. This book is especially relevant as we are facing previously unseen suppression of any opinions that run counter to the current agenda of the combined alliance of the democratic party, big tech, media and the entertainment industries.
July 24, 2021
Contemporary reality check
Excellent and numerous sources support Levin’s narrative and analysis. Suggestions for personal ACTION give readers options beyond helplessness and anger.
Excellent and numerous sources support Levin’s narrative and analysis. Suggestions for personal ACTION give readers options beyond helplessness and anger.
August 29, 2021
When this book was offered to me by one of our engineers onboard, I was expecting something much less than what I got. As I read a lot of the leftist intellectuals, I expected to hear a puddle deep explanation of the left and their tactics/goals compared to my own assessment. Sometimes it’s nice to have your expectations crushed.
Mr. Levin quotes copiously from leftist intellectual sources rather than leftist pundits, which elevated this book to a much higher level. Really, it is not so difficult to assess the left when you read the intellectual wing of their ideological leaders, and Levin does so excellently. I highly recommend this book if you are wondering about any of the many ridiculous themes such as gender fluidity, the Marxist Critical Race Theory (or Critical Theory in general), theinsane way terms like “white supremacy” are now used, eco craziness, etc. which the left are pushing. It pinpoints the evilness of BLM and ANTIFA… it is just a really great primer on our common enemy, and enemy of humankind they are.
Mr. Levin quotes copiously from leftist intellectual sources rather than leftist pundits, which elevated this book to a much higher level. Really, it is not so difficult to assess the left when you read the intellectual wing of their ideological leaders, and Levin does so excellently. I highly recommend this book if you are wondering about any of the many ridiculous themes such as gender fluidity, the Marxist Critical Race Theory (or Critical Theory in general), theinsane way terms like “white supremacy” are now used, eco craziness, etc. which the left are pushing. It pinpoints the evilness of BLM and ANTIFA… it is just a really great primer on our common enemy, and enemy of humankind they are.
October 1, 2021
The author discusses the original outlook of Karl Marx and other thinkers whose philosophies have contributed to the contemporary Left - Rousseau, Hegel, John Dewey, Herbert Marcuse, and others. Basically, Marx saw history as a struggle between an oppressing class (e.g. the bourgeoisie) and the oppressed - the proletariat, the working class. In its contemporary American forms, this transmogrifies into Critical Theory, as in Critical Race Theory (CRT) or into Critical Gender Theory, etc. CRT sees Whites as being the Oppressors, People of Color being the Oppressed - hence charges of Systemic Racism. White people are the colonizers of North America, they are the Oppressors, and so they deserve to have the country overrun by undocumented migrants from south of our border with Mexico.
Since there are only Oppressors and Oppressed, another aspect of these neo-Marxist movements has been their hostility toward viewpoints that argue against their binary view of reality. Levin discusses how Academia has become almost overwhelmingly ultraliberal, essentially Marxist, and so freedom of speech has in effect been canceled. Conservative speakers are not welcome on these campuses. They are seen as agents of the Oppressors as it were. These attitudes have spilled over into a lot of the large corporations, including the Big Tech companies - Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter, YouTube. If one expresses the "wrong" opinions or ideas, one may find oneself "deplatformed". Perhaps a prime example is Twitter throwing President Trump off of it. In all too many large corporations, if you express a "wrong" opinion, you may be fired. You get "Cancelled".
There is a chapter on how this neo-Marxism intersects with Climate Change activism. Also discussions on how there have been inroads into primary and secondary education. There is the 1619 Project which claims that America's real founding was in 1619 when the first African slaves were sold in Virginia and so we have been systemically racist from our beginning. The Revolutionary War was fought primarily to preserve slavery (NOT TRUE!!! says the author). But this 1619 Project is being pushed into the curricula of a lot of our schools. Kids are in effect being taught to hate our country.
In the last chapter, Levin discusses ways people can push back against these neo-Marxist activists and their agendas.
Since there are only Oppressors and Oppressed, another aspect of these neo-Marxist movements has been their hostility toward viewpoints that argue against their binary view of reality. Levin discusses how Academia has become almost overwhelmingly ultraliberal, essentially Marxist, and so freedom of speech has in effect been canceled. Conservative speakers are not welcome on these campuses. They are seen as agents of the Oppressors as it were. These attitudes have spilled over into a lot of the large corporations, including the Big Tech companies - Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter, YouTube. If one expresses the "wrong" opinions or ideas, one may find oneself "deplatformed". Perhaps a prime example is Twitter throwing President Trump off of it. In all too many large corporations, if you express a "wrong" opinion, you may be fired. You get "Cancelled".
There is a chapter on how this neo-Marxism intersects with Climate Change activism. Also discussions on how there have been inroads into primary and secondary education. There is the 1619 Project which claims that America's real founding was in 1619 when the first African slaves were sold in Virginia and so we have been systemically racist from our beginning. The Revolutionary War was fought primarily to preserve slavery (NOT TRUE!!! says the author). But this 1619 Project is being pushed into the curricula of a lot of our schools. Kids are in effect being taught to hate our country.
In the last chapter, Levin discusses ways people can push back against these neo-Marxist activists and their agendas.
September 5, 2021
Wow, just wow.
I’m assuming that most people reading this review, already having the bias that they do not agree with my 1 star rating of this book, will believe I rated this book due to my disagreement with the author. While this rating I’ve given does have something to do with my disagreement of Levin’s argument, it has more so been influenced by how immature Levin’s argument structure is.
Right off the bat in chapter one, Levin discusses why Marxism is logically incorrect. He, however, provides no factual information on what Marxism is or what is means in the 21st Century. He simply names what he believes to be “characteristics” of Marxism. In truth, though, they are simply common misunderstandings of Marxism. Additionally, he provides very little argument as to why the Marxist characteristic he is discussing is problematic. Therefore, Levin’s first mistake is not understanding what Marxism actually is.
In addition, even if Levin showcased an in-depth understanding of Marxism, the structure to his arguments and how he reaches conclusions is all over the place. Starting around the time of fourth grade, we usually begin to learn about the different styles of writing, argumentative writing being one of them. Even just reading the first few pages of this book, though, shows Levine and his editor did not prioritize writing in the structure of an argument- he’s literally just babbling and moving from one surface level point to another without backing any of it up.
Levin makes incorrect assumptions that show the very little research he has done into understanding Marxism and its evolution in history. He also does not structure his writing into an effective argument. Thus, limiting himself in the ability to write argumentatively against Marxism’s influence in the Western World.
Before reading this book, people really need to understand the importance of the scientific method. The study of politics is a science and thus needs to be treated as such. Levin’s conclusions could never be reached if scientists and/or individuals in academia tried to reconstruct the strategy he is using to reach his conclusions. Therefore, the book cannot and should not be taken seriously.
You have the right to your own opinions, sure. What you don’t have is the right to your own facts.
I’m assuming that most people reading this review, already having the bias that they do not agree with my 1 star rating of this book, will believe I rated this book due to my disagreement with the author. While this rating I’ve given does have something to do with my disagreement of Levin’s argument, it has more so been influenced by how immature Levin’s argument structure is.
Right off the bat in chapter one, Levin discusses why Marxism is logically incorrect. He, however, provides no factual information on what Marxism is or what is means in the 21st Century. He simply names what he believes to be “characteristics” of Marxism. In truth, though, they are simply common misunderstandings of Marxism. Additionally, he provides very little argument as to why the Marxist characteristic he is discussing is problematic. Therefore, Levin’s first mistake is not understanding what Marxism actually is.
In addition, even if Levin showcased an in-depth understanding of Marxism, the structure to his arguments and how he reaches conclusions is all over the place. Starting around the time of fourth grade, we usually begin to learn about the different styles of writing, argumentative writing being one of them. Even just reading the first few pages of this book, though, shows Levine and his editor did not prioritize writing in the structure of an argument- he’s literally just babbling and moving from one surface level point to another without backing any of it up.
Levin makes incorrect assumptions that show the very little research he has done into understanding Marxism and its evolution in history. He also does not structure his writing into an effective argument. Thus, limiting himself in the ability to write argumentatively against Marxism’s influence in the Western World.
Before reading this book, people really need to understand the importance of the scientific method. The study of politics is a science and thus needs to be treated as such. Levin’s conclusions could never be reached if scientists and/or individuals in academia tried to reconstruct the strategy he is using to reach his conclusions. Therefore, the book cannot and should not be taken seriously.
You have the right to your own opinions, sure. What you don’t have is the right to your own facts.
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