BEIJING – Just 126 years after his death, Karl Marx’s moment may finally have arrived.
The People’s Press – the biggest publishing house for China’s orthodox revolutionary books – reports that Marx’s anti-capitalism opus "Das Kapital" has been selling about 4,000-5,000 copies nationwide a month since last November. That’s a big jump from before the economic crisis, when the book sold well under 1,000 copies per month on average.
The "Selected Works by Mao Zedong," a book owned by almost every Chinese citizen a few decades ago, is also witnessing a big jump in sales since late last year, according to Mr. Pan from the People’s Press circulation department.
Han Deqiang, a university professor, believes these sales trends reflect the fact that many Chinese are starting to question their new economic orthodoxy.
"For so many years we’ve been wading across the stream by feeling the way, trying to reach the other side of the stream in capitalism. Now the building on the bank has collapsed, and we realize maybe we had a wrong goal?" said Han.
With China’s economy characterized by widespread privatization and double-digit growth rates over the past 30 years, Marx’s critique of capitalism had fallen out of favor. But his "bible" of communism – first published in 1867 and worshipped by the Chinese people decades ago – seems to have found a new audience in China amid the global economic crisis, as evidenced by book sales.
Late last year, news organizations reported a similar trend in Germany, Marx’s birthplace.
"It's definitely in vogue right now," Joern Schuetrumpf, director of "Das Kapital’s" Berlin publisher, told The Associated Press. "The financial crisis brought us a huge bump."
Leftist shop’s sales up
At "Utopia," a tiny bookshop in the academic center of Beijing’s Haidian district, sales of "Das Kapital" are on the rise, according to Fan Jinggang, the bookshop’s manager. He said his store has sold about five copies a month over the last six months compared to just two copies a year previously.
"Some scholars on our Web site had already predicted the economic crisis as early as in 2007, but the mainstream opinions were too optimistic. Now our Web site is receiving 100,000 hits every day and both ‘Das Kapital’ and ‘Selected Works of Mao Zedong’ are selling better," said Fan.
Fan’s Beijing bookstore and Web site don’t sell the usual fare of popular novels or business texts you might find in other shops – instead it caters to a more leftist clientele.
Shelves are lined with titles like the "Biography of Hugo Chavez" and "The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History." Pictures of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong are the only decorations on the wall other than a clock above the counter.
Han, the university professor, is one of the writers on Utopia’s site.
"We thought the market economy was the only way out, it’s so widely accepted," he said. "But it’s natural to come back to Karl Marx and Mao when we find what we believed earlier isn’t always correct."
- Re: CHINESE COMING BACK TO MARX AMID CRISIS---重返马克思posted on 04/08/2009
这个不难预料。随着经济周期,也会有思想周期。 - Re: CHINESE COMING BACK TO MARX AMID CRISIS---重返马克思posted on 04/08/2009
我也准备下半年读老马,现在读老弗,达尔文还得回炉。
家里买了几本老马,还有资本论(节本),很可惜当年家里那么多马恩
列都被搬家扔掉了。其中就有《哥达纲领批判》,《法兰西内战》等
等。
这样式的书店纽约也有几家,十八街就有一家。 - Re: CHINESE COMING BACK TO MARX AMID CRISIS---重返马克思posted on 04/08/2009
记得有一家西语的“自由书店”。当年在那里买过一本英文版张春桥《论对资产阶级的全面专政》的小册子,以志纪念。No kidding。
xw wrote:
这样式的书店纽约也有几家,十八街就有一家。 - posted on 04/08/2009
touche wrote:
记得有一家西语的“自由书店”。当年在那里买过一本英文版张春桥《论对资产阶级的全面专政》的小册子,以志纪念。No kidding。
以前还有更左的呢,尤其是六十年代,把寒山子,八仙都请到美国来
了。那帮摇滚年轻人啊,恨透了西方传统。那时也有人带象章的,列
侬在Revolution里都唱到了。
记得我在道琼斯公司时有位资料馆负责人,她跟我说了许多六十年代
青年的事,那时还崇拜中国,崇拜古巴。
纽约这些店面应该是那个时代的遗迹。我在纽约听到一个笑话,说九
一一楼塌了以后,一些Bankers们逃命逃到格林威治村,才叹了一口
气:终于摆脱了万恶的资本主义。no kidding either.
xw wrote:
这样式的书店纽约也有几家,十八街就有一家。 - Re: CHINESE COMING BACK TO MARX AMID CRISIS---重返马克思posted on 04/08/2009
xw wrote:
这样式的书店纽约也有几家,十八街就有一家。
对,象个新华书店。我在离那儿两条街的地方住了两年,天天路过,但总是绕着走,结果不知道里头究竟卖什么书。我喜欢进小资店,和七月一样。:)
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