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Why Marx Matters

Many people agree that being cultured in 'the classics' is important for any education, especially to enrich the minds of young adults who seem to be so consumed by the ever-growing technologies at hand. However, what is your definition of "classic"?

How about Karl Marx? He may not be on your summer reading list but Marx's Das Kapital is still very relevant to our economic and environmental crises today. Just as Crime and Punishment was an exposé on the meat-packing industry, Marx's Das Kapital leads us behind the scenes of capitalism and the scandalous efforts to increase the gap between the rich and the working-class.

As Mike Wayne, author of Marx's Das Kapital For Beginners, states: "whether we are talking about the economic violence of the system...or the decreasing room to peacefully protest without being tasered or worse – all these problems and more can be traced back to the question of capital and unless we name the system within which these problems are developing, [these problems] are doomed to stay at the surface level, addressing symptoms at best, or making the problems worse by following the same discredited capitalist nostrums and prescriptions that are responsible for the problems in the first place."

Read more of Wayne's discussion in "Why Marx's Das Kapital still matters" here: http://bit.ly/KVM8y7

We The People

On this day in 1788, New Hampshire was the ninth and last state needed to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In the next couple of years four more states would ratify, forming the original 13 colonies of the United States.

Did you know that the U.S. Constitution is the oldest written constitution in operation in the world? (Source)

To learn more about our constitution's history pick up your copy of U.S. Constitution For Beginners.

THE OLYMPICS FOR BEGINNERS Giveaway

Every day we will be posting an Olympics trivia question on Twitter, you can follow us here!

Don't forget that we are picking one winner every week! Enter the drawing to win A FREE COPY!

On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!

This summer, the 2012 Olympics are taking place from July 27th to August 12th, in London. The Olympics bring together countries from all over the world for one purpose: friendly competition. These athletes train for years and only the best qualify to represent their country. People flock from all over to watch and support their country and every news station will broadcast the games.

The Olympics are an essential part of our lives.

But where was the idea first created and what about the games has changed since then?

Who revived The Olympics centuries later?

The Olympics For Beginners by Brandon Toropov spills all of the juicy details on the games that didn't make it past their first debut in the Olympics (such as live pigeon shooting), the politics involved, and everything that happened behind the scenes that we don't get to see.

Wow your friends with all of your knowledge about The Olympics by ENTERING the drawing to win a free copy! One winner is chosen every week!
More details are here: http://on.fb.me/JWYjJh

Book Launch A Success!

Last night Michael Wayne, author of Marx’s Das Kapital For Beginners, had a book launch party at Calder Bookshop and Theatre in London, UK followed by a lecture about why reading Marx’s Das Kapital still matters. The event was a success, receiving a crowd of around 50 people and many copies of the book were sold. 

Wayne is also working on some new projects including a film called "The Condition of the Working Class in England" and a revolutionary film about Venezuela.

Click here to order your copy of Marx’s Das Kapital For Beginners: http://www.forbeginnersbooks.com/marxfb.html

Thursday is Sartre's Birthday!

Jean-Paul Sartre was born on June 21^st, 1905 in Paris, France. Sartre is most known for his work in existentialism.

Sartre defined existentialism as "someone who believes and acts upon the following proposition as it applies to human beings: existence precedes essence". In a religious view, essence would proceed existence such as portrayed in the creation of man where God first thought of the idea of man, and thus created him. In Sartre's anti-God rebuttal, he states that there is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive it. In this sense, humans don't have any pre-conceived notions of how they should act, unlike animals who have predetermined instincts to kill their prey or or mate. "Each human being creates and re-creates his or her 'essence' in every moment through his or her choices and actions".

Although Sartre was not the only important existentialist thinker, he was the person who got the ball rolling and into the public's eye. His need for attention and public affection became the drive that allowed him to publish many works, including The Age of Reason, Transcendence of the Ego, and Being and Nothingness. Sartre embraced existentialism and the idea that it is a "harsh philosophy that require[s] individuals to take complete responsibility for every action, for what they are, and for their worlds". This philosophy led the French and promoted the idea of freedom while in German captivity during World War II.

To learn more about Sartre and Existentialism, check out Sartre For Beginners and Existentialism For Beginners.