History of Marxism | Vejas Liulevicius and Lex Fridman

See below for guest bio, links, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

*GUEST BIO:*
Vejas Liulevicius is a historian specializing in Germany and Eastern Europe, who has lectured extensively on Marxism and the rise, the reign, and the fall of Communism.

*CONTACT LEX:*

*EPISODE LINKS:*

*SPONSORS:*
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*PODCAST LINKS:*

*SOCIAL LINKS:*

[LexClips]

See below for guest bio, links, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

*GUEST BIO:*
Vejas Liulevicius is a historian specializing in Germany and Eastern Europe, who has lectured extensively on Marxism and the rise, the reign, and the fall of Communism.

*CONTACT LEX:*

*EPISODE LINKS:*

*SPONSORS:*
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
*AG1:* All-in-one daily nutrition drinks.
*BetterHelp:* Online therapy and counseling.
*Notion:* Note-taking and team collaboration.
*LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
*Eight Sleep:* Temp-controlled smart mattress.

*PODCAST LINKS:*

*SOCIAL LINKS:*

[spacetruckin]

Only the times change, the nature of mankind does not.

[AxionXIII]

Oh nice, a Lithuanian on the podcast!

[JakobIlar]

“Ideological justification is vital in obtaining willing obedience, for it permits the person to see his behavior as serving a desirable end.”
-Stanley Milgram, Obedience And Authority

[Eric-xsks]

Marx didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about

[bearowen]

A brilliantly concise dissection of theoretical Marx. I look forward to hearing about Lenin's translation of Marx and Engel's theoretical work into actual revolutionary implementation by the "three who made a revolution" in Russia. How did Lenin's inner circle of revolutionaries modify Marx's theory which was designed to fit onto the contemporary European industrial revolution? Did they theoretically graft it onto the existing unrest within Russian feudal agrarian society? Were we seeing the death of Marx's historical inevitability at the hands of an opportunistic group of power grabbers led by Ilya Ulyanov, better known as Lenin?

[richierich]

Wow, I learned so much on this particular segment of Marxism and very appreciate the unparalleled scholar who broke it down in very simple terms.

Thank you Lex and your outstanding guest 🫡

[I.am.dannniel]

Dictatorship of the working class only sounds scary to the current dictatorship of the ruling class billionaires.

[sdvhmxx]

“Was immer man aus Marx gemacht hat: Das Streben nach Freiheit, nach Befreiung der Menschen aus Knechtschaft und unwürdiger Abhängigkeit, war Motiv seines Handelns.“

Willy Brandt

[vickdisco]

Marx's favorite quote was from Faust. "Everything that exists, deserves to perish.". Let that sink in for a minute.

[mcmendez]

Great clip, great to see Lithuanian 🎉

[wryltxw]

What’s shocking is how much on his content is merely opinions with pretense of science and scholarship.

[boballen]

Interesting phrase that I just caught onto: While describing Hegal's idea of History (note the capital H), his inclusion of "the idea itself striving to come to fruition". HOLD! Ideas cannot exist in a vacuum. They are shaped, or at least their *meaning*, is shaped by the culture in which they exist.

[Tychoxi]

he equates middle class with burgioisie, which is an obfuscation for modern audiences who have a different understanding of "middle class"

[widowsson]

The fiest 1 minute and 40 seconds is all Hegel

[sdvhmxx]

For whatever my mere opinion is worth, I highly recommend a Great Courses Plus subscription: this guy ☝🏼Vejas Liulevicius has a course about WW1 and the history of Eastern Europe, both were stellar 🤩👏🏼

[joechambers]

After reading his work it’s my opinion that the exclusion of a metaphysic standard of some kind, an ethic beyond the human/material realm, is fatal to the theory. Just an opinion. I believe in logical/spiritual truth. Perhaps I am wrong or missing something. Humility is critical to critical thinking

[jeremystein]

Marx sent Darwin a copy of Das Kapital, who didn't read it, as he had no German.

[reethkitchards]

What did communists use before candles?










Electricity!

[qcsorter]

Where communism failed was that it did not take human nature into account. It assumed that people would eventually have a common idealistic approach to governance, and thus there would be no need for an alternative voice in a single party state. If the ruling party was of the people, and working for the people, what sense could there be in having an 'opposition' group. By definition, an opposition party would have to be working against the best interests of the people.
However, power corrupts all eventually, and decay happens. On the other hand, democracy is more pragmatic (cynical?) and tacitly acknowledges that corruption will occur in power situations. It seeks to have independent oversight where practical and retains the ultimate solution of voting political parties out of power. It is not perfect, but still is the best method available to minimise corruption.