Its very standard fare YA novel material. Much better than anything Ayn Rand or Robert Heinlein put out. Much easier to digest than Asimov or Le Guine.
Beyond that, when you strip out the anti-communist bullshit, its a perfectly functional morality tale. You've got The Problem of Evil, the pitfalls of nepotism and pride and greed, the hazards of propaganda, the ill-treatment of working people particularly in retirement, the perils of a militarized police force...
Its very easy to live in America and read Animal Farm and finish the book thinking "Oh shit, they just like us, fr". There are so many fucking parallels between a midwestern farm's failed revolutionary struggle and any forty year span inside the lower 48. The only part that Leftists can really hate on are the Cliff's Notes interpretation of the novel as "Don't be Russia" and "Don't ever try to change things". But put that book in the hands of a proper Marxist and it is as deadly an indictment of Capital as anything in Mao's Little Red Book.
Would like some pointers on building the skills to use it this way. I would at least a more in depth explanation of this. I can't focus on the book long enough to actually finish it.
Past that, a lot of what the book contains is characters failing to engage in historical and material analysis. You can stack each chapter up with a "What are the contradictions?" and "How would Marx advise resolving them?"
Set Animal Farm side by side with State and Revolution. You can even slide in that Old Major represents Lenin, and you'll find liberals who will gormlessly back you up.
Its very standard fare YA novel material. Much better than anything Ayn Rand or Robert Heinlein put out. Much easier to digest than Asimov or Le Guine.
Beyond that, when you strip out the anti-communist bullshit, its a perfectly functional morality tale. You've got The Problem of Evil, the pitfalls of nepotism and pride and greed, the hazards of propaganda, the ill-treatment of working people particularly in retirement, the perils of a militarized police force...
Its very easy to live in America and read Animal Farm and finish the book thinking "Oh shit, they just like us, fr". There are so many fucking parallels between a midwestern farm's failed revolutionary struggle and any forty year span inside the lower 48. The only part that Leftists can really hate on are the Cliff's Notes interpretation of the novel as "Don't be Russia" and "Don't ever try to change things". But put that book in the hands of a proper Marxist and it is as deadly an indictment of Capital as anything in Mao's Little Red Book.
Would like some pointers on building the skills to use it this way. I would at least a more in depth explanation of this. I can't focus on the book long enough to actually finish it.
Oh come on. Its not even 200 pages.
Past that, a lot of what the book contains is characters failing to engage in historical and material analysis. You can stack each chapter up with a "What are the contradictions?" and "How would Marx advise resolving them?"
Set Animal Farm side by side with State and Revolution. You can even slide in that Old Major represents Lenin, and you'll find liberals who will gormlessly back you up.