The 'Scandal' of Marxism and Other Writings on Politics

The most striking quality in this volume of newly translated essays by Barthes (1915%E2%80%931980), written between 1950 and 1977, is their freshness. The scope of the topics covered is also remarkable: "Do Revolutions Follow Laws?," "On Left Criticism," "Master and Slaves," and "Utopia," to name a few. A humane and consistent vision threads through them: Barthes asserts firmly that literature matters ("Let us dare to ask everything of a work of art: not just ideas and morality, but also language"), those in power lie, and killing for the sake of a doctrine is wrong. He writes with a clarity and brevity that strike to the heart of issues still relevant decades after his death: race, propaganda, abuse of power. While he stumbles in his essay on China, the rest of the essays are direct and intelligent, written with a passion too often absent from contemporary prose. The essays' brevity%E2%80%94few run more than two pages%E2%80%94offers an added boon. This collection is strongly recommended: it more than repays the reader's time and effort. (Aug.)