Book Reviews : Democracy and Marxism. By H. B. MAYO. Foreword by WALTER BEDELL SMITH. (New York: Oxford University Press. 1955. Pp. xi, 364. $5.50.)
| Published date | 01 March 1956 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591295600900143 |
| Date | 01 March 1956 |
| Author | Herbert Garfinkel |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
212
In
general
the
authors
have
shown
good
judgment
and
a
sense
of
proportion
in
the
organization
of
this
book.
They
have
purposely
avoided
the
selection
of
writers
who
are
judicious
compromisers
and
have
chosen
instead
those
who
are
zealous
defenders
of
a
point
of
view
in
the
belief
that
these
writings
will
be
more
instructive
to
the
student
and
more
likely
to
provoke
interest
and
discussion.
Every
reviewer
of
a
book
of
this
kind
is
likely
to
think
of
an
article
or
a
subject
which
he
would
like
to
have
found
included.
However,
the
authors
showed
a
discriminating
judgment
and,
given
the
limits
they
have
set
for
themselves,
achieved
a
remarkable
success
in
executing
their
project
wisely.
The
readings,
which
are
selected
from
the
work
of
leading
journalists
and
essayists
as
well
as
professional
anthropologists,
economists,
sociologists,
psychologists,
and
political
scien-
tists,
balance
one
another
nicely
and
give
the
student
a
good
knowledge
of
different
points
of
view
and
also
of
the
issues
involved.
Rutgers
University.
NORMAN
L.
STAMPS.
Democracy
and
Marxism.
By
H.
B.
MAYO.
Foreword
by
WALTER
BEDELL
SMITH.
(New
York:
Oxford
University
Press.
1955.
Pp.
xi,
364.
$5.50.)
H.
B.
Mayo,
professor
of
political
science
at
the
University
of
Alberta,
Canada,
urges
two
good
reasons
for
studying
Marxism
today.
As
a
sys,
tematic
approach
to
an
understanding
of
man
in
society,
Marxism
&dquo;re-
mains
one
of
the
landmarks
of
human
thought.&dquo;
Also,
Marxian
theories
are
the
&dquo;official
beliefs
of
a
third
of
the
world’s
population.&dquo;
Thus,
those
who
would
preserve
Western-style
democracy
must
learn
to
deal
clearly
with
the
scriptural
writings
of
this
new
political
religion.
General
Walter
Bedell
Smith,
in
a
brief
foreword,
is
proffered
as
a
testimonial
to
that
same
point
by
the
publishers.
But
this
is
no
&dquo;how-to-do-it&dquo;
approach
to
combating
Marxism.
Though
the
author
cites
cold
war
exigencies
it
is
the
systematic
analysis
of
Marx’s
theories
which
he
urges
as
&dquo;no
mere
academic
diversion.&dquo;
Therefore
the
book
is
a
serious
and
scholarly
introduction
to
Marxism-Bolshevism
and
democratic
political
theories.
The
title
might
describe
the
contents
more
accurately
if
it
read
&dquo;Marx-
ism
and
Democracy.&dquo;
Seven
chapters
constitute
a
critique
of
the
funda-
mentals
of
Marxian
and
Leninist
theory;
one
sets
forth
a
first-rate
but
neces,
sarily
limited
outline
of
the
principles
of
democracy;
and
a
concluding
chapter
compares
the
two
systems
in
thought
and
practice.
While
the
book
suffers
from
this
imbalance,
it
is
an
excellent
piece
of
work
all
the
same.
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