Futurama Writer Saves Tiny Presidents. Beginning in the 1950's, toymaker Louis Marx released a line of figurines of U.S. Presidents (accompanied by a model White House). Sold as sets and given away as grocery store premiums the figures are still popular collectibles today. The series ended when Richard M. Nixon was president. Patric M. Verrone, writer for Futurama and The Simpsons has carried on the tradition, using appropriate torsos from the old Marx figures and sculpting new heads, he has continued the line up to President Obama. [more inside]
posted by marxchivist on Nov 9, 2009 - 26 comments

You've read the book, attended the seminars and pondered the accumulation of surplus value – now see the musical.
posted by Kirth Gerson on Mar 24, 2009 - 11 comments

The story behind Harpo Marx's "Gookie" face. (See 2:16.) [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Jun 28, 2008 - 20 comments

A close reading of the text of Volume One of Marx's Capital in 13 two-hour video lectures by David Harvey. (Two online so far) David Harvey is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the City University of New York. He has been teaching Karl Marx's Capital, Volume I for nearly 40 years. Marx biographer Francis Wheen speaks on NPR as to why the book remains required reading.
posted by Abiezer on Jun 16, 2008 - 46 comments

The year is 1965: Groucho Marx takes the Hollywood Palace stage to introduce (in typically gag-laced fashion) the next number on the program, to be sung by none other than his 18-year-old daughter, Melinda Marx. What follows is, arguably, right up there with some of the worst songs ever written, performed by Melinda and her backup singers in some of the most excruciatingly bad choreography ever seen. But this is Groucho's daughter we're talking about here, so I just had to share it with you: The East Side of Town. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Mar 2, 2008 - 47 comments

Marx Brothers Filter:
Animal Crackers (1930), Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932) and Duck Soup (1933). [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Nov 2, 2007 - 37 comments

Karl Marx' 'Capital' in Lithographs by Hugo Gellert.
via The Early Days of a Better Nation.
posted by thatwhichfalls on Oct 12, 2007 - 20 comments

Never wanna work/Always wanna play/Pleasure, pleasure every day. What happens when the jobs go away and don't return? Should we take the surpluses generated and pay people not to work? What happens to the assumption of scarcity when nanotechology allows us to generate potentially anything we want from grass clippings? Maybe Marx had it wrong all along. Maybe, instead of fetishizing work and the authoritarian mindset that it generates, we should have been reading Paul Lafargue instead. Just as a thought experiment, what would you do if your job category disappeared? How would you spend your time? Would you invest more time and energy in friendships and other relationships? Hobbies? If you were your employer, what technologies would you use to get rid of your position and save money?
posted by jason's_planet on Jun 25, 2006 - 43 comments

On this date in 1848, The Communist Manifesto was published. Howard Zinn: "I don’t see much point in abstract theorizing or getting into arguments about Marxism, Leninism, etc. ... Theoretical analyses are useful but not crucial. There is a lot of wasted time in such endeavors, but not all is wasted. Marx’s Communist Manifesto was a theoretical analysis, immensely useful and inspiring. His first volume of Das Kapital was useful too. His second and third volumes, and his Grundrisse, were probably a waste of time!" Informal Poll: How many of you have actually read the entire Communist Manifesto? (I haven't.)
posted by mickeyz on Feb 24, 2006 - 42 comments

The Society for the Prevention of Abuse towards Zeppo Marx is a grass-roots, international organization dedicated to ensuring that Zeppo Marx is remembered as the inventor, sex symbol, atomic bomb technician, dangerous street fighter, and mob-connected businessman that he was... not to mention the brilliantly subtle comedian he may have been . So, forget about that slanderous episode of Buffy, and raise a toast to the great man.
posted by yankeefog on Oct 18, 2005 - 25 comments

S. Dali + 3 Marxes. From Marx-Out-Of-Print, "a tribute to The Marx Brothers with full reproductions of books and articles from magazines and other publications that are now 'out of print' and hard to find." Dali was a huge fan of Harpo and once gave him a harp strung with barbed wire. He also wrote a script for the Marx Brothers, which was deemed "too surreal."
posted by Joey Michaels on Dec 16, 2004 - 8 comments

Wonderful system of government. Fake democracy, fake elections, fake political system surrounded by humbug and greedy lawyers. This allows business to get on with its tasks, buying candidates, a bribe here, a bribe there. An interview with Karl Marx.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Oct 30, 2003 - 13 comments

Why a Duck? The most comprehensive Marx Brothers site on the Interweb. Thrill to their collection of sound clips! Learn what happened today in Marx history! Play a ton of Marx Brothers related games! Kill an entire morning reading about their career! Warning: Not to be confused with these Marx brothers.
posted by Joey Michaels on Sep 21, 2002 - 9 comments

More than 1/3 of Americans think the U.S. Constitution is Marxist. Well, they think that it includes the phrase "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." I wonder what else people might think is in there . . .
posted by kcmoryan on Jul 5, 2002 - 7 comments

Whatever Capitalism's Fate, Somebody's Already Working on an Alternative. "We may not know the region from which the next Marx will hail or his particular approach. But we can be sure that someone, somewhere will offer an alternative vision." You'll never guess what radical reformer the author has in mind. This is a very interesting piece.
posted by homunculus on Jan 28, 2002 - 11 comments

"...all great [historical figures] appear, so to speak, twice...the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce."
-- Karl Marx from The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon

The Marx & Engels Internet Archive for all your smart-arsed pseudo-intellectual quoting requirements.
posted by lagado on Jan 27, 2001 - 10 comments