Marx in the news!

Marx is the topic for the NY Times Room for Debate feature this week.  For those of you who aren't familiar with this column (i.e. everyone but Ethan), the Room for Debate series asks leading experts to weigh in on controversial topics related to recent headlines.  The question for this week's is "Was Marx Right?"

You can read the expert opinions here; after you read, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Luck

I realize that this one is pretty broad...it's more of a philosophical question but I am very interested what everyone has to say. Is our entire world's existence, from the earth itself to every little event in life, based solely upon luck?

China's Economics

In our latest reading and class discussions we talk about Chinas values and progress. Do you think that the Chinese use their values and morals as an excuse of why they didn't surpass Europe in economic success?

Reaction to Lin Zixu's letter to Queen Victoria

How was Lin Zixu persuasive in his letter to Queen Victoria? If you where Queen Victoria, would you be convinced? How would you react to this letter?

Would The Ships Have Mattered?

During our discussions of the Ming voyages, we discussed why the Chinese decided to destroy there gigantic navy and numerous ships when the voyages came to an end. In the Opium War now, it was mostly a naval battle and the British dominated. Do you think China would have been the one dominating/won the war if they still had there ships?

Who was worse?

Both the British and Rebels caused a lot of harm to each other. There was a lot of murder and killing between both sides. But the question is which side was worse?

Kipling Giving a Positive or Negative Message of Imperialism

After discussing both sides in class, do you believe Kipling was giving a positive or negative message of Imperialism in his poem "The White Man's Burden" and why?