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There are about 50 first editions in Japan, and of those, four are autographed. The figure is larger than that for Germany or Russia. I view it as evidence of a Marx boom in prewar Japan.

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Izumi Omura, professor emeritus of the principles of Marxian economics at Tohoku University. He says Japan owns the lion's share of known autographed copies of the first edition of Karl Marx’s seminal work “Das Kapital” (Capital: Critique of Political Economy), published in 1867 and a central pillar of socialist thinking.

© Asahi Shimbun

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The murderous doctrine responsible for an untold numbers of deaths, destruction, depravity and human misery beyond comprehension. It’s also the gift that keeps on giving for those still suffering under its diabolical influences. The demons of collectivism unleashed.

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He says Japan owns the lion's share of known autographed copies of the first edition of Karl Marx’s seminal work “Das Kapital”

Not surprising. A lot of all kinds of collectors out there. Pristine Coleman lanterns sell like hot cakes here.

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Communist and socialist doctrines were taught more widely here in Japanese schools before and after the war than in America (hardly any, in fact).

I was always surprised at how much my mom, who's Japanese, used to quote Marx, Weber and Engels. She'd say something like the cost of housing per month shouldn't exceed 1/3 our monthly income. I'd ask her where she got that idea from and she'd say, "We learned that in junior high school, of course."

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The murderous doctrine responsible for an untold numbers of deaths, destruction, depravity and human misery beyond comprehension. It’s also the gift that keeps on giving for those still suffering under its diabolical influences. The demons of collectivism unleashed

While I am a capitalist, I have studied and appreciate Marx as both an economist and philosopher. The professor here is focused more on the economic aspects, which is more of a methodology of interpreting the distribution of resources in society. I would not hold him responsible for the millions of deaths that practitioners of communisn have always caused (and will always cause).

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Tell that to the poor North Koreans sods living in a modern day hell.

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Tell that to the poor North Koreans sods living in a modern day hell.

Perhaps you were replying to me. If so, you haven't really understood what I wrote.

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