Gee, maybe I should read some of these
A web site called "Human Events Online" had an article a few months ago
on the 10 most harmful books of the 19th and 20th centuries.
First off, it’s scary to imagine books being harmful. It brings back memories of Nazi Germany and book burning. But I suppose books can do more harm than good sometimes.
According to leading Conservatives, these are the 10 most harmful books (full article here)
Communist Manifesto
Mein Kampf
Quotations from Chairman Mao
(OK, I get these three.)
The Kinsey Report. I could see why some people might have put this on the list, but that it would rank the fourth most harmful book in the last 200 years seems like overkill to me. If conservatism is a political movement, then why should leading conservatives care about a book on sexual practices?
Democracy and Education (by John Dewey. What? Oh, apparently he helped nurture the "Clinton generation.")
Das Kapital
The Feminine Mystique
The Course of Positive Philosophy by Auguste Comte (I’ve never heard of this one)
Beyond Good and Evil by Freidrich Nietzsche
General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes (No surprise here, but of course, without Keynes the Great Depression might never have ended)
Included in the honorable mention list are:
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
Beyond Freedom and Dignity by B.F. Skinner
The Origin of Species and Descent of Man by Charles Darwin (I’m surprised these didn’t rank higher)
Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead
Unsafe at Any Speed by Ralph Nader (no reason to ever unveil corporate malfeisance, right?)
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson - why on earth is this harmful? Because we realized that man affects our environment?
First off, it’s scary to imagine books being harmful. It brings back memories of Nazi Germany and book burning. But I suppose books can do more harm than good sometimes.
According to leading Conservatives, these are the 10 most harmful books (full article here)
Communist Manifesto
Mein Kampf
Quotations from Chairman Mao
(OK, I get these three.)
The Kinsey Report. I could see why some people might have put this on the list, but that it would rank the fourth most harmful book in the last 200 years seems like overkill to me. If conservatism is a political movement, then why should leading conservatives care about a book on sexual practices?
Democracy and Education (by John Dewey. What? Oh, apparently he helped nurture the "Clinton generation.")
Das Kapital
The Feminine Mystique
The Course of Positive Philosophy by Auguste Comte (I’ve never heard of this one)
Beyond Good and Evil by Freidrich Nietzsche
General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes (No surprise here, but of course, without Keynes the Great Depression might never have ended)
Included in the honorable mention list are:
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
Beyond Freedom and Dignity by B.F. Skinner
The Origin of Species and Descent of Man by Charles Darwin (I’m surprised these didn’t rank higher)
Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead
Unsafe at Any Speed by Ralph Nader (no reason to ever unveil corporate malfeisance, right?)
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson - why on earth is this harmful? Because we realized that man affects our environment?