this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2026
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Is this book really relevant today? I'm sure there's concepts from it that are, but I don't see what solutions it offers to the reader nor does it seem like an exceptionally good piece of literature that's a must read.
There's many questionable figures that I can draw useful lessons from. The problem is a lot of them are open ended and don't actually answer the underlying problems. It's easy to fall into false consciousness with such works.
It's important to ask why is this book important and what does it solve? What does it inspire the reader to do? The Conclusion of the book is like you said. Promote "freedom and democracy" in America and across the globe. The reader can easily start thinking that all countries are bad, that all of them manufacture consent, without freedom and democracy.
Do we really need that?
I agree, we do not need that. There is a reason why the book achieved a wide range of popularity among non-socialist figures as it very much panders to them.
It says a LOT about that thing, when leftist/socialist media/personalities/literature/theory becomes popular in such circles.