this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2026
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Communism

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The reading group is using the Penguin edition, translated by Ben Fowkes with an introduction by Ernest Mandel.

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[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Interesting that they aren't going with the newer translation. I wonder if that's because of the prevalence of the Fowkes translation in academia, or because of issues with the new one.

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I don’t know why. All she said was, “it's a very good one and Mandel's prefaces are really very very good.”

By the newer one, do you mean Paul Reitter’s? If there’s a “best” one, which is it?

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 days ago

Yes, I do mean Reitter's, and that's why I'm curious, actually! I've only read Fowkes', but Reitter's reads much clearer from the snippets I've read. It's structured differently, and I'm not sure if there are broader implications from the difference in translation, so I'm not sure if there is a "best." Perhaps all of them will be worth reading, or a version that explains its differences in some areas beyond simple grammar and diction changes.