Jim Farmelant wrote:
>
> [clip]
>
> It is interesting to note that for a long time, the Big Bang theory
> was proscribed in the Soviet Union, on the grounds that
> it was not consistent with Engels' philosophy of nature.
> Engels after all spoke of the universe as being infinite
> in both size and duration, and so the Big Bang was taken
> as being contrary to Engels. Nevertheless, I think that if
> Engels had the oppurtunity to have lived to see the emergence
> of this theory, he might have found much to approve of.
>
It seems to me that a precondition nearly for making sense of Engels is expressed in the dedication of _The Dialectical Biologist_ (Levins & Lewontin):
To Frederick Engels,
who got it wrong a lot of the time
but who got it right where it counted
A point by point 'defense' of Engels (as in the USSR) is an insult to his memory rather than a defense, but the frequent contempt for him shown by many "Western" marxists and "post"-Marxists is itself contemptible.
Carrol