The Communism of Love: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Exchange Value

by Richard Gilman-Opalsky

A reminder of the most powerful and sustaining force in our lives. And that it's under constant threat.

Exploring the meanings and powers of love from ancient Greece to the present day, Richard Gilman-Opalsky argues that what is called “love” by the best thinkers who have approached the subject is in fact the beating heart of communism—understood as a way of living, not as a form of government. Along the way, he reveals with clarity that the capitalist way of assigning value to things is incapable of appreciating what humans value most. Capitalism cannot value the experiences and relationships that make our lives worth living and can only destroy love by turning it into a commodity. The Communism of Love follows the struggles of love in different contexts of race, class, gender, and sexuality, and shows how the aspiration for love is as close as we may get to a universal communist aspiration.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Theory, Philosophy, Economics, Love, Relationships

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2020

About the author

Richard Gilman-Opalsky is Associate Professor of Political Philosophy in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Springfield. His work primarily concerns theories of revolution, contentious politics, philosophy of praxis, and capitalism and its culture.

Reviews

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!! The author shows us how the functionality of a capitalistic society affects our thought processes when it comes to relationships (friendships included). We tend to treat partners like they’re our private property & think of friends (& co-workers) as competition. The author argues that under capitalism we can never have authentic & meaningful friendships because we think about them from a transactional lens (what can I get from them, I need to be better than them e.g the individuality aspect of capitalism). I also loved that the author emphasizes the importance of friendships & explains that they’re just as meaningful as romantic relationships & are not that different (he goes into detail about the societal pressures behind the push for romantic relationships).

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great consideration of communism and love, and I think he captures my politics and identification with communism well. I don’t agree with everything said, and I don’t always love the way he engages sources, but I think there’s so much value in the text overall.

[Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my full review on Philosophy in Review here:

https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/pi...

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book had a lot of strong points and serves as an important piece in academia to connect love with communism. There were some chapters and references made that were a bit weak or confusing but i believe that it's overall message and relatively readable writing makes it a notable read.

[K8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

a worthwhile read if ur interested in how ur ideas/actions of love interact with ur worldviews. only thing is, round ch 5 it got really bleak in terms of how capable we are to enact tangible change in the systems beyond our immediate interactions, yet the author was also very clear in stating we have to take our ideas of love and praxis beyond our immediate circles. wish he went deeper into the steps we can take to translate love into political/economic action. it reads as a bit of a theoretical overview at times, but super informative in terms of the development of love alongside revolutionary/communist thought!

[Derek Minno-Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for those who believe in the power of love. It reminds us of what is and what is not love and how love can lead us all to collective liberation. The book speaks of"Communism as a human aspiration and a from of life, not a form of centralized government. Along the way it shows that capitalist exchange value cannot value the the experiences and relationships that make our lives worth living; capitol can only destroy love by turning it in to a commodity."

[Caroline Krall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was a very thoughtful analysis on how the structures of capitalism are antithetical to true forms of love and community that are actually centered around caring, selflessness, and truly being present with one another. I liked how he clearly laid out synopses of the writings of other influential thinkers on love like bell hooks who’s “All About Love” was one of the most influential books of all time to me.

I also appreciated the way he discussed how the acts of revolt and revolution are acts of love itself and are helpful in making us feel a sense of agency living through the hell that is capitalism.

[FreeLarryJr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bias rating because I love books about love.
Some of the parts I liked:
-"Communism isn't what it names". W take and dismantles any associations between what communism is and how it's actors butchered what it strives for throughout history.
-Richard Opalsky's ability to pull from an insane amount of credible philosophers' books. Got a long list of books to read now.
-The idea of how capitalism's various forms of alienation affects our "Being-in-the-world". This helps with being able to brainstorm ways to improve shelter life for the clients I serve. How can we combat the alienation the unhoused feel everyday? How can a community heal the damaged individuals "Being-in-the-world"? Super interesting question that can lead to some dope answers.
-Communism as a form of life rather than a form of government. This feels like a breath of fresh air. Despite the dominant views circulating around communism, the author is able to shine light on what it means to be a communist in your everyday life. Even if you don't believe yourself to be a communist, I'd bet after reading this you'd realize you're more communist than you thought. Unless you love hating other people...

Sidenote: most communists gotta relate Dinkleburg from the Fairy Odd Parents right? They're just outside minding their business, doing whats right for the world, themselves, and the others around them, but then here comes Timmy's dad, the capitalist, being a fuckin raging hater screaming at him everyday making him out to be what he's not on the news and in books lol.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

a reference on love and leftist theory

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I waivered between 2 and 3 for this book. I wanted to like it more and in many ways I agree with its claims. For the majority of the book, the author moved from theorist to theorist providing summaries of their assessments on love, communism, and society. It was not always clear on what consistent basis he was evaluating the claims on love nor the conclusion the author was building toward. It was also unclear how he defined the political sphere and which activities or claims about love were sufficiently or insufficiently political. His most unequivocal and clearest statements about love are reserved for the final chapter, but it would have been helpful have reached earlier. He also seems to go out of his way to 1) distinguish desire and sex from love and 2) avoid an engagement with Christianity.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theory, but slightly more accessible than the typical. I appreciated the exploration of the incompatibility of love and capital, and the intersection. I would have liked to see an inclusion of disability in the discussion, as care work and Disability Justice are closely connected to the communism of love. The only mention I saw was an inclusion of "unhealthy bodies" (pp. 310), which I found to be ableist language. The he/she language could have benefitted from gender neutral terms (e.g., they, them, etc.) in order to ratify non-binary gender identities. Academic language moves very slowly, but that doesn't mean I have to be ok with this delay in progress.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The catchy title drew me in (in time for Valentine's Day woohoo), and unfortunately wasn't always enough to keep me captivated (I have a hard time with anything I deem as "theory" whether it is or not), but still really appreciated this book -- especially learning more about Kollontai! One I'd like to reread at some point, as I think it was also harder to stay focused listening via audiobook.

[Christopher Peerenboom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cool ideas and concepts, written a little like a textbook without very many good break points in the reading. Also felt like the author should have done a more succinct explanation of their culmination of thoughts at the end of the book.

[Brianna Boston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really creative synthesis and combination of the thoughts by so many different writers , philosophers, thought leaders, etc on love. I’ll continue to return to some of these conclusions and ideas because it’s easier said than embodied

[Omar Moustafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very educational and enlightening book, but it could've been shorter, and it's not for apolitical or politically uneducated readers contrary to what the author claimed in the introduction.

[Matthew Eck · Rating 4 out of 5]

a synthesis of Marxist/leftist theory to ultimately posit that love is incompatible with capitalism

[Heather Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Joely · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book stands as a beautiful beginning. Strong arguments are made. Got me thinking about my own loving practice/politic and was ultimately left wanting more exposition.

[Gracie Lepore · Rating 4 out of 5]

lucy dacus read this and i trust her with my life. thats all

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the premise and enjoyed this book overall, but it is very heavy on philosophy and probably not for everyone.

[Muhammed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deducted a point for his support of color revolutions (e.g. Hong Kong riots) and other usual bs you'd expect from a Western academic (le ebil Stalin).

[SweetCorn03 · Rating 3 out of 5]

i am not sold on the thesis of this and i feel that it wasn’t really sold to me at all until the last chapter, which is sort of a structural issue with the book.

i think i am with mao on this one.

“Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy.”

lol

the stuff he engaged with was great and really thorough for the most part. really well done. i enjoyed reading this.

the section on jenny marx was stupid. he spent pages talking about how jenny marx was undervalued without ever quoting her or engaging with any of her writing. this section was embarrassing fan behavior/great man theory which is decidedly uncool for a marxist. why was he trying to convince me that jenny and karl were exceptionally loving people? who cares?

there is a passing mention of cedric robinson in this but i think that a fuller engagement with his work would have been better.

2.5