I figure this is a common ask but I haven’t seen a post anywhere in the recent past, so…What is the VERY first book on theory that I need to read?
I haven’t read any theory yet, besides a short excerpt from the Communist Manifesto a long time ago. I have read some Parenti and Blackshirts & Reds is definitely on my list. I’m also interested in history books, biographies, autobiographies, anything socialist/marxist really.
I am also very interested in recommendations from non-white folks, as well as any literature about non-white socialist movements/people/history/theory etc.
Principles of Communism is great for an intro. It’s really easy to read too. I recommend it first over the Manifesto because I feel like it does a better job paying out the framework.
Parenti’s Blackshirts and Reds is a great historical text about the history of Communism/The USSR with contrasts to Capitalism/Fascism.
State and Revolution is probably a good entry point into I guess real theory. It’s gonna read a bit like it was written 100 years ago and Marx, Lenin, Luxemburg, and others that I’ve read so far all read in this almost ramble-y dense way that isn’t comment nowadays. Rev doesn’t do it so hard.
Wage Labor and Capital is as another said, a good precursor to Das Kapital. I like it because it starts to get you to think about everything in a lens of labor and value of labor, and what really is surplus and a bit more. It starts out easy but like 3 chapters in it goes full bore Marx.
For Das Kapital, there is a podcast on Spotify called Reading with Comrades I think. It’s done with a professor that has done 6 reading groups on the book and he does a great job of explaining the tough bits. But after a while it feels very same-y so maybe listen in chunks.
I started reading Wage Labor and Capital and got to chapter five (the nature and growth of capital) and I’m so lost ;~; the speed at which I’ve been reading and the number of times I’ve had to re-read has really illuminated how much my literacy has declined since I left college lol
That’s where it goes full Marx. I think if you were able to still follow along for most of it, you probably have a decent idea of what he was trying to convey. If you don’t understand the harder parts now, that’s fine. Don’t beat yourself up over not understanding it all, all at once. I plan on going back over it later on just because I didn’t really get the later parts either. I think the big take away is understanding what value, labor, and the other compartments are because a lot will build on that. Das Kapital gets into some formulas and abstract vs concrete labor but even these concepts, you can just look up for little refreshers.
I think the main thing is that you are trying to better understand it from a scholarly perspective. Take your time and maybe pick a few easier reads here and there so you don’t feel like you are always trying to force through the rough stuff.
If you are Stateside, they really don’t prep you for reading this kind of stuff. But I guess expecting to take a class in high school on Marxist thought is just silly since they only want to produce wage slaves.
I definitely plan on breaking up the readings lol. What I think makes this stuff extra hard is that I get stuck on the things I don’t know and go down research rabbit holes when really I should be taking the text in then maybe going back to it. Like I got stuck on Engels’ introduction because I wanted to look up all of the wars of 1848 because I was unfamiliar, and and then i wanted to look up Ricardian economics because he mentions it and I don’t know what that is… then i forgot where I was…
I think I’m going to try to start off with:
I’m having a hard time figuring out what order I want to read in but I have so many books on my list so idk if it’s just worth it to wing it or order them somehow
I actually am adding Caliban and the Witch to my list. Engels wrote a similar piece called The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State that might pair well with Caliban.
If you are prone to rabbit holes, I would recommend skimming this or the Wikipedia page if you are inclined to just have a basic understanding of it. You don’t need an in-depth knowledge of it or even some of the people Lenin mention to follow the book but knowing a few dates and what exactly the Commune was might help. Maybe read the Manifesto of Principles first to have a baseline when going into Lenin’s analysis of Communism. That was what I did and I think it helped.
But again, take it slow and don’t get overwhelmed. Some of the text is worth further analyzing and if you get stuck you can ask on hexbear or grad and I know someone will be able to help lol. Heck, even the socialism_101 subreddit has been a worthwhile tool to help with some things.