Hey all,

We all know the importance of reading theory, but with so many leaders with so many works what should we consider absolutely necessary reading for an committed communist, and what is, for lack of a better term, supplemental?

While reading everything would be nice, there is so much to read, not mentioning works by other authors and theorists, that I’m not sure if reading literally everything Marx or Lenin wrote is the most helpful. Some works will be more universal and others, while still containing important information, may be more niche and specific.

I’ll admit I’m probably a terrible Marxist for not having read anything from Marx, or Engels, besides the manifesto. But again, Marx and Engels have a lot of works and knowing what is more important than others I think would be helpful for everyone, especially baby Marxists. How important is reading Kapital, The Civil War in France, Critique of the Gotha Program, On the Origins of the Family, etc? Which should be prioritized over others?

I’ve read more Lenin but not much, only State and Revolution and Left-wing Communism. I’m trying to get through the beginning of Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism but it’s so hard, so many facts and I’m not sure what he’s even saying with them.

I also want to read Mao and have absolutely no idea where to even start there.

What would you say are the most important and necessary works of foundational leaders and theorists (Marx, Engels, Lenin, Mao)? Here’s my list so far:

Marx Engels Lenin: State and Revolution, Left-wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder Mao

  • DamarcusArt
    141·
    7 months ago

    I might break from tradition here and recommend Michael Parenti, not because his work is groundbreaking (in fact, a lot of it is very basic Marxism 101 type stuff) but it is a fantastic jumping on point for libs. It’s very nonthreatening, and he is very passionate. Communists should organise, we should help people, educate people, but many of us (especially in the west) are surrounded by people who act like you just murdered a baby in front of them if you mention the scary “C” word. So having a source that is usually fairly “safe” for libs, like a Parenti lecture or one of his books (I would recommend specifically Blackshirts and Reds for this) can be very useful in reaching out to people.

    Insisting that one is a “good marxist” based solely on how much theory they’ve read (or memorised) is the domain of someone who wants to look like they are a good marxist, rather than someone who wants to be a good person, actively trying to improve the world. Marxist theory is vital for understanding (and there are plenty of good recommendations in other comments) but it is important to remember that we should be out to help and educate, get people to realise the issues in the capitalist system, convince people to organise with us, not to simply memorise texts. Plenty of Chinese peasants were communist volunteers in the PLA without ever reading Marx (many of them didn’t even know how to read at all.)

    I’m not saying a “vibes based” mentality is a good one, just that it is important to remember that reading theory isn’t an end goal, it is training, education, that gets us better at reaching our end goals.