The classic one is probably good for a well rounded revolutionary, but it’s kind of long for a beginner, and there’s also newer theory that’s not included, but is necessary for understanding todays material conditions. It feels weird sending baby leftists a long list of old dense texts. I’ve been sending people Principles of Communism, five essays on Philosophy, Blackshirts and the Reds, and the Red Deal. Is this a good idea? I feel like it’s important to inform modern MLs of socialist history, and also I should probably add some works on imperialism. Any thoughts?
I think that’s right. Once you’ve got the bug, you won’t want to read anything else for a while. But it can take some work to undo just enough bourgeois ideology that the other person is willing to read Marxists with an open mind.
I can’t really remember what did it for me. There was, as you might expect, some linear progression followed by transformative leaps. One of those was reading Marx dunk on liberals in Capital. I was well versed in classical liberalism and seeing Marx tear them apart was eye-opening. I needed to know how he did it, which led me down a rather theoretical path of trying to understand dialectical materialism. Once I cracked that, I read quite a lot of Lenin’s works because I needed to know how the theory applied practically in revolutionary times. Each of these stages do overlap, though—I’m something of a polygamous reader so I tend to have a few works on the go at any one time.
Absolutely. For me it was firstly reading the Manifesto and realizing that what was described there as bourgeois society was in fact very similar and at its core had the same contradictions as our bourgeois society today. I was already primed for radicalization due to my circumstances at the time. Secondly, it was reading Lenin, specifically State and Revolution where I got a sense of how these things could work in practice. I still didn’t really understand dialectical materialism at that point. After some time in this phase I decided to really dive into diamat. Finally understanding it, I would say, was the third and most significant leap for me. After that I kept on reading any Marxist theory that would expand my understanding and help me become a more well rounded Marxist. I even went back to revisit some works I had already read, this time with a deeper understanding. This last part is a life-long process, though - we never stop learning.
Same for me. I even sometimes end up dropping some works if I’m reading too many or other, more interesting ones. I do try to come back and finish them all, but it doesn’t always work out.