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 was actually talking with a friend about something related. I think there would be a lot of value in taking something like The State and Revolution, and making a version with modern context. Basically keep all the core arguments it makes, but replace examples with ones relevant to people today that they can easily relate to.
A lot of these works were written with the goal of organizing people at the time, they weren’t really envisioned as educational materials for people in the future to use. And we do need easily accessible materials that teach sound theory that people can digest easily and relate to.