what am i considered im very confused

[communist72]

I see myself who greatly apprecite the Communist Manifesto. i want to have a total communism in america. i want us to have a revolution in US i support the end of capitalism.

i'm curious to know what i would be consider seeing how there is many didn't things to be

and when i find out about who i am what should i read to further my knowledge

[ZeroNowhere]

Well, all that would mean is that you're a communist (which would be quite an achievement). Anyhow, what exactly do you wish to know?

[communist72]

communist (which would be quite an achievement).
is that sarcasm?
and just would i be consider a marxist or lennist or moaist or stalinist
any of those and would i be zionist whatever they are or a revoultionist

im just very new and im trying to learn all i can about who i could be labeled as

[ZeroNowhere]

No, it was not sarcasm.

[communist72]

ok good haha.
what would you consider me comrade

[LeninBalls]

ok good haha.
what would you consider me comrade

Someone who's interested in communism.

You just need to read more then you can make up your mind.

Reading the Communist Manifesto doesn't make you anything, apart from someone in agreement with Marx's basic ideas.

[communist72]

what would i be consider that if i am one who believes we are on a verge of a revolution in america. and i think its time for everyone to pick a side in the revolution. i wanna be just like someone who can be consider a communist and be proud to be called one and knowing i have the facts to call myself one

[Martin Blank]

Someone who's interested in communism.

You just need to read more then you can make up your mind.

Reading the Communist Manifesto doesn't make you anything, apart from someone in agreement with Marx's basic ideas.

This. There are a lot of "isms" within the larger broad tree of Marxian communism -- some thriving and green with life, others withering and dying, and still others completely dead and ready to break off.

Read Marx. Read those who consider themselves "Marxists" and compare what they say to Marx. Take no one's word for it when it comes to who is a "Marxist" and who is not. Ask questions. Challenge perceptions, mostly your own. It's a long road to fully understanding, so don't be afraid if you don't initially understand and don't be discouraged if you lose an argument. Take those lessons as a personal challenge to learn more. See yourself as always a student of the politics, even when you're teaching others. Listen more than talk, because in fresh eyes often rests the truth.

Read, write, discuss, understand. Most of all, think for, and be true to, yourself.

This is the advice I give to every new member of the organization I belong to. It's the way I developed, and it works pretty well, IMO.

[communist72]

thank you
ill start with learning marxist

[Lyev]

I would highly recommend "Marx for Beginners" by Rius.

EDIT: I would also recommend reading up on just general history and contemporary politics. It's all very well reading about dead, beardy guys (or ladies in fact), but you need to bring the frameworks of analysis that Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Trotsky, Lenin, Gramsci etc. etc. give you into the present, and apply them to things that are happening right now. For general history I've heard good things about Chris Harman's "A People's History of the World" and, just to get you started, on current/recent politics "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein and "Hegemony or Survival" by Noam Chomsky. Also, this may seem a strange recommendation, but try reading something like "Capitalism and Freedom" by Milton Friedman, which is probably as far away from communism as you can get. I would recommend reading it simply so one can keep an open mind, and there's probably a ton of arguments in their that could do with refuting ;). Oh another point, don't be afraid to ask questions on here, or in fact anywhere else, no matter how silly they may seem. Oh and lastly, a quote from Karl Marx: "question everything".

Another edit I just thought of: don't feel in any sort of hurry, at all, to cordon yourself off into a sect, or under an "ism". Your fine as just a leftist and a anti-capitalist for the moment :)

[revolution inaction]

also you could learn about anarchism, most of us are communists too http://libcom.org/thought/anarchist-communism-an-introduction

[Black&Red]

If you want to be a Marxist you should read Marx, Engels and Lenin to begin with.
Then you can go deeper in your understanding of Marxism in practice and read Stalin, Hoxha and Mao or just pretend to be Marxist and read Trotsky.

If you are interested in anarchist communism you just read on the spanish civil war read a little Bakunin, Kropotkin and Proudhon and voila!

[communist72]

thank you guys for helping someone learn the ways of communism. i am gonna be the greatest comunist ever haha
LONG LIVE THE REVOULTION
i just have one more question
isnt anarchist no goverment and were all just free t odo what we want?

[Martin Blank]

thank you guys for helping someone learn the ways of communism. i am gonna be the greatest comunist ever haha
LONG LIVE THE REVOULTION
i just have one more question
isnt anarchist no goverment and were all just free t odo what we want?

The main difference between communism and anarchism (and the anarchists are welcome to correct me if I'm wrong) is that anarchists believe the state can be abolished without the need of a transitory semi-state designed to suppress the inevitable counterrevolution by the exploiting classes, and to build up the economy and society to the point where the material basis for classes and class antagonisms no longer exist on a world scale. Communists (well, the non-statist ones, anyway) see the need for the semi-state as a temporary phenomenon. The goals are more or less the same; it's more or less a matter of how to get there.

[Black&Red]

isnt anarchist no goverment and were all just free t odo what we want? Nop, it's the people organizing around an idea and putting it forward collectively without needing a leader. There are rules, but no laws. Either you respect them, either you go find another place to live.

[communist72]

Nop, it's the people organizing around an idea and putting it forward collectively without needing a leader. There are rules, but no laws. Either you respect them, either you go find another place to live.

i rather like that idea what is a good book or site to read about it

and one more thing how is the guy with the facemask and cigar

[Black&Red]

what is a good book or site to read about it
I can't really give you any books on the subject since I'm not an anarchist.
Radicalgraffiti gave a link to it, check it out.


how is the guy with the facemask and cigar
You seem to have mistaken Groucho Marx and Karl Marx. The first one was a comedian and the second one was a socialist theorist who is at the origin of Scientific Socialism or how we call it nowadays Marxism.

P.S: Don't be to prompt to label yourself as a communist or an anarchist until you have understood fully and completely the implications of both ideologies. You may say you are a Marxist now and find yourself to be an Anarchist after a while or the other way around. Read, register, understand and study before claiming to be a communist.

[communist72]

I can't really give you any books on the subject since I'm not an anarchist.
Radicalgraffiti gave a link to it, check it out.


You seem to have mistaken Groucho Marx and Karl Marx. The first one was a comedian and the second one was a socialist theorist who is at the origin of Scientific Socialism or how we call it nowadays Marxism.

P.S: Don't be to prompt to label yourself as a communist or an anarchist until you have understood fully and completely the implications of both ideologies. You may say you are a Marxist now and find yourself to be an Anarchist after a while or the other way around. Read, register, understand and study before claiming to be a communist.

lol im sorry i didnt mean grocho marxs i meant the guy who wears like the winter ski mask and has like a whole for his pipe not cigar i mean

[The Idler]

READ MORE before you label yourself.

Oxford University Press
Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction by Colin Ward
Communism: A Very Short Introduction by Leslie Holmes
Socialism: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Newman
Marx: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Singer
Engels: A Very Short Introduction by Terrell Harver

Icon Books/Pantheon/Totem
Introducing Marx by Rius
Introducing Lenin by Richard Appignanesi and Oscar Zarate
Introducing Trotsky by Tariq Ali and Phil Evans

Hodder and Stoughton
Marx: A Beginners Guide by Gill Hands

Oneworld
Marx: A Beginners Guide by Andrew Collier

Bookmarks (SWP)
A Rebel's Guide to Marx by Mike Gonzalez
A Rebel's Guide to Lenin by Ian Birchall
A Rebel's Guide to Trotsky by Esme Choonara

[revolution inaction]

lol im sorry i didnt mean grocho marxs i meant the guy who wears like the winter ski mask and has like a whole for his pipe not cigar i mean

this guy? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcomandante_Marcos

[(A)narcho-Matt]

i rather like that idea what is a good book or site to read about it


Some good books to start off with if you want to learn about anarchism are:

Kropotkins the conquest of bread and Alexander Berkmans the ABC of Anarchism(http://www.lucyparsonsproject.org/anarchism/berkman_abc_of_anarchism.html)

There are a lot more books, but they should cover the basics.

There are many differences between Anarchists and Marxists, the most obvious is our oposition to the state, but there is also our criticism of trade unions, as well as our position on national liberation, marxists would generally support national liberation struggles, anarchists would not. Dont be too quick to label yourself, just read around different theories until you find what suits you.

[Tablo]

For some basics about Anarchism I recommend An Anarchist FAQ. You can read it online and not worry about your parents snatching it away from you like they did your Communist Manifesto.

http://www.infoshop.org/faq/index.html