Books for a beginning Marxist/Left thinker.

[LostDesperado]

Ok so I recently decided to join Revleft and started reading on leftist ideology. I've read the manifesto and agreed with a lot of what Marx wrote. I'm about to purchase some books but I was wondering what some members would recommend to a youth interested in leftist ideology. Thanks for reading and any help is appreciated.

[Nolan]

I'm sure someone will come along and top this, but here's what I found helpful:

brendanmcooney (http://www.youtube.com/user/brendanmcooney) on YouTube has an excellent channel. Watch his brilliantly made videos to get a grasp of Marxist economic theory. It's quite possibly the most useful channel on YouTube.

The American Party of Labor has assembled a nice little recommended readings list (http://americanpartyoflabor.org/recommended-readings). But a lot of the stuff there is only relevant to anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism, or to American history, and you should read around. You might find Marxism isn't your thing, and if that's the case check the Anarchist Faq, but I don't have it.

But from that list, you should read this (http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html) by Howard Zinn. Especially if you're from the states.

[LostDesperado]

Also to explain he Che avatar. My first encounter with true Marxism was an autobiography I read on Che Guevara by Paco Ignacio Taibo III. The book was a great read and I really found Che's contributions to be something to continue on.

[-marx-]

Marx & Engels 2 volume "Selected Works" is excellent. You can find copies by these publishers (that I know of):
International Publishers.*
Lawrence & Wishart, London.*
Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow.

Another good one is "The Marx & Engels Reader" by W.W Norton & Company NY. Although not as good as the selected works it's still a good start and can be bought just about anywhere.

*These sets are slightly different to the Moscow set but still contains the major writings.

[$lim_$weezy]

If all you know is that you are a leftist, then reading a wide variety would certainly be helpful to you. It's important to be exposed to both Marxism-Leninism and libertarian ideologies (Kropotkin, Luxembourg, maybe Pannekoek).

One of the first leftist writings I read was "The Conquest of Bread" by Kropotkin. You may not agree with it but it's easy to read and I thought it definitely made me interested in more. I also have "The Marx-Engels Reader" edited by Robert C Tucker, which can be quite dense but also very rewarding, and it seems to be a more than sufficient overview.

marxists.org has many Marxist writings for free. Don't neglect to utilize this resource!

[praxis1966]

I'll second the recommendations of the other respondents, along with a couple of recommendations of my own.

Hegemony and Revolution: Antonio Gramsci's Political and Cultural Theory by Adamson can be pretty difficult in places, but also worth it. Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Freire is another good (and difficult) one, especially in the realm of dialogue vs. praxis and the psychology of being a revolutionary. If you find yourself really digging Freire, his work Education for Critical Consciousness is good as well. Rudolf Rocker's works Anarchosyndicalism: Theory and Practice and Nationalism and Culture are also at the top of my list. That being said, I'd save all of these until after you think you have a firm handle on Marxist theory as they're all, in one way or another, either a derivative or criticism of Marx.

Oh, and the Anarchist FAQ that Nolan mentioned can be found here (http://www.infoshop.org/page/AnAnarchistFAQ), online and totally free.

[Rakhmetov]

"They force [Sister Dianna] Ortiz, who entered the novitiate at the age of 17, to jerk them off and perform oral sex. They hurt her in other ways she won't describe. (The most chilling line in the book is in a different section, where Ortiz, casually explaining her fear of dogs, says, "Dogs were used in my torture in a way that was too horrible to share with anyone. Even now, I don't talk about that part of the torture.") And they put her in a pit of dying and dead people who've already been tortured -- including children. Most damaging of all, they position Ortiz's hands around a machete and force the machete, in her hands, into another torture victim, murdering the woman."

"I got pregnant as a result of the multiple gang
rapes by my torturers, and unable to carry within me what
they had engendered, what I could view only as a monster, the product of the men who had raped me, I turned to someone for assistance and I destroyed that life. Am I proud of this decision? No. But if I had to make the decision again, I believe I would again decide as I did eight years ago."

http://www.amazon.com/Blindfolds-Eyes-Journey-Torture-Truth/dp/1570755639

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3NrCYU5zNE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hZJQHA9sug&feature=related

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianna_Ortiz

http://dir.salon.com/books/review/2002/11/19/ortiz/index.html

http://www.democracynow.org/2005/10/12/sister_dianna_ortiz_details_her_abduction

http://www.rfkcenter.org/sttp/profile/sister-dianna-ortiz

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101204.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101204.html)

www.commondreams.org/views06/0103-50.htm (http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0103-50.htm)

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/jan/20/claredyer (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/jan/20/claredyer)

www.rrojasdatabank.org/crime2.htm (http://www.rrojasdatabank.org/crime2.htm)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2815881561030958784#

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Killing Hope By William Blum

State & Revolution by Lenin

Bolshevism: The Road To Revolution by Alan Woods

http://www.marxist.com/bolshevism-old/index.html

Blackshirts & Reds by Michael Parenti

[Rakhmetov]

Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of the smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.

Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision that all those able and willing to work will always be in a position to find employment; an "army of unemployed" almost always exists. The worker is constantly in fear of losing his job. Since unemployed and poorly paid workers do not provide a profitable market, the production of consumers' goods is restricted, and great hardship is the consequence. Technological progress frequently results in more unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all. The profit motive, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, is responsible for an instability in the accumulation and utilization of capital which leads to increasingly severe depressions. Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labor, and to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before.

This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future career.

I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals. In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman, and child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow-men in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society.

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Einstein.htm

[LostDesperado]

Thank you all for the suggestions. It'll be great to read all the recommendations.

[Pawn Power]

The best political eduction you will get will be in joining a political of community organization.

[LostDesperado]

I was thinking of joining up with SPUSA when I turn 18.

[Skammunist]

I'd highly recommend Alexander Berkman's "ABC of Anarchism". It is very easy to read since it was meant for the workingman in Berkman's time. It explains in great detail how the capitalist, wage, and war systems work. While I'm no longer an anarchist, some of the first chapters are essential reading for all leftists, despite tendency. In fact, this was my first political book and is what got me into leftist politics.

Here it is online: dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/bright/berkman/comanarchism/whatis_toc.html

If you don't plan on reading the whole thing, I urge you to at least read chapters 2-6.

[LostDesperado]

Thanks. I'll read it when I get the chance.

[CommieTroll]

A Revolutionary Life By Jon Lee Anderson Is A Must

[Rakhmetov]

Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America by Walter LaFeber

The American Age by Walter LaFeber

Permanent Revolution by Leon Trotsky

Necessary Illusions: Thought Control In A Democratic Society by Noam Chomsky

Manufacturing Consent: Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward Herman & Chomsky

The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism by Edward Herman and Chomsky

Rogue State by William Blum

Make-Believe Media: The Politics of Entertainment by Michael Parenti

Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism by Lenin

Neo-colonialism: The Highest Stage of Imperialism by Kwame Nkrumah (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&sa=G&tbo=1&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Kwame+Nkrumah%22&ei=ke7STcDROOvq0QGS3I3KCw&ved=0CDcQ9Ag)

Democracy for the Few (9th Edition) by Michael Parenti

[LostDesperado]

Thank you Comrades.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Anarchism or Socialism - Stalin (http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1906/12/x01.htm)
Yes its an attack on Anarchism but it does a damn good job of explaining Dialetical Materialism.

Socialism: Utopian & Scientific - F. Engels (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/index.htm)
More on dialectical materialism and what marxism(scientific socialism) is as compared to utopianism.

Wage Labour and Capital - F. Engels (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/wage-labour/index.htm)
The basics of what a wage is, what exploitation is, and where profits come from

Some good basic and "classical" SHORT reads. Socialism Utopian and Scientific may take the longest but they are some great reads on the basics of what is called marxism.


dont even try capital until youve read quite a bit or your brain will hurt and you wont understand certain concepts.

[Chimurenga.]

I would also reiterate State and Revolution (http://marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/index.htm) by Lenin.

Coming from sort of an Anarchist background prior, this book blew my mind and I instantly found an appreciation for Lenin.

For a beginner Marxist, I'd The Three Source And Three Component Parts Of Marxism (http://marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1913/mar/x01.htm) by Lenin. It's a very short read but explains the central ideas of Marxism.

Hope this helps.

[Rooster]

I would also recommend Trotsky's Marxism in Our Time (http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1939/04/marxism.htm) . It's Trotsky giving an account of the world in Marxist terms in the 30s (ie, the New Deal and Fascism) with brief descriptions of the ideas in Capital. It also has a compact selection of Capital in the second half of it.

I also recommend Hal Draper's Two Souls of Socialism (http://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1966/twosouls/) which talks about Socialism-from-Above and Socialism-from-Below. It's a short pamphlet so don't worry.

As mentioned, I also recommend State and Revolution by Lenin, and maybe Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism by Lenin as well. But if you want a more modern account of capitalist economics then you should grab any of David Harvey's books (apart from that one that's a study guide for Marx's Capital, of course, unless you want to read Capital, which you should).

[NoOneIsIllegal]

It seems as though The State and Revolution has transformed many anarchists into ML'ers!

- A People's History of the World by Chris Williams
---> The history of the world from a Marxist perceptive. Incredibly good.

- Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism by Michael Schmidt and Lucien van der Walt
---> This book rocks my world and you should still knowledge yourself on anarchism, even if you're a Marxist :cool:

[x359594]

Speaking of anarcho-syndicalism, I just finished reading Anarchism and the City: Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Barcelona, 1898-1937 by Chris Ealham, a first rate account of organizing the working class neighborhoods of Barcelona by the CNT and earlier anarchist formations based on an examination of many primary sources. It has value as a "lessons learned" text.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Speaking of anarcho-syndicalism, I just finished reading Anarchism and the City: Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Barcelona, 1898-1937 by Chris Ealham, a first rate account of organizing the working class neighborhoods of Barcelona by the CNT and earlier anarchist formations based on an examination of many primary sources. It has value as a "lessons learned" text.
I read this book a few months ago as well. It was very well-researched and enjoyable.

[Cork Socialist]

If your interested in Marxist economics in any way, just a thought ;P
I would recommonend An Introduction to Marxist Economic Theory, If Economics in anyway your thing.
When I first got interested in Left wing ideas etc it was one of the first books I read as i had a big interest in Economics and I found it a good read.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/mandel/1967/intromet/index.htm

[Q]

I was thinking of joining up with SPUSA when I turn 18.

They don't have an age requirement.

[Rusty Shackleford]

i would talk to chegitz before joining so you can get the inside scoop on how the SP will fit you and you will fit the SP.

it doesnt take more than $15.00 and an address to register for the party so at least with him you can get to know how the party works. there is no age requirement or tendency requirement.