Hi.

[myownminerva]

I am a newcomer to the site but really like most of what I've seen so far. I am 23 and currently living in KY. I live in a college town which I do believe helps a bit; nonetheless the stereotypes of Kentucky regarding narrow-mindedness and ultra-conservatism still hold true.

I have always described myself and my beliefs as liberal but have just come to realise over the past year or so that, in my opinion, being a liberal democrat really is not going far enough—very little progress to redistribute the wealth in the US has been made. There is a finite amount of progress that can be made in the US with the two-party system. Furthermore, I am starting to believe there is a limit on the amount of social-economic progress that can be made in the capitalist society in which we live.

I have more recently began to study socialism, focusing mostly on the history of socialism and Marxist theory prior to WWII. I look forward to learning more about democratic socialism as everything I've heard so far sounds quite promising. I just received a copy of Michael Harrington's "Socialism Past & Future" that I intend to read over the next few days.

If you have any suggestions for additional books on the topic of socialism, I'd love to hear from you.

[Broletariat]

As this is a revolutionary left website, democratic socialism and other reformist measures will unfortunately get you restricted. So I'd recommend laying low on expressing support for democratic socialism so you don't get yourself restricted until your more comfortable with marxist theory and such.

Aside from my ominous greeting, I hope you enjoy your stay.

[myownminerva]

Will do. Thanks for the advice.

[TheLeftStar]

Hey good to read about you. When I read about you, it came to my mind that my city doesn't have a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet yet. Like you I'm learning more about socialism and I agree that there is a limit to the progress that liberal democrats can bring in a capitalist country like the USA. Last but not the least, are you a man or women? Welcome to RevLeft Comrade myownminerva!

[myownminerva]

Thanks. I'm male.


... When I read about you, it came to my mind that my city doesn't have a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet yet.

You're lucky---I wouldn't touch the stuff.

[Kamos]

As this is a revolutionary left website, democratic socialism and other reformist measures will unfortunately get you restricted. So I'd recommend laying low on expressing support for democratic socialism so you don't get yourself restricted until your more comfortable with marxist theory and such.

Aside from my ominous greeting, I hope you enjoy your stay.

Democratic socialism =/= social democracy. In fact, there is even a democratic socialist tendency group over here, and I'm sure it's not reformist. So yeah, myownminerva, depending on whether your idea of democratic socialism is reformist or revolutionary you may not have to worry.

[myownminerva]

Democratic socialism =/= social democracy. In fact, there is even a democratic socialist tendency group over here, and I'm sure it's not reformist. So yeah, myownminerva, depending on whether your idea of democratic socialism is reformist or revolutionary you may not have to worry.

Clearly showing my ignorance, I wasn't aware that any democratic socialist believed the necessary change could take place "within the system" (e.g., voting, legislature, etc). To clear it up: While I still have a lot to learn, I do not believe anything less than a revolution can create the social-economic changes needed in the US.

[Comrade J]

Hey welcome to Revleft mate! :)

Nice first post, really great to see someone challenging their own beliefs and questioning the validity and problems of capitalism.

You might want to check out some writings on this page (http://www.marxists.org/subject/students/index.htm), which has some recommendations on good introduction to Marxism texts, or simply just look through the rest of marxists.org and see what takes your fancy.

If you would be interested to learn more about anarchism then take a look at this widely-celebrated Anarchist FAQ (http://www.infoshop.org/page/AnAnarchistFAQ). In particular Sections C and D are really well-written and informative about capitalism and statism, can't recommend it enough.

Also there are lots of threads in the Literature forum about good books and essays to get you started, as well as archived posts of an old user we used to have called Redstar2000, an "American" who has lived his life as a true active revolutionary and has a lot of useful information and thoughts to share. Unfortunately he became ill and doesn't post anymore, but when I first joined this site I found his posts really helpful.

And check out the Learning forum, any questions you have you can ask there without fear of feeling potentially silly/naive.