Confused, need a little help

[LordAcheron]

I'm pretty new into the whole leftist thing, and have been doing some research over the past months but it all seems so overwhelming. I've been trying to figure out exactly where I stand among other leftists and what tendency my beliefs fall into. I have the very basics of the Russian revolution down and the whole stalin/trotsky thing, but I 'd like to know more. Whats with the division between trotskyites and marxist-leninists, for example, and the differences in Maoism and hoxhaism and all the other main tendencies.

So far, I've just called myself a libertarian socialist but I know there is way more to take into account before I really take that label, especially since in the past month or so I've been less and less favorable of a democracy, and really agree with trotsky's international permanent revolution and have heard many many great things about Mao (which is weird, since I grew up in Hong Kong and was always hearing anti-communist/mao propaganda).

Anyway, if theres some "beginners guide" to all of this as well as a list of organizations for each tendency somewhere, that would be great, and if not, where should I begin?

[Wubbaz]

Tendencies are what splits the Left. It is much better to have more pragmatic view on socialism than a dogmatic one, in my honest opinion. The best way to educate yourself on socialism/communism/anarchism would be to check out the litteratue list here in the Learning section and just read lots and lots of stuff from all sorts of thinkers. Really, putting most of your focus on one specific tendency/writer will end up making you too narrow-minded. But that is just my opinion. :)

[Thirsty Crow]

Tendencies are what splits the Left. It is much better to have more pragmatic view on socialism than a dogmatic one, in my honest opinion.
And what would that pragmatic view be?
Moreover, there are fundamental differences between various tendencies on the revolutionary left, but they are not a product of abstract "dogmatism", but rather of programme.

[LordAcheron]

I mean, I see the need for tendencies. There are some major differences in ideologies from what I gather. Is there some sort of communist/socialist political spectrum like the political compass for capitalist society? I keep reading stuff like "Lenin moved to the right" and stuff and terms like "left communism" and am even more lost on the latter because of how vague the articles I've been reading are. Is there a brief overview I can read?

[PhoenixAsh]

Well...there is www.marxists.org (http://www.marxists.org) for all your Marxist literature. Then there is: http://anarchism.pageabode.com/afaq/index.html on Anarchism.

Don't bother with tendencies untill you figure out where you feel comfy...much less sectarian warfare. There is no beginners guide. You just have to wing it.

Also...inb4 sectarian warfare erupts.

[LordAcheron]

Well, I already know where I stand on most issues that I know anything about, but what is left communism and ultra-left? I cant seem to find much on those areas, but I ahve been reading a lot on the forums about leftist organizations. I should probably be doing this shit when I'm awake , huh?

[Rooster]

Well, I already know where I stand on most issues that I know anything about, but what is left communism and ultra-left? I cant seem to find much on those areas, but I ahve been reading a lot on the forums about leftist organizations. I should probably be doing this shit when I'm awake , huh?

You should have a look at the group pages. They usually have a general outline and some texts you can read. You can find the group pages by going up to the top of the page, click on the "community" tab and click "revleft groups" in the drop down menu.

[Terminator X]

Well, I already know where I stand on most issues that I know anything about, but what is left communism and ultra-left?

Left communism splits with Marxism-Leninism in that the ideology rejects state power, or building communism through the state apparatus - similar, but not identical, to anarchism. You will find that some differences between the leftist ideologies appear to be rather minute, but can cause bitter splits between parties. For left communist theory, Pannekoek is a good place to start:

http://marxists.org/archive/pannekoe/index.htm

[LordAcheron]

I figured it was something like that, thanks!

[Sixiang]

I'm pretty new into the whole leftist thing, and have been doing some research over the past months but it all seems so overwhelming. I've been trying to figure out exactly where I stand among other leftists and what tendency my beliefs fall into. I have the very basics of the Russian revolution down and the whole stalin/trotsky thing, but I 'd like to know more. Whats with the division between trotskyites and marxist-leninists, for example, and the differences in Maoism and hoxhaism and all the other main tendencies.
I felt the exact same way when I was starting out. My advice to you is to not worry about "picking a side" so quickly. It took me over a year of reading Marx and Engels and reading discussions on this sight before I found myself confident and well read enough to consider myself a Marxist. Just take your time and read, read, read.


So far, I've just called myself a libertarian socialist but I know there is way more to take into account before I really take that label, especially since in the past month or so I've been less and less favorable of a democracy, and really agree with trotsky's international permanent revolution and have heard many many great things about Mao (which is weird, since I grew up in Hong Kong and was always hearing anti-communist/mao propaganda). As far as Mao, might I suggest you check out the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist group? You can join simply for the sake of learning, as I did. I'm sure the Trotskyist group would have a similar view. I don't think joining the group means you should have to subscribe to some ideology. And it isn't surprising that you've heard anti-Mao and anti-communist propaganda growing up in a capitalist area. We've all heard it.


Anyway, if theres some "beginners guide" to all of this as well as a list of organizations for each tendency somewhere, that would be great, and if not, where should I begin?
Check out the tendencies section in the groups. Also, you can get a lot of beginners' guides on the different tendencies. For Marxism, I suggest starting with none other than Marx and his good friend Engels. For Marxist economics, I recommend this guy's youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/brendanmcooney
I've seen them all and they were immensely helpful for me in the beginning when I didn't understand much of it.


I mean, I see the need for tendencies. There are some major differences in ideologies from what I gather. Is there some sort of communist/socialist political spectrum like the political compass for capitalist society? I keep reading stuff like "Lenin moved to the right" and stuff and terms like "left communism" and am even more lost on the latter because of how vague the articles I've been reading are. Is there a brief overview I can read?
I wouldn't worry about labeling oneself with some silly political compass. Those quizzes are poorly worded in my opinion and aren't very useful beyond an initial "fun" factor. A lot of those article are based on the supposition that the reader is already familiar with Marx, Lenin, and all the other mentioned people in them. It may be a tad confusing at first, but I suggest just pushing through it and continuing to read. Eventually you will start having "ah-ha" moments. If you want the Marxist Leninist perspective of Left communism, there is Lenin's famous work, "Left-Wing" Communism, an Infantile Disorder. I'm not well read on Kautsky and co.'s writings on the differences between them.


You should have a look at the group pages. They usually have a general outline and some texts you can read. You can find the group pages by going up to the top of the page, click on the "community" tab and click "revleft groups" in the drop down menu.
This. I have used the groups immensely for educational purposes.

[RedMarxist]

read this if you want to learn about workers councils and the left communists:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/pannekoe/1947/workers-councils.htm

[Leftsolidarity]

I know others have already said this but http://marxists.org/ is really a great place to learn about all the different tendencies, history, and have a really good read.