Advice Needed

[Art Vandelay]

Greetings comrades, I have for a long time now been a lurker on these boards and have only recently joined. I have yet to start posting regularly on this site as I do not feel that my understanding of Marxism is sophisticated or developed enough yet. As a minor I was more of a communist from a moral standpoint, but have begun to understand how much there is to learn; you could probably say I know a little about a lot, but not a lot about anything in particular. I have read through many of the stickied threads and at times seeing the amount of resources and books to read can be a tad overwhelming. I was wondering if anyone could suggest a condensed list of important works, perhaps five or six books long, that could help elaborate on my understanding of the basics.

As far as my beliefs go I was initially attracted to the ideas of Trotsky but have been realizing more and more recently that not even Marx was always right, which is pushing me towards simply calling myself a Marxist. I am also interested in learning about Anarchism as well, regardless of whether or not it changes my beliefs, so if there are any Anarchist who could suggest some good starting points and good writers to get into, it would be greatly appreciated.

So far to read or re-read I have:
The Communist Manifesto
The State and Revolution
A Revolution Betrayed

[Nikolay]

If you want to get introduced to Anarchism, then I recommend these:

An Anarchist FAQ Volume 1 - Iain McKay
ABC of Communist Anarchism - Alexander Berkman
Conquest of Bread - Peter Kropotkin
Fields, Factories and Workshops or Industry Combined with Agriculture and Brain Work with Manual Work - Peter Kropotkin

[Black Sheep]

Fields, Factories and Workshops or Industry Combined with Agriculture and Brain Work with Manual Work - Peter Kropotkin
ew, no... you'll be bored to death

Actually, a great intro to anarchism is watching some chomsky on youtube.
YT search "Chomsky anarchism"

[Art Vandelay]

ew, no... you'll be bored to death

Actually, a great intro to anarchism is watching some chomsky on youtube.
YT search "Chomsky anarchism"

I have seen many Chomsky videos on youtube, as well I have also read some of his books. I may have understated my level of understanding of both marxism and anarchism. I do understand the basics of both, ie: no beginner books. I have kind of already been through that stage and would like to begin reading the great thinkers of both strains of political thought.

[Comrade Crow]

Some Anarchist articles I like:

Anarchist-Communism by Johann Most:
click here (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/bright/most/anarcom.html)

The Capitalist System by Mikhail Bakunin:
click here (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/bakunin/capstate.html)

Anarchism and Organization by Errico Malatesta:
click here (http://www.marxists.org/archive/malatesta/1897/xx/anarchorg.htm)

The Anarchist Revolution by Errico Malatesta:
click here (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/malatesta/tar.html)

The Anarchist Revolution by Nestor Makhno:
click here (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/bright/makhno/makhnoanrev.html)

The ABC of the Revolutionary Anarchist by Nestor Makhno:
click here (http://www.nestormakhno.info/english/abc.htm)

The Immorality of the State by Mikhail Bakunin:
click here (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/bakunin/bakuninimmorality.html)

The Paris Commune and the Idea of the State by Mikhail Bakunin:
click here (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/bakunin/pariscommune.html)

Revolutionary Catechism by Mikhail Bakunin:
click here (http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/bakunin/works/1866/catechism.htm)

Marxism, Freedom and the State by Mikhail Bakunin:
click here (http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/bakunin/works/mf-state/index.htm)

[DaringMehring]

-- History of the Russian Revolution by L. Trotsky (best history of the Russian revolution, people from most tendencies admit this. Learn how the revolution happened!)

-- Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder by V. Lenin (easy reading and makes the Leninist case against ultra-lefts, while at the same time maintaining that right-opportunists are 100 times more dangerous. Of course, if you take the critique of ultra-lefts too far, beyond what Lenin writes, you end up like the CPUSA...)

-- Assorted short essays and letters by various leaders on issues you are interested in (there are multitudes). Eg, "What Is Imperialism?" by Zinoviev, "Down with the Death Penalty!" by Martov, and others. The Marxist Internet Archive is your friend.

-- "The Prophet" series by Deutscher (good description of the pre-, revolutionary, and post-, periods in Russia. A well written page-turner.)

Try to read things from different authors, different views that you might not agree with, keep an open mind, and just keep going. The more you arm yourself with historical and theoretical knowledge, the better you will get as a fighter for revolutionary socialism. It takes years, a lifetime...

Good luck!

[Apoi_Viitor]

I have for a long time now been a lurker on these boards and have only recently joined. I have yet to start posting regularly on this site as I do not feel that my understanding of Marxism is sophisticated or developed enough yet.

I recommend engaging in the discussions on Revleft. Even if you allegedly have a minor understanding of Marxism, discussion and interaction are probably the best way to come to learn something (at least, that's what I've found).