Good book on Marxism

[Delta]

Anyone have a good recommendation for a book on Marxism? Anyone read Marxism after Marx? Suggestions are much appreciated :D

[JazzRemington]

G.A. Cohen's Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defense and selections from John Elster's Making Sense of Marx, namely the parts dealing with class consciousness and rational choice mechanism.

[bolshevik butcher]

I'd advise you to read the original theory itself rather than some middle class academic's approach to marxism. What exactly are you looking for?

I'd reccomedend Marx's the communist manfeisto and Engels' Scienfitic socialism vs Utopian socialism, although you may already have read these as they are pretty standard texts for most marxists.

[tolstoyevski]

Marx & Engels

- Communist Manifesto
- German Ideology
- 18th Brumaire
- Utopian Soc & Scientific Soc
- Bakuninists at Work / Letters on Anarchism (Marxists vs Anarchists (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/anarchism/index.htm))

- Wage Labour & Capital / Capital / Grundrisse :D (if you have time)

Lenin

- Imperialism
- Left Wing Communism
- Renegade Kautsky
- Socialism and War
- The Right of Nations to Self-Determination


Mao

- On contradiction
- On theory and practice

Politzer

- Basic Principles of Philosophy

Lukacs

- Destruction of Reason

Dimitrov

- Report to the VII Congress
- Unity of the Working Class against Fascism

Togliatti

- Lessons on Fascism

Anthony Brewer
- Marxist Theories of Imperialism

David Harvey
- The Condition of Postmodernity

Ellen Meiksins Wood
- The Retreat from Class

[gilhyle]

I've got shelves of books on Marxism....and looking down the shelf there is not one I would recommend unequivocally.....that said I always quite liked the cartoon marxism for beginners book :D

[gilhyle]

No just spotted one : W.A. Suchting: Marxism an Introduction - good book.

[Delta]

I've never actually read the Manifesto, but I was worried that it wouldn't be contemporary enough. If he talks too much about local and current events of his time then I may get more out of a more recent discussion.

I actually know a good deal about communism, anarchism, and other leftist ideas. I suppose I wanted to read more about historical materialism. Is Marx the best source for this, or does someone else paraphrase him better?

Thanks for all the feedback thusfar.

[Monty Cantsin]

Originally posted by [email protected] 16, 2007 02:33 am
I've never actually read the Manifesto, but I was worried that it wouldn't be contemporary enough. If he talks too much about local and current events of his time then I may get more out of a more recent discussion.

I actually know a good deal about communism, anarchism, and other leftist ideas. I suppose I wanted to read more about historical materialism. Is Marx the best source for this, or does someone else paraphrase him better?

Thanks for all the feedback thusfar.
If you want to understand Marx’s Materialist conception of history, the best thing to do is read Marx himself. I’d recommend reading the first chapter of the German ideology.

This is a good letter; right down the bottom is gold - http://marxists.anu.edu.au/archive/marx/wo...7/11/russia.htm (http://marxists.anu.edu.au/archive/marx/works/1877/11/russia.htm)

[gilhyle]

A good modern critical discussion of the materialist conception of history is S.H. Rigby Marxism and History. (Its in the analytical Marxist tradition, as are Cohen and Elster referred to above, and that is a problem - certain perspectives are just not canvassed, but it will set you thinking.

Franz Mehring has a very sensible, short pamphlet ; 'On Historical Materialism'

The very corrupted text of the section on Feuerbach in the German Ideology would need to be complemented by the relevant parts of the Communist Manifesto.

[JazzRemington]

The only thing you REALLY need to read is Das Kapital (preferably volume 1). The Communist Manifesto is alright, but represents the philosophical side and not the scientific world-view that would develop later in Kapital. If Kapital is too difficult, there's an a simplified, "newbie-friendly" version in Learning, I think. There's also the boards to ask questions.

I would also recommend Reading Capital Politically. I've only read a few bits from it myself, but I understand it's pretty good.

But regardless of what you read, always think critically about it and don't just accept it because someone (even if it is Marx) wrote it who is popular. As with anything, if it doesn't hold up to analysis, scientific or otherwise, than discard it.

[Janus]

Marxism 101 (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=68444&hl=+Marxism++book*)
recommendations (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=66327&hl=+Marxism++book*)
recommended books (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=55267&hl=recommend*)
recommended lit. (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=55628&hl=recommend*)
reading list (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=57022&hl=recommend*)

[Hit The North]

The Communist Manifesto is alright, but represents the philosophical side and not the scientific world-view that would develop later in Kapital.

Don't listen to the above advise. The Communist Manifesto remains one of the clearest and most forceful statements of Marx & Engels' materialist conception of history and the revolutionary tasks of the proletariat. It's not in the slightest bit philosophical but it is political to its core.

An excellent overview of Marx's ideas can be found in Alex Callinicos's 'The Revolutionary Ideas of Karl Marx', a pdf version of which can be found here (http://www.istendency.net/pdf/revideas.pdf).

[gilhyle]

Citizen Zero, I agree with you about the CM....but NOOOO, not Callinicos, please. To take one simple example (among many) Callincos does not believe in the primacy of the forces of production and similar revisions are throughout his work.

[Rainie]

Read Dr. Michael Parenti's "Blackshirts and Reds." You won't regret it. He is very accessible and readable. The book is about 150 pages.

Read also Lenin's "The State and Revolution"---- a HUGE must!!!

[Saint Street Revolution]

State and Revolution, The Communist Manifesto, Kapital, etc. shouldn't be recomended here. They kind of go without saying and most Marxists have already read them.

Blackshirts and Reds, from what I've heard, is a very good book.


Originally posted by JazzRemington
The only thing you REALLY need to read is Das Kapital (preferably volume 1).

I partly agree with you, but the emphasis should be on the word "need".

[blackstone]

I personally recommend, How Capitalism Works by Pierre Jalee. You can find a copy on amazon for as little as 10 bucks. In it, it explains capitalism in easy and accessible terms. Introduces alot of common Marxist terms and puts you on the correct path to understanding more complicated Das Kapital-esque works. But even if you choose not to read Marx's Capital you still have a good basic knowledge on how capitalism works and in what terms it is exploitive.