What book would be closest to "Marxism for Dummies" ? [Archive]

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LiberaCHE

29th July 2008, 00:50

I have a few friends who could benefit from a basic "introduction"

???

trivas7

29th July 2008, 00:55

"Marx for Beginners" by Rius

http://www.grovel.org.uk/reviews/marx01/marx02.gif
http://www.amazon.com/Marx-Beginners-Rius/dp/0375714618/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217289563&sr=8-1

Winter

29th July 2008, 02:30

"Marx for Beginners" by Rius

http://www.grovel.org.uk/reviews/marx01/marx02.gif
http://www.amazon.com/Marx-Beginners-Rius/dp/0375714618/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217289563&sr=8-1

I second that!

Random Precision

29th July 2008, 02:39

"The Principles of Communism" by Frederick Engels:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm#01

gla22

29th July 2008, 03:06

The communist manifesto is the most basic intro by Marx. It is very light compared to most of his others.

Saorsa

29th July 2008, 03:22

I'd recommend "State and Revolution" by Lenin, and "Scientific Socialism" by Engels. I've actually never read "Principles", but I'd hear of it, and it does look like a good intro.

Saorsa

29th July 2008, 03:26

Btw, I'd always recommend reading the classic works of Marx, Engels and Lenin rather than reading other people's interpretations of them. There's always the possibility of distortion, either conscious or unconscious, by other people writing much later on.

Niccolò Rossi

29th July 2008, 06:22

"The Principles of Communism" by Frederick Engels:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm#01

It might be a good idea to start with some sort of intro, but atleast in terms of the writings of Marx and Engels themselves, The Principles of Communism is a must. I'd pick it over the Communist Manifesto any day for a newbie.

Trystan

29th July 2008, 10:55

Uber

29th July 2008, 11:42

Ernst Fischer: Marx In His Own Words was useful to me when i was learning the real basics however i don't think it's all that easy to find.

Bilan

29th July 2008, 12:00

I'd recommend "State and Revolution" by Lenin, and "Scientific Socialism" by Engels. I've actually never read "Principles", but I'd hear of it, and it does look like a good intro.

The former is shite, and the latter is over the top.

The Principles of Communism is good.

29th July 2008, 16:01

The former is shite, and the latter is over the top.

The former explains indepth the Marxist theory of the state and class relations; it is a very good read for learning about Marxist theory. You just don't like it because you disagree with the Marxist theory of the state; however, the OP asked for good books to learn about Marxist theory, so it's definitely a good suggestion.

However, I'll agree with you that the latter (Socialism: Utopian and Scientific) isn't really a great read for learning the absolute basics.

The Principles of Communism (http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm) - for the fundamentals
The Communist Manifesto (http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/index.htm) - for the fundamentals
Marxist Theory of the State (http://marxists.org/archive/mandel/1969/xx/state.htm) - Marxist theory of the state
The State - A speech given by Lenin on the state (can't find it online)
State & Revolution (http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/) - Marxist theory of the state
The German Ideology (Preface and Ch. 1 only) (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01.htm) - Materialist conception of history
Marx's Kapital for Beginners (http://www.revleft.com/vb/marx-39-s-t41211/index.html) - Best intro to Marxist Economics everrrrr
Wage Labour & Capital (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/wage-labour/index.htm) - Marxist Economics
Value, Price & Profit (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1865/value-price-profit/) - Marxist Economics

Those are pretty much the basics, I think. They're all pretty short, as well, so they shouldn't take that long to read, either (I think the longest on there is State & revolution, which isn't really that long at all).

Hope that helped!