As for your question, the first thing to do before reading any theory, or at the same time, is to feel why you could be a leftist. If you don't understand why leftism could be an alternative to "standard" politics, it is because you see them as legitimate, maybe not perfect, but acceptable. It simply the "normal", the stable and proven. Better this than dictatorship or civil-war right ? The situation is not the best, but it could be worse.
The first thing to understand is then why we don't think it is such the case : why the present order is in fact not acceptable. Why, if we don't only look at the US, but at the entire world, everything is totally unfair : there's billions of people that are starving, while a few of big richs guys have more than the majority of the population. Where we could possibily gives everyone a decent life, we we don't. Where we are always on the verge of a world war for the pettiest reasons, and against people you never see. You need to look at your gov, the democrats and republicans, beyond their speeches and promises, beyond their policies, and asking : why do these guys do for me, a normal guy ? Have I really power on my gov. and on their parties ? Do they represent my interest, not as a voter or as an american, but as what you contrectely are, a worker, a poor, or a student ? What power to they give you for your daily life, where you will control nothing over you life, always dependant of the next job finding, of working for shitty job for a boss that earn 1000 time you pay for half your work, and your only alternative is to starve ? What control do you have on your life when everything is on the verge of collapsing at each economic crisis ? Where you can't do small business whitout being eaten alive by giant corporations ? Is it really an acceptable outcome for humanity at the age of wonders such as internet and space station ? Can't we do better ? In't there the vision of a better society, where everyone would be treaded as human being, that is, as free peoples, equals in dignity to you and me, above and below me in privileges, and with who we can fraternize and cooperate without suspicion ?
At this, we answer yes, and we answer this with our theory, our concepts etc. But, first and foremost, we answer with our convictions, solidified both by personal experience and the general and honest look of the present world.
With this in mind, start to read easy texts of socialist tradition : principles of communism
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