/leftypol/ - Leftist Politically Incorrect

https://www.marxists.org/archive/mattick-paul/1978/marxism.htm
read that to inoculate yourself against left-wing-of-capital-copium

Read Wage labour and Capital

>>2814894
Just read capital everything else is an ideological battleground even Marx and Engels had their pet theories, but capital is the 'holy scripture' of socialism.

The Communist Manifesto is still surprisingly good, just have in mind that it was written with the 1848 revolutions in mind. You should get into Capital as early as you can and I advise that to anyone new. Even if it seems intimidating it's the best way to start. Don't bother with any other authors and other marxists yet because if you do, you'll be reading other people's interpretations of Marx instead of the author himself. The first chapter of Capital is the toughest part in the book. You should write it down and take notes until you fully get it.

don't bother reading anything. it's already over.

>>2814956
T. Glowie

>>2814894
I found this playlist helpful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOAII71GaFY&list=PLXUFLW8t2sntNn5jQO8vF7ai9x0fna3PV
it starts with the embedded video

manifestos great, but important to remember it was a pamphlet written under particular circumstances at a particular time, it wasnt intended to be a rigorous or exhaustive summary of communism. it is less a "founding text" of a new way of thinking, and more a starting gun for theorizing about the specific kind of discontent that had emerged from the advent of industrial capitalism

really Capital Vol. 1 is the single really essential book by marx. its not as intimidating as people say sometimes, but its not a quick or easy read, and starting with the manifesto is great. just keep the above in mind that it was meant primarily to be a call to arms.

normally when i try to give people a first read if theyre only lightly familiar or totally unfamiliar, i recommend them The Housing Monster, pic related, because its very basic & widely agreed upon marxist theory translated into a (for most people in most parts of the world) immediately recognizable dynamic of work -> sleep -> cope, repeat, in which the place you live is at the center of it, and most proles in most parts of the world have been involved in some way or another with building or maintaining houses, for work or otherwise. tho i admit i am be biased towards this because residential construction was my industry for a decade+

>normie
>Canaryfucker88
Reading Marxist works often involves a study of history as well. There is no understanding the manifesto without understanding the revolutionary wave of 1848.
There is no understanding Lenin without understanding the situation that Russia was in, and by extension, the rest of Europe.
I recommend, albeit it isn't from a Marxist source, this podcast for getting a decent grasp on the history of Marx and socialist currents through history up to the Russian revolution.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIjP3HEQ0F-9-go8oKKRDt5lnw40by6El

Sidenote, I'm getting around to reading Anti-Dühring because I get a boner when reading about socialists dismantle irrelevant footnotes in history.

Read Cafiero's summarized version of Marx's capital, which by the way was the only such book approved by Marx himself. That's genuinely all you'll ever need.

>>2815003
was he also the italian anarchist translator? if so isnt it that it was the only contemporaneous italian translation that marx approved of, not the only summary in general? great video btw lol

Principles of communism
Then
Wage labor and capital
Then
Socialism scientific and utopian
I think theres a reading thread. Its not bad.

Oh and everything is free from marxists.org

Communism is not ideology, it is the lack of one

>>2815029
oh and then read Capital of course

>>2814903
I read this wall of text and damn was he right. Thank you. What else would you recommend?

I am not OP, I am not even considering myself communist in the sense that I have not read anything beyond the manifesto. I see the contradictions or capitalism but I fall often for reformism. This really strengthened in me the need for revolution.

So after reading it, I am left wondering what this means:

"the liberation of the working class from capitalist domination can only be achieved through the workers’ own initiative, and that socialism can be realized only through the abolition of class society through the ending of the capitalist relations of production. "

Are there ideas of how to achieve that? As I have not read theory, I am left wondering what exactly is the capitalist relations of production and are there examples of other relations of production?


Thanks again for the link.

Read: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01a.htm#a2
and
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/theses/theses.htm

Then go to >>>/edu/ and look at the PDF thread, scroll down and download Harvey's companion to Capital

Alternatively, use the Youtube version of Harvey's companion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_West_Came_to_Rule

Also, read this if you think you can manage it. You can find it on Anna's archive or probably LibGen

>>2815503
>Are there ideas of how to achieve that?
permanent revolution (pic related, its how it will look)

>>2815003
these are also good pre-reads before jumping into Capital:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/wage-labour-capital.pdf

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/value-price-profit.pdf

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/1868-syn/index.htm

>>2814894
If you're serious about actually understanding Marxism, not the liberalized, toothless version that treats worker co-ops as the end goal, you need to ground yourself in foundational theory, not vague market-friendly nonsense.

Start with Engels for a solid orientation:

"Principles of Communism" lays out the basics in Q&A format: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm

"Socialism: Utopian and Scientific" helps contrast real scientific socialism with moralistic daydreams: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/Engels_Socialism_Utopian_and_Scientific.pdf

Before diving into Capital, it's worth getting a grip on Marx’s political economy:

"Value, Price and Profit", dissects surplus value and wages under capitalism: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/value-price-profit.pdf

"Wage Labor and Capital", earlier and simpler, good to pair with the above: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/wage-labour-capital.pdf

To clarify the transition from capitalism to socialism and the current stages of communism (hint: socialism is not “co-ops in a free market in competition”), Marx’s “Critique of the Gotha Programme” is essential: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/Marx_Critque_of_the_Gotha_Programme.pdf

If Engels' intro texts speak to you, level up with "Anti-Dühring", it covers philosophy, political economy, and socialism in a comprehensive Marxist framework: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/anti_duhring.pdf

A text that is important to read and understand the dictatorship of the proletariat and the Paris Commune, which had its errors that Marx criticized and which served as a lesson for carrying out a successful communist revolution, as was done by the Bolsheviks, based on what was learned in the text called "The Civil War in France." The lesson is the opposite of decentralization, fear of acting, or fear of appropriating banks and controlling them for the sake of the domination of the proletariat for fear of causing chaos:
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1871/civil-war-france/

Another text that analyzes the class struggle in France with the 1848 revolution also helps to understand the dictatorship of the proletariat and what happens to the petty bourgeoisie when it considers itself superior to the proletarians, betraying them, not seeing their common interest, and what its reward is for wanting to identify with the bourgeoisie, which is to be discarded by the bourgeoisie. The text is called "The Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850" with the link below:
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1850/class-struggles-france/

Then there’s Lenin, essential for anyone who doesn’t want to be co-opted by reformists afraid of revolution:

"The State and Revolution", the real Marxist theory of the state and dictatorship of the proletariat: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/

"Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism", explains monopoly capital and financial domination: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/

"What Is To Be Done?", revolutionary organization and building a vanguard party: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1901/witbd/

"Left-Wing Communism: an Infantile Disorder", a guide to dealing with pseudo-left idealists and opportunists: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1920/lwc/

Ignore the other posts. This is the only reading list you need to be a Marxist:
J. Sakai - "Settlers"
E. Said - "Orientalism"
B. ᴉuᴉlossnW - "La dottrina del fascismo"
G. Sorel - "Reflections on Violence"
P. J. Proudhon - "Conquest of Bread"
M. Bakunin - "The Program of the International Brotherhood"
K. O. Paetel - "National Bolshevist Manifesto"