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Mayor Dave
Feb 20, 2009

Bernie the Snow Clown
reading list from McCaine, reposted from C-SPAM's favorite tankie:

McCaine, by way of Homework Explainer posted:
this isn't the complete list (found here). i removed most of the non-essentials and some of the essentials, too. because sadly, we can't all be academics.

i'll put a next to the really really important stuff so you know what's a Top Pick from your old pal, the homework explainer

as far as "what should be read first," i would start with the basics i.e. marx and engels. go for the manifesto then maybe socialism utopian or scientific, then have at whatever. i started closer readings of marxist texts on the subjects most interesting to me, namely film, theater and literature and have since moved into histories and revolutionary theory. there isn't a "right path" for reading or texts and nobody but the most vulgar of dorks will look down on you for not having read something, because no one and i mean no one has read all this stuff.



A Very Personal Communist Bibliography

Works by Marx and Engels
The Condition of the Working Class in England (Friedrich Engels) – Classic of Engels; early political economy, lively description of, well, the condition of the working class in Manchester and elsewhere in 1844.
The German Ideology & Theses on Feuerbach (Marx/Engels) – Don't originally belong together but are often combined. First "Marxist" book, programmatic statement of historical materialism.
Manifesto of the Communist Party (Marx/ Engels) – Needs no introduction.
Preface to a Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy (Karl Marx) – Very brief, abstract, but famous summary of historical materialism. Only half a page.
Capital (3 vols) (Karl Marx) – Get the Penguin editions. Marx's critique of political economy.
Socialism: Utopian or Scientific? (Friedrich Engels) – A summary of the Anti-Dόhring, classic statement of the significance of scientific socialism.
The Civil War in France (Karl Marx) – Marx's interpretation of the Paris Commune.
Critique of the Gotha Programme (Karl Marx) – Programmatic statement of the differences between Marx and Engels' views and those of state-oriented (left) social-democrats.
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (Karl Marx) – Not as essential perhaps, but a classic of Marx's own history-writing, and thereby an example of what he and Engels considered good political history. Many memorable quotes.
The Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State (Friedrich Engels) – An anthropological, historical materialist view of the early societies and the origins of the various structures of oppression and exploitation out of them. Perhaps the first feminist ideas in Marxism also.
Grundrisse (Karl Marx) – Again, get the Penguin edition. Marx's drafts, notes, and outtakes for Capital, as well as various musings on technology, political economy, labour, and so forth. Essential for the deeper level grounding.
Political Works by major Marxist politicians and secondary literature on the thought of major Marxist politicians
The Essential Works of Lenin (Lenin; ed. Henry Christman) – Cheap Dover edition of Lenin's main works in their standard English translations. Includes "The Development of Capitalism in Russia;" "What is to be Done?;" "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism;" "State and Revolution." These are Lenin's canonically major theoretical publications on political topics in his own lifetime.
On Practice and Contradiction (Mao Zedong; ed. Slavoj Zizek) – Mao's two main early texts on his theory of contradictions and their resolution in political practice. See also "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People" and Combat Liberalism. and here's a Homework Explainer Top Tip: don't read zizek's introduction to the texts if you opt for this edition. it'll gently caress up your understanding of mao big time!
Selections from the Prison Notebooks (Antonio Gramsci) – Selection of Gramsci's ideas on hegemony, ideological struggle, politics, etc.
The Black Panthers Speak (ed. Philip Foner) – Collection of the major texts of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. (note: revolutionary suicide is also cool.)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Malcolm Little; ed. Alex Haley) – Major political autobiography by a great American revolutionary.
Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder (Lenin) – Lengthy polemic, in the form of a series of thematic essays, by Lenin. Aimed against his Left Communist opponents, in particular in Germany and the Netherlands.
On Guerrilla Warfare (Mao Tse-Tung) – Mao on waging people's war. Rather abstracted and probably not of great use for most First Worlders, but still.
Thomas Sankara Speaks (Thomas Sankara; ed. Michael Prairie) – Collection of the (few) speeches and statements by Sankara, revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso, on anti-imperialism and the like.
it's not on the original list, but i'd also recommend "on the opposition" and "anarchism or socialism?" by one j.v. stalin.
Marxist (and other useful) political economy, history of economics, and the like
The Limits to Capital (David Harvey) – Lengthy analysis of the nature of capital and capitalism based on Marx's "Capital," with a particular focus on uneven development and geographical distribution.
A Companion to Marx's Capital (David Harvey) – Based on his YouTube lectures, a guide to the reading of Capital, mainly vol. 1. Strong on the conceptual structure of the book and the contradictions inherent in capitalist accumulation, including money and finance, but not as good a guide on value theory.
Debt: The First 5000 Years (David Graeber) – Anarchist anthropologist Graeber's magnum opus on debt, money, obligation, and the history of economic institutions. Rewards a careful and critical reading. Not a Marxist text and by no means wholly reliable, but very stimulating and original, destined to be a classic.
Reclaiming Marx's Capital (Andrew Kliman) – Important, if technical, work on Marx's value theory. Refutes 99% of all the objections to it you'll ever hear or read.
History, historiography, etc., except of topics specified elsewhere
Late Victorian Holocausts (Mike Davis) – A provocative title, but don't let that put you off. Brilliantly puts the liberal political economy of 19th and early 20th century imperialism and colonialism in context, shows its murderous implications many times worse than the "monsters" of communism, and relates all this to the emerging science of systems theory besides. Will make you hate economic liberalism, however nice sounding, forever.
Settlers: Mythology of the White Proletariat (J. Sakai) – Essential classic of Third Worldist theory and the Marxist theory of settlerism. Not reliable on every detail, but a revolutionary work in every sense of the word.
Labour Aristocracy: Mass Base of Social-Democracy (H.W. Edwards) – Another major text of the Third Worldist viewpoint. Makes the crucial argument for the origins and nature of social-democracy as arising out of imperialist rent.
Age of Revolution 1789-1848, Age of Capital 1848-1875, Age of Empire 1875-1914 and Age of Extremes 1914-1989 (Eric Hobsbawm) – Perhaps the authoritative Marxist history of the modern age in four successive parts. An essential reference point for debates in Marxist interpretation of the recent past.
Open Veins of Latin America (Eduardo Galeano) – Essential reading on the colonization and underdevelopment of Latin America.
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Ilan Pappι) – Not Marxist per se, but a standard work on the origins and nature of the settler state Israel and their oppression and exclusion of the Palestinians, with of course major repercussions in global politics.
King Leopold's Ghost (Adam Hochschild) – Popular anti-imperialist history of Belgian colonialism and the colonial debates.
Philosophy and Theory
Aesthetics and Politics (Adorno, Benjamin, Bloch, Brecht, and Lukαcs) - Great Verso collection of the debates between these major Marxist philosophers before the war on aesthetic and political topics.
The Dialectic of Enlightenment (Adorno and Horkheimer) - Fundamental text of the Frankfurter Schule: reflections on fascism, liberalism, and technology in the wake of the Holocaust.
The Society of the Spectacle (Guy Debord) – Perhaps the central text of the Situationist movement and in some ways the most serious theoretical reflection on the worldview of 1968 (it was written in 1967). See also Comments on the Society of the Spectacle, though this is not as interesting.
Orientalism and Culture and Imperialism (Edward Said) – Not at all Marxist, but obligatory classics on understanding Eurocentrism and orientalism in culture and ideology at a conceptual level.
Postmodernism: The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (Fredric Jameson) – Difficult, but rewarding classic on postmodern culture from a Marxist viewpoint.
Jean-Paul Sartre: Basic Writings (Jean-Paul Sartre; ed. Stephen Priest) – The father of Marxist existentialism on freedom, art, politics, etc.
Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays (Louis Althusser) – Can't stand him personally (note: smdh), but by many Althusser is considered a major figure in postwar Marxist history and philosophy.
Liberalism: A Counter-History (Domenico Losurdo) - Excellent historical analysis of liberal thought from a Marxist perspective, showing its essence, strengths, and limitations.
Illuminations: Essays and Reflections (Walter Benjamin; ed. Hannah Arendt) – Selection from the best essays by the great messianic Marxist thinker Benjamin, including his essential pieces “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” and “Theses on the Philosophy of History." Top Tip: you only really need to read the two named essays, which i . namaste.
The Wretched of the Earth (Frantz Fanon) – Classic statement of anti-colonial Marxism, on the need for revolutionary violence against colonialism, etc. See also "A Dying Colonialism."
Black Skin, White Masks (Frantz Fanon) – Fanon on racism and the psychology of colonialism.
On the USSR
Farm to Factory (Robert C. Allen) – Brilliant work by a major liberal economic historian demonstrating the enormous superiority of the Soviet planning policies of the 1920s and 1930s, up to Khrushchev's time, compared to any realistic alternative. Will shock your worldview if you're used to the Western portrayal of Soviet economic policy as hopeless from the start.
Ten Days That Shook the World (John Reed) – The canonical novelization of the experience of the Russian Revolution.
not on the original list, but "is the red flag flying?" and "human rights in the ussr" by al szymanski and "socialism betrayed" by roger keeran and thomas kenny are also what i'd consider essentials.
On China and Korea
The Transformation of Chinese Socialism (Lin Chun) – Great book on the attempts to build socialism, development, and national unity in the Maoist period, and the changed aims and methods in how these are dealt with in the Deng period and since.
The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World Economy (Li Minqi) – Marxisant world systems analysis of the rise of capitalist China and how this not only reorients the world system towards Asia, but also further contributes to the decline in the rate of profit and thereby forces capitalism to the limits of its ability to expand.
Fanshen and Shenfan (William Hinton) – In-depth, personal chronicle of the transformation of a Chinese village during the Maoist period and after.
Race to the Swift (Jung-En Woo) – On Korean development, and why it had everything to do with planning and imperialism and little with miracles of the market.
The Korean War (Bruce Cumings) – Progressive standard work on the forgotten war.
Red Star Over China (Edgar Snow) – Popular and readable narrative of the Communist struggle in China against the KMT, landlordism, and the Japanese in the 1930s.

Somebody fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Sep 26, 2021

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Mrit
Sep 26, 2007

by exmarx
Grimey Drawer
A US left party that isn't crazy like the Greens? Interesting.

Nix Panicus
Feb 25, 2007

Mayor Dave posted:

And Bernouts if you're not going to give up your false god, get out

No god but Bernie!

Sheng-Ji Yang
Mar 5, 2014


Mrit posted:

A US left party that isn't crazy like the Greens? Interesting.

do you consider a Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist Party working toward International Socialist Revolution in the United States less crazier than the greens?

Pener Kropoopkin
Jan 30, 2013

Sheng-ji Yang posted:

do you consider a Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist Party working toward Communist Revolution in the United States less crazier than the greens?

Is that really a question?

Bro Dad
Mar 26, 2010


Nothing says protest vote like supporting someone who legally can't be president.

Sheng-Ji Yang
Mar 5, 2014


Pener Kropoopkin posted:

Is that really a question?

i mean not really the greens are pretty loving nuts

Bro Dad posted:

Nothing says protest vote like supporting someone who legally can't be president.

but enough about ted cruz

Under the vegetable
Nov 2, 2004

by Smythe
i didnt click but are they at least nominating someone legally old enough to be president this year

shiksa
Nov 9, 2009

i went to one of these wrestling shows and it was... honestly? frickin boring. i wanna see ricky! i want to see his gold chains and respect for the ftw lifestyle

Under the vegetable posted:

i didnt click but are they at least nominating someone legally old enough to be president this year

presidential nominee jayden smith

Mayor Dave
Feb 20, 2009

Bernie the Snow Clown

Under the vegetable posted:

i didnt click but are they at least nominating someone legally old enough to be president this year

not just eligible but eminently so:

https://twitter.com/GloriaLaRiva/status/688926167265624064
https://twitter.com/GloriaLaRiva/status/687047977437794305

Mayor Dave
Feb 20, 2009

Bernie the Snow Clown
https://twitter.com/VotePSL/status/688930011710029825

i say swears online
Mar 4, 2005

edit lol

i say swears online fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Dec 28, 2020

The Saurus
Dec 3, 2006

by Smythe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bernie_Sanders_presidential_campaign_endorsements,_2016

Bernie has way more endorsements from Socialist parties who aren't lame loving hippies

also patch adams gently caress yeah

Mayor Dave
Feb 20, 2009

Bernie the Snow Clown

Aliquid posted:

Assad not a butcher? Are they in the "but Putin stands up to US imperialism!" camp?

um of course

The Saurus posted:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bernie_Sanders_presidential_campaign_endorsements,_2016

Bernie has way more endorsements from Socialist parties who aren't lame loving hippies

also patch adams gently caress yeah

see a lot of fake socialists on that list, re-education for all

The Saurus
Dec 3, 2006

by Smythe
I could see these people setting up a Narodnik on summer break from their liberal arts college

VERY COOL MAN
Jun 24, 2011

THESE PACKETS ARE... SUMMARILY DEALT WITH
why do you want me to vote for pumpkin spice latte

DOCTOR ZIMBARDO
May 8, 2006
Hell yeah, thanks for making this thread. PSL is legit. Think they're gonna get my vote and my donations this year.

Aliquid posted:

Assad not a butcher? Are they in the "but Putin stands up to US imperialism!" camp?

R. Guyovich
Dec 25, 1991

snip!

i say swears online
Mar 4, 2005


R. Guyovich
Dec 25, 1991


*nods*

DOCTOR ZIMBARDO
May 8, 2006

Thank you for your memes, hard work and good ideology, comrade

The Saurus
Dec 3, 2006

by Smythe
What's the PSL's plan to make america great again?

also where do they stand on campaign financing?

Breakfast All Day
Oct 21, 2004

i went to some psl stuff last time around. it seemed to be composed of two groups that interacted very little: one skewing young and largely focused on immediate recession relief re: immigrantion issues, employment, society building (reflected in peta lindsay); the other much older and almost the leftist version of a trumper, angry about a lot of litmus/leverage issues but unable to express them as a coherent whole or domestic platform, e.g., raving mad about the death penalty but indifferent to actionable plans for justice/prison reform or how they relate to employment, regulation of local/state governments

surprisingly few internet stalinists

i met more interesting and informed leftists at green party poo poo but unfortunately they were diluted with, well, everyone else in the green party

overall id call them Pretty lovely Leftists but given the poo poo options that seem likely i may throw my vote away on them again anyway

R. Guyovich
Dec 25, 1991

snip

Jewel Repetition
Dec 24, 2012

Ask me about Briar Rose and Chicken Chaser.
I've been waiting for this. *Cracks knuckles*

Jewel Repetition
Dec 24, 2012

Ask me about Briar Rose and Chicken Chaser.
Things I'm noticing at a glance:

- "Enivronmental racism"
- All their positions are Bernie's positions but TO THE EXTREME
- They give an incorrect figure for our military budget, and imply they want to get rid of the whole thing lol
- Yeah the president definitely has the power to change the constitution
- Dastardly capitalism creating nuclear weapons somehow
- They have "liberation" in their name, which is a word that lets you know something is bullshit, kind of like Freedom or Patriot
-

mike12345
Jul 14, 2008

"Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that. It's one of the great mysteries."





Breakfast All Day posted:

i went to some psl stuff last time around. it seemed to be composed of two groups that interacted very little: one skewing young and largely focused on immediate recession relief re: immigrantion issues, employment, society building (reflected in peta lindsay); the other much older and almost the leftist version of a trumper, angry about a lot of litmus/leverage issues but unable to express them as a coherent whole or domestic platform, e.g., raving mad about the death penalty but indifferent to actionable plans for justice/prison reform or how they relate to employment, regulation of local/state governments

surprisingly few internet stalinists

i met more interesting and informed leftists at green party poo poo but unfortunately they were diluted with, well, everyone else in the green party

overall id call them Pretty lovely Leftists but given the poo poo options that seem likely i may throw my vote away on them again anyway

Thanks for this writeup on leftists in college/university

Jewel Repetition
Dec 24, 2012

Ask me about Briar Rose and Chicken Chaser.

I can't wait to fight a socialist in the streets. I hope it's fishmech.

The Saurus
Dec 3, 2006

by Smythe
The Trumpenproletariat are the only truly revolutionary class in this great nation.

Bryter
Nov 6, 2011

but since we are small we may-
uh, we may be the losers

Jewel Repetition posted:

I can't wait to fight a socialist in the streets. I hope it's fishmech.

i'm pretty sure that purging comrade fishmech would be first order of business for any hypothetical American militant left

R. Guyovich
Dec 25, 1991

Jewel Repetition posted:

I can't wait to fight a socialist in the streets. I hope it's fishmech.

please wear your forums name prominently so i can challenge you gangs of new york-style. you might think this unfair, but *points to your post history*

Farmer Crack-Ass
Jan 2, 2001

this is me posting irl
PSL's website sucks but some skimming suggests they think Cuba is a great accomplishment

JHVH-1
Jun 28, 2002
Having pumpkin spice lattes in politics would solve everything.

Mr. Pumroy
May 20, 2001

came to make a pumpkin spice latte joke, but i got beat to it so let's just leave this image here

R. Guyovich
Dec 25, 1991

Farmer Crack-rear end posted:

PSL's website sucks but some skimming suggests they think Cuba is a great accomplishment

i agree, an actually existing socialist country providing health care, housing, employment and education to its citizens despite continuous imperialist encirclement/blockading is a massive failure. i'm sure the people who are treated by the huge numbers of cuban doctors who practice abroad feel the same way.

Carl Killer Miller
Apr 28, 2007

This is the way that it all falls.
This is how I feel,
This is what I need:


The Saurus posted:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bernie_Sanders_presidential_campaign_endorsements,_2016

Bernie has way more endorsements from Socialist parties who aren't lame loving hippies

also patch adams gently caress yeah

Patch adams is a piece of poo poo. I would rather hang out with robin williams

The Saurus
Dec 3, 2006

by Smythe

Carl Killer Miller posted:

Patch adams is a piece of poo poo. I would rather hang out with robin williams

He has a funny name and rebuked Robin williams once.

What's the PSL got? loving nothing.

DOCTOR ZIMBARDO
May 8, 2006
pretty funny to watch "bernistas" come in here to red-bait, talk poo poo about non-usamerican socialists, and wave endorsements around

R. Guyovich
Dec 25, 1991

DOCTOR ZIMBARDO posted:

pretty funny to watch "bernistas" come in here to red-bait, talk poo poo about non-usamerican socialists, and wave endorsements around

it's great to see bernie people devolve into john birchers the second any mention is made of actually existing socialism lol

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NotWearingPants
Jan 3, 2006

by Nyc_Tattoo
Nap Ghost

DOCTOR ZIMBARDO posted:

pretty funny to watch "bernistas" come in here to red-bait, talk poo poo about non-usamerican socialists, and wave endorsements around

Stupid Bernie supporters don't realize that a thread that references Bernie Sanders in the title and has an OP dedicated to Bernie Sanders is not for them!

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