Prefacing this by saying that I used to be an anarchist, but after reading theory my ideology evolved.
Listening to podcasts and watching youtube videos is a good way to understand the basics of revolutionary ideas, but nothing can compare to actually reading theory. I can also have a short attention span sometimes, and I often find myself counting pages until I can finally put the book down. Reading theory may not be enjoyable, but all of us have a duty as leftists to educate ourselves as much as possible; which mainly involves reading.
The best way I've found to absorb revolutionary literature is by interacting with the text through annotating. Sitting down and reading 2 chapters before bed is a good idea, but after a certain amount of paragraphs your eyes glaze over and you're no longer comprehending what you're reading. If you finish a work without truly understanding it, you've wasted your time. Instead of just reading, annotate the work like you were forced to do in school. Annotating doesn't just mean highlighting random shit - it means you have a conversation with the text, relating it to other ideas.
You can recap what you just read into simpler words, write down definitions of words you didn't know, comment on what the author's saying, relate it to something else you've read or something in your own life, or emphasize something as important. Taking it slow and making sure you understand each paragraph before moving on may seem like you're reading at a glacial pace, and you are. I'm a fast reader normally, but when it comes to reading theory I really like to take my time.
I'm reminded of this quote by Angela Davis on reading Lenin with her comrades in the Black Panther Party:
If I still retained any of the elitism which almost inevitably insinuates itself into the minds of college students, I lost it all in the course of Panther political education sessions. When we read Lenin's State and Revolution, there were sisters and brothers in the class whose public school education had not even allowed them to learn how to read. Some of them told me how they had stayed with the book for many painful hours, often using the dictionary to discover the meaning of scores of words on one page, until finally they could grasp the significance of what Lenin was saying. When they explained, for the benefit of other members of the class, what they had gotten out of their reading, it was clear they knew it all--they had understood Lenin on a far more elemental level than any professor of social sciences
If people who didn't even learn how to read can work through theory, you can too. It's going to take persistence, and I'm not saying it's going to be fun or easy, but it's extremely important that you do so.
Yeah, no worries. My job is decently rigorous, but I'm still not working on extremely mentally taxing things. Even then, I usually just relax after work. Sometimes I can get half an hour of reading in, but after having my surplus labor value exploited all day I feel burned out and just want to relax.
As far as shorter form stuff, someone posted their leftist RSS feed here a few days ago. If you didn't know, RSS is like a news aggregator, so you get a bunch of news and updates all in one place. If you're looking for short things to read during the week, I'd recommend something like that. For a really short read, Smedley Butler's pamphlet "War is a Racket" is a really short read, and especially potent coming from a US General.
If you're working towards a scientific degree, Engel's "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific" is a great explanation of why Marxists hold the beliefs they do, and examines the marxist view of socialism as a science. It's also only like 100-150 pages or so.
For stuff to watch, Michael Parenti's talks on youtube are absolutely fantastic. He's a super talented speaker, and a really good political analyst.
My original response was based on a quick reading of your question, since a lot of anarchists and newer leftists have a difficult time working through theory. Not to get into sectarianism, but the reason you see a lot of people (myself included) mention that they are former anarchists is because once you start reading more theory, you start to get a better understanding of Marxism and therefore Marxism-Leninism. The most common path to becoming a ML involves being an anarchist at some point.
Good luck in your reading comrade! (also nice username btw)
After you finish Socialism, I honestly can't recommend Lenin's "State and Revolution" enough. If you're kind of confused why MLs support a transitionary socialist state despite the authoritarian nature of state power, Lenin clearly explains why and how the revolution must be conducted. What's really cool about State and Rev is that a few years after writing it, Lenin proved his hypothesis during the October Revolution.
That book is what turned me, and many others, from anarchists into Marxists. I don't want to say too much, because you should absolutely read it yourself, but it's a fantastic read. There's a reason it's considered the cornerstone of modern socialism, and basically every reading list on socialism lists it near the top.
ayyy yeah, I talked to him on reddit a while ago mentioning this site to him before it launched. That video is fucking fantastic, it's hilarious and well-sourced.
Prefacing this by saying that I used to be an anarchist, but after reading theory my ideology evolved.
Listening to podcasts and watching youtube videos is a good way to understand the basics of revolutionary ideas, but nothing can compare to actually reading theory. I can also have a short attention span sometimes, and I often find myself counting pages until I can finally put the book down. Reading theory may not be enjoyable, but all of us have a duty as leftists to educate ourselves as much as possible; which mainly involves reading.
The best way I've found to absorb revolutionary literature is by interacting with the text through annotating. Sitting down and reading 2 chapters before bed is a good idea, but after a certain amount of paragraphs your eyes glaze over and you're no longer comprehending what you're reading. If you finish a work without truly understanding it, you've wasted your time. Instead of just reading, annotate the work like you were forced to do in school. Annotating doesn't just mean highlighting random shit - it means you have a conversation with the text, relating it to other ideas.
You can recap what you just read into simpler words, write down definitions of words you didn't know, comment on what the author's saying, relate it to something else you've read or something in your own life, or emphasize something as important. Taking it slow and making sure you understand each paragraph before moving on may seem like you're reading at a glacial pace, and you are. I'm a fast reader normally, but when it comes to reading theory I really like to take my time.
I'm reminded of this quote by Angela Davis on reading Lenin with her comrades in the Black Panther Party:
If people who didn't even learn how to read can work through theory, you can too. It's going to take persistence, and I'm not saying it's going to be fun or easy, but it's extremely important that you do so.
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Yeah, no worries. My job is decently rigorous, but I'm still not working on extremely mentally taxing things. Even then, I usually just relax after work. Sometimes I can get half an hour of reading in, but after having my surplus labor value exploited all day I feel burned out and just want to relax.
As far as shorter form stuff, someone posted their leftist RSS feed here a few days ago. If you didn't know, RSS is like a news aggregator, so you get a bunch of news and updates all in one place. If you're looking for short things to read during the week, I'd recommend something like that. For a really short read, Smedley Butler's pamphlet "War is a Racket" is a really short read, and especially potent coming from a US General.
If you're working towards a scientific degree, Engel's "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific" is a great explanation of why Marxists hold the beliefs they do, and examines the marxist view of socialism as a science. It's also only like 100-150 pages or so.
For stuff to watch, Michael Parenti's talks on youtube are absolutely fantastic. He's a super talented speaker, and a really good political analyst.
My original response was based on a quick reading of your question, since a lot of anarchists and newer leftists have a difficult time working through theory. Not to get into sectarianism, but the reason you see a lot of people (myself included) mention that they are former anarchists is because once you start reading more theory, you start to get a better understanding of Marxism and therefore Marxism-Leninism. The most common path to becoming a ML involves being an anarchist at some point.
Good luck in your reading comrade! (also nice username btw)
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After you finish Socialism, I honestly can't recommend Lenin's "State and Revolution" enough. If you're kind of confused why MLs support a transitionary socialist state despite the authoritarian nature of state power, Lenin clearly explains why and how the revolution must be conducted. What's really cool about State and Rev is that a few years after writing it, Lenin proved his hypothesis during the October Revolution.
That book is what turned me, and many others, from anarchists into Marxists. I don't want to say too much, because you should absolutely read it yourself, but it's a fantastic read. There's a reason it's considered the cornerstone of modern socialism, and basically every reading list on socialism lists it near the top.
deleted by creator
ayyy yeah, I talked to him on reddit a while ago mentioning this site to him before it launched. That video is fucking fantastic, it's hilarious and well-sourced.