Is there a proposed "curriculum" or can someone recommend something like that? Basically I'm looking to see if there's a recommended list of theory books ordered in a way that would be intended to go from one to the next? I downloaded the Mega file of theory and I'm familiar with some archive sites of books/essays. But I find I'm at kind of a loss on where to start. Sometimes the author is responding to a previously written work, and sometimes I start something where it feels like I missed a prerequisite book.
It doesn't help that I don't have great reading comprehension and definitely struggle with 1800s English language terms. I'm aware that there's a lot of variety in theory and thought within "the left" but I'm having a really tough time navigating it.
Sorry for the lib framework of this question, any help is greatly appreciated!
Honestly the order of theory I'd recommend would depend on the background you have. Regardless, I just posted a list the other day, and I've reordered it in the way I'd suggest it.
Principles of Communism - A good intro for the unfamiliar to the base concepts.
Cleansing of red-scare propaganda, if already done, feel free to skip: Blackshirts & Reds - Looking at the 20th century from a Marxist-Leninist perspective, revisiting American anti-communism
Socialism: Utopian & Scientific - A great introduction into socialist theory, and the difference between the utopian socialisms and scientific socialisms. Most importantly, details and explains dialectical materialism. This text is incredibly important as it sets up the program of a large majority of the following texts.
The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State - Really does well to show just how deeply our productive social relations define our personal social relations and the norms that we abide by.
Communist Manifesto - A timeless short pamphlet that still does well to outline Marxist thought to this day.
Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism - A thorough analysis of capitalism’s evolution with regards to imperialism and the condensing of operations into monopolies. Capitalism has since evolved, but this will give you a very good understanding of Marxist philosophy with regards to capitalism and its many forms.
State and Rev - The seminal text for any Marxist Leninist. Opinions on this text will likely determine which branch of leftist thought that you fall into.
Wretched of the Earth - An analysis of revolutionary potential of settler colonial societies, really hammers home the fact that class is merely a portion of the current hegemony, and that settler colonialism and race are just as important to the contradictions as they stand
Settlers - A detailed history of settler colonialism and the unbelievable crimes Europe has committed upon the rest of the world (much like Wretched of the Earth)
Awesome this is great. Thank you. My background growing up was pretty apolitical. I mean I cared about the environment and didn't think that gay people or racial minorities were subhuman so I guess I was somewhat left. Then in college I got sucked into libertarianism for some time because I liked guns and smoking weed and "the two party system didn't work for me". I kind of bordered eco fascism for a minute when I was big into peak oil and just kind of figured we'd all die a horrible fiery death if we didn't take drastic measures to reduce global population. Then after 2016 election I decided I should get more involved with politics and had probably a 3 month peak lib moment where I religiously listened to Pod Save America and their other shows. Then I started to shift left more through actual left podcasts to where I'm at now.
Which is basically to say I took a long and windy road and am still just a lib
Lmao you just described my path almost exactly. As such, I think you'll really enjoy the list, let me know if you'd like any more recommendations. Welcome to the site!
Haha that's great. I figured I couldn't be alone in that regard. Sounds good though I'll definitely let you know, just gotta start reading. Thanks!