The Annihilation of Caste by BR Ambedkar.
It's an excellent critique of Hinduism and reformist Hindus by one of the most celebrated and hated freedom fighters of India.
Ambedkar was a member of the oppressed Dalit caste who said the root of caste lay in Hinduism itself and not just a "few bad apples".
His most outspoken critic weren't the traditional orthodox upper caste Hindus but rather Mahatma Gandhi who accused him of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater".
Ambedkar was also critical of the communist/socialist parties and movements, considering them as class-reductionists. Caste, he argued, wasn't just a division of labor but of laborers themselves and caste divisions supersede any solidarity proletarians may have. The socialists weren't ready to put caste issues front and center as he demanded. Their differences have led to a massive split between the communists today and what is supposed to be their prime constituents - the hundreds of millions of oppressed Dalits, Adivasis etc.
Its a very interesting read that is extremely relevant to this day in the context of India and other Third World leftist projects.
The Essential Rosa Luxember: Reform or Revolution and The Mass Strike
Washington Bullets by Vijay Prashad. It’s all the stuff you kind of know about the CIA’s modus operandi, but summed up very plainly through a historical materialist approach
Can’t recommend it enough. Get a copy. You’ll fly through it.
Towards a New Socialism, it's such a great cure for doomerism, at least if you're interested in how a socialist economy could operate. Highly recommend it, it's free online. I'm gonna make a big writeup here when I'm done.
Health Hazard Manual for Artists, good information for anyone who creates art on a daily basis. The industry is frequently left to fend for itself safety-wise.
The Temple of My Familiar by Angela Davis. Just started it, but it’s a beautifully written book.
The Chaos Protocols by Gordon White. Chaos magick techniques to conduct oneself in late-stage capitalism
John Smith’s Imperialism in the 21st Century because I’d like to understand the present day economic realities better. I saw someone recommend it here, and it comes recommended by Vijay Prashad (and Michael Roberts), so I feel pretty confident that it’s “good”.
And indeed, it has been so far, I just got into chapter 3. It’s basically about the wildly different capital/labor situation in the Global North vs South, and the nature of the economic connections between the two.
One interesting bit for me was when he spent time talking about “arms length manufscturing” where, for example, Nike doesn’t own any factories, on paper, but has complete control over nominally independent factories in low-wage countries.
I couldn’t help but see this as a precursor to the contractualization and “independent contractors”/gig economy bullshit that’s really taking off in the Global North.
The chickens, folks, they always come back home to roost
Have been looking into reading that, keep us updated how it is!
Democratic Socialism in Jamaica
The penultimate chapter is an accurate summary of the rest of the book and probably not worth reading beyond that. Also nothing especially new if you know about the imf in other countries already.
Animal Liberation by Peter Singer
already vegan, but man is it shocking to see more evidence of cognitive dissonance
so far just providing an ethical/philosophical framework for veganism
Took a break from a bigger slog to blitz through Capitalist Realism in one night over a couple beers. I have a couple criticisms but overall a very interesting text.
