Not trying to diss the Manifesto but I never recommend it to people to read first. Everyone who I’ve met who isn’t a Comrade and only read the Manifesto always walk away saying the same shit about how it’s “a great idea but not realistic and there’s no real plan” blah blah or they just straight up say it’s dumb because it isn’t serious.
I think Principles of Communism is great as a real beginner FAQ and Socialism: Utopian and Scientific to dispel most of the “unrealistic” attacks. Stalin’s Dialectical and Historical Materialism is even better if they already read analytical works generally.
You have a lot more experience actually creating reading lists and guides though, just sharing what I’ve noticed.
Yep, fully agreed! I don’t even have the manifesto on my intro list, if you’ve seen it, and I’m debating adding Stalin’s Foundations of Leninism, or Dialectical and Historical Materialism. It’s going through a bit of a refresh right now.
Not trying to diss the Manifesto but I never recommend it to people to read first. Everyone who I’ve met who isn’t a Comrade and only read the Manifesto always walk away saying the same shit about how it’s “a great idea but not realistic and there’s no real plan”
I think the reason people say this, when they read the Manifesto, is that it’s so fucking dense, that it can be hard to parse. particularly if you’re a random lib who has never tried to think dialectically before. So in lieu of grappling with the text and what it’s doing (a thing that I think is best done in a reading group setting, especially for new folks), they insert thought terminating cliche’s instead.
Libs think it’s Communism 101 when it’s really a distillation of a vast amount of knowledge and experience—and it’s a specific call to action for those already deeply involved in the movement—then when they don’t immediately understand it they call it unrealistic. The fault is with the perceiver, not the perceived. The Manifesto is great if you understand all the background and context behind it. If they just wander off the street after a lifetime of only reading Harry Potter, then it’s no surprise they don’t understand it. So, I never recommend it to anyone. Anyone who I think should read it would’ve already read it by that point.
That being said, Calculus is Satanic black magic and a hoax.
Read The Fucking Manifest
I personally like The Principles of Communism more for an intro piece, but the manifesto is always great!
Not trying to diss the Manifesto but I never recommend it to people to read first. Everyone who I’ve met who isn’t a Comrade and only read the Manifesto always walk away saying the same shit about how it’s “a great idea but not realistic and there’s no real plan” blah blah or they just straight up say it’s dumb because it isn’t serious.
I think Principles of Communism is great as a real beginner FAQ and Socialism: Utopian and Scientific to dispel most of the “unrealistic” attacks. Stalin’s Dialectical and Historical Materialism is even better if they already read analytical works generally.
You have a lot more experience actually creating reading lists and guides though, just sharing what I’ve noticed.
Yep, fully agreed! I don’t even have the manifesto on my intro list, if you’ve seen it, and I’m debating adding Stalin’s Foundations of Leninism, or Dialectical and Historical Materialism. It’s going through a bit of a refresh right now.
Nice, good luck with the refresh!
You know, I’ve never even read Foundations of Leninism. I’m going to put that on my own list. Thanks!
No problem! FoL is a nice refresher, and a great intro IMO, so it’s all stuff you likely have already read before but still worthwhile.
I think the reason people say this, when they read the Manifesto, is that it’s so fucking dense, that it can be hard to parse. particularly if you’re a random lib who has never tried to think dialectically before. So in lieu of grappling with the text and what it’s doing (a thing that I think is best done in a reading group setting, especially for new folks), they insert thought terminating cliche’s instead.
Oh, I completely agree!
Libs think it’s Communism 101 when it’s really a distillation of a vast amount of knowledge and experience—and it’s a specific call to action for those already deeply involved in the movement—then when they don’t immediately understand it they call it unrealistic. The fault is with the perceiver, not the perceived. The Manifesto is great if you understand all the background and context behind it. If they just wander off the street after a lifetime of only reading Harry Potter, then it’s no surprise they don’t understand it. So, I never recommend it to anyone. Anyone who I think should read it would’ve already read it by that point.
That being said, Calculus is Satanic black magic and a hoax.