~~A few days late because various IRL things, but I’ll edit this comment later once I’ve gone through the chapter~~ Just finished the intro as well as chapter 1.

There something about the section which talks about how "the mind of our people is changing so fast under the conditions of socialism, that it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to speak with the rest of the world." which gives an immense amount of optimism. Though I'm aware of the folly of the "human nature" argument, pessimism can still start to wear on me if I don't keep in mind how quickly that "nature" can change with a different, less exploitative system.

It also reminds me of that one quote from Omar El Akkad that focuses on how much capitalism is changing the hearts and minds of those in the west.

"It is an admirable thing, in a politics possessed of a moral floor, to believe one can change the system from the inside, that with enough respectful prodding the establishment can be made to bend, like that famous arc, toward justice. But when, after decades of such thinking, decades of respectful prodding, the condition one arrives at is reticent acceptance of genocide, is it not at least worth considering that you are not changing the system nearly as much as the system is changing you?"

I love how easy to digest these concepts are (though I guess the real test of this would be on someone who isn't already familiar with marxism), so maybe I'll be suggesting this book to my friends who are "revolutionarily curious". Excited to read more!