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pointing my curious friend to communist resources (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 4 months ago by surjomukhi@lemmygrad.ml to c/asklemmygrad@lemmygrad.ml

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Hi, I have a friend who has shown interest in leftist politics, especially Communism, they often discuss these topics with me as I have a bit of knowledge about them. We discussed about Israel-Palestine, Cuba, China, october revolution etc. Good thing is they do not hold prejudices against these movements and genuinely want to learn. Is there any compiled list of resources for baby leftists that I can share with them? Thank you

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[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Others have given great recommendations for what your friend should look into, so i will just add one thing that you definitely shouldn't suggest to them which is reading Das Kapital. That is an almost guaranteed recipe for someone to lose interest in socialism because of how long, technical and (for a newbie) boring of a work it is, despite its enormous, crucial importance to socialist theory. Literally anything else would be better.

Edit: Ok, since nobody has mentioned this i will also add that if your friend is interested in history it can be very interesting to read contemporary accounts such as "Ten Days That Shook The World" about the October Revolution. Or literally anything by Anna Louise Strong. I cannot recommend her enough to beginners as her writing style is very accessible. This is not socialist theory though, it's history. For beginner theory definitely refer to the reading recommendations in the other responses.

[–] surjomukhi@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

one thing that you definitely shouldn't suggest to them which is reading Das Kapital

Agree, it's not for beginners.

Thank you for recommending Anna Louise Strong. I will look into her works as well since i like history too.

[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Start with "When Serfs Stood Up in Tibet". It sounds counter-intuitive to start with such a late work of hers on a relatively niche topic, but you can read about the Soviet Union, Stalin, Mao, etc. elsewhere too, whereas When Serfs Stood Up is really unique in that it was the first firsthand western account of Tibet right in the immediate aftermath of its liberation, and it showcases a lot about how communists should strive to approach building a new society.