After several months of hiatus, the theory discussion group will be moving from Matrix to Lemmygrad, and now you (yes, you!) can suggest texts (yes, texts!) for us to read
Requirements:
- Must be Marxist theory
- Must be reasonably short (a somewhat larger text can be divided across several weeks)
- Must not include any derogatory statements directed at rodents native to South America
Comments that suggest texts that fit these criteria will be selected based on upvotes. You can participate from any instance that’s federated with Lemmygrad.
FREE EBOOK: The Worldview and Philosophical Methodology of Marxism-Leninism
“In order to build socialism, first and foremost, we need to have socialist people who understand socialist ideology and have socialist values.”
These are the immortal words of Ho Chi Minh, who helped guide Vietnam through decades of revolution against French colonialism, Japanese fascism, and American imperialism. These words reverberate today in the classrooms of Vietnamese high schools and colleges, where students are required to study a full curriculum of socialist theory rooted in the foundational works of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
Now, for the first time, the materials used to train Vietnamese students in the core ideological system of dialectical materialism and materialist dialectics is available to the English speaking world through Luna Nguyen’s groundbreaking translation of Curriculum of the Basic Principles of Marxism-Leninism, Part 1: The Worldview and Philosophical Methodology of Marxism-Leninism for University and College Students Not Specializing in Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought. This text, originally produced by Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training for use in universities, provides a brief history of Marxism-Leninism as well as thorough explanations of the principles and laws of dialectical materialism, materialist dialectics, and the cognitive theory of dialectical materialism.
The first English edition is brought to you by Banyan House Publishing in collaboration with Iskra Books and The International Magazine. We have done our best to deliver a textbook which is highly optimized for collective training as well as self-study and for use as a companion piece for further reading. The book includes an original glossary, appendices, and illustrations and annotations by Emerican Johnson as well as a foreword by Dr. Vijay Prashad and introduction by Dr. Taimur Rahman.
This book is so foundational, I think it really should be required reading for any budding comrade. I’ve read this book once before, and would totally read it again. It does such an excellent job laying out the bedrock that is Dialectical Materialism and the Dialectic Materialist World View. This book synthesizes the philosophical concepts laid out across multiple texts by Lenin, Marx, and Engels into one body of work. Best of all, the PDF is free. This year Luna and her team should be releasing Part 2: Historical Dialectical Materialism, which I’m very excited for.
The only critique I have of this book is the incredibly long and cumbersome title, ha!
"Curriculum of the Basic Principles of Marxism-Leninism, Part 1: The Worldview and Philosophical Methodology of Marxism-Leninism "
What a mouthful.
Marxism-Leninism and Nkrumahism by Kwame Ture
How To Be A Good Communist by Liu Shaoqi
I think “The National Question” and “Inevitability of Wars Between Capitalist Countries” would be a great follow-up from “The Defeat of One’s Government”, those texts really compliment each other:
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1924/foundations-leninism/ch06.htm
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1951/economic-problems/ch07.htm
Great suggestions!
Thank you!
My top 3:
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Against Capybaras by Mao Zedong
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“I hate all South American rodents” by V.I. Lenin
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Anti-Duering by Engels (serious)
I have to say #2 is a very slept on work, he goes on to contrast them with the Proletarian spirit of the bever
you’re on thin ice
Im just Paraphrasing Lennin, take it up with him
I prefer his later self-critical work “Uphold Capybaras!”
Xi Jinping’s view on Socialism with Capybara Characteristics is a banger too
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The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon
The Defeat of One’s Own Government in the Imperialist War?
It may become relevant to a lot of us pretty soon.
Great recommendation! It is already relevant to those of us who live in Europe and the US. Our governments are already involved in an imperialist proxy war which we should do everything we can to make sure they lose.
I would add “On Protracted War”, even though it was already chosen a while back, as they work together very well. Haven’t read the earlier “On Guerrilla Warfare” but sounds cool too.
How To Be A Good Communist by Liu Shaoqi!
I would be curious to read some marxist feminist texts. I’ve read Make Way for Winged Eros by Kollontai before by chance and thought it was interesting
can someone make some suggestions? I’m not insisting on them for the reading group necessarily
Combahee River Collective and Brixton Black Women’s Group manifestos are great:
https://americanstudies.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Keyword Coalition_Readings.pdf
Betty Millard is good, but maybe a bit too long
The ABC of Communism - Nikolai Bukharin, Yevgeni Preobrazhensky
The red and the green the rise and fall of collectivized agriculture in Marxist regimes / Frederic L. Pryor
Reform or Revolution, Rosa Luxemburg A really good introductory text and one I recommend to anyone just getting into left wing thought.
If I can pitch a shorter work, it would be Jones Manoel’s Western Marxism Loves Purity and Martyrdom, But Not Real Revolution
Strategy for a Black Agenda by Henry Winston, to note one that might be more controversial.
