edit: this is now closed future comments won’t be counted

I keep seeing this instance is overrun with tankies so hey, lets do an informal survey like I’ve seen on hexbear

respond with YES or NO in the first line of your comment and i’ll tally everything in a couple of days, lets say I’ll try and collect everything on the sunday the 9th (10+gmt sorry)

not sure thisll work, be nice, have fun

  • Binette
    12·
    16 days ago

    I never got called a tankie, so idk about that.

    Then again, I rarely participate in political discussions that I don’t know about. I try to read as much as possible to get an idea, but I never go in dept, like read sources.

    I’m going to go to uni soon. I’ll try to spend more time into learning history properly.

    • Nakoichi [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
      14·
      16 days ago

      Then again, I rarely participate in political discussions that I don’t know about.

      If only more people thought or behaved this way. You’re on the right track then. For me my first foray into serious geo-politics was when I wrote a paper on Iran-Contra for a sociology course which also led me to diving into the history of Iran’s conflicts with the west, and from there I started trying to unravel the confusing mess that western sources try to make Palestine seem like, only to finally come to the (correct) conclusion that the only answer to any of these problems is for the US and all it’s colonial projects be dismantled as soon as possible.

      Then when gamergate happened and a whole new generations of kids started getting radicalized by mask off fascists I came to another (also correct) conclusion: The only people truly ready and willing to fight fascists were anarchists and communists and that’s how I ended up on the old Chapo subreddit and then here.

      The folks around here are extremely knowledgeable and you will learn a hell of a lot through osmosis but eventually you’ll want to read some of this stuff yourself. In addition to what @Dessalines@lemmy.ml gave you I also recommend Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid A Factor Of Evolution which is not Marxist per se, but a great refutation of the “muh human nature means communism doesn’t work” thought terminating cliche.

      Finally I would recommend bumping State and Revolution up the que in that list just because it is such a fuckin banger and isn’t long. The opening passage roped me right in:

      What is now happening to Marx’s theory has, in the course of history, happened repeatedly to the theories of revolutionary thinkers and leaders of oppressed classes fighting for emancipation. During the lifetime of great revolutionaries, the oppressing classes constantly hounded them, received their theories with the most savage malice, the most furious hatred and the most unscrupulous campaigns of lies and slander. After their death, attempts are made to convert them into harmless icons, to canonize them, so to say, and to hallow their names to a certain extent for the “consolation” of the oppressed classes and with the object of duping the latter, while at the same time robbing the revolutionary theory of its substance, blunting its revolutionary edge and vulgarizing it. Today, the bourgeoisie and the opportunists within the labor movement concur in this doctoring of Marxism. They omit, obscure, or distort the revolutionary side of this theory, its revolutionary soul. They push to the foreground and extol what is or seems acceptable to the bourgeoisie. All the social-chauvinists are now “Marxists” (don’t laugh!). And more and more frequently German bourgeois scholars, only yesterday specialists in the annihilation of Marxism, are speaking of the “national-German” Marx, who, they claim, educated the labor unions which are so splendidly organized for the purpose of waging a predatory war!

      When I first read that I was like “Oh shit he predicted what happened to MLK Malcolm X and Fred Hampton all the way back in 1917” leo-point

      • Binette
        9·
        16 days ago

        I dont know a lot of things that you’re talking about, but I promise I’ll read the texts that you mentioned to try to understand 👍

        I’m so happy I avoided gamergate because I was too much into splatoon lmao. The community there was really friendly.

        • Nakoichi [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
          13·
          16 days ago

          oh yeah almost forgot to tell you to check out Marx Madness. They’ve done full reads of a lot of foundational texts and they offer it up in podcast/book club format where they read and discuss each work. https://podtail.com/en/podcast/marx-madness/

          And this here is a collection of introductory works as well as some absolutely essential works on decolonial Marxism assembled by Chunka Luta Network with some free audio books as well. https://mega.nz/folder/cuMwjRyK#eDPayQSdYFwaCh9qr8zzPw

          For a good history book I cannot recommend Palo Alto by Malcolm Harris enough. We have the full audiobook on there.

    • Cowbee
      104·
      16 days ago

      Good!

      Let me know if you want some basic Marxist recommendations.

      • Binette
        9·
        16 days ago

        I was thinking of diving head first into das kapital. I’m not sure if 3 courses of philosophy are enough. I was going to ask my philosophy teacher about it, but I’m a bit scared to ask haha.

        I would be glad to get some recommendations though.

        • DessalinesA
          153·
          16 days ago

          I def recommend against starting with das kapital, at least until the advanced / intermediate stages. Its a slog, and not really the best introduction.

          Here’s a Marxism study plan, with a good number of audiobooks / audiobook torrents for them.

        • Cowbee
          122·
          16 days ago

          You can absolutely do that, but it may be extremely difficult.

          I would personally recommend starting with The Principles of Communism and then following it up with How Marxism Works. Then, you can dive into Wage Labor and Capital and Value, Price, and Profit.

          With the easy overviews of Marxism as a whole, and the Marxist critique of Capitalism out of the way, I would go to Socialism: Utopian and Scientific for philosophy, and Critique of the Gotha Programme for Marx’s vision of what Socialism may look like. Read the Communist Manifesto now, where you have the background knowledge to fully understand the text and appreciate its fire.

          Optionally, add Lenin here. Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism explains how Capitalism has grown since Marx, using ideas laid out by Marx but not fully observable until Lenin. I would say this is actually the most important work for understanding Modern Capitalism, but since it builds on Marx, it’s important to read this one after Marx. The State and Revolution is Lenin’s other major work, and it goes over the strategy used during the Russian Revolution. Important for historical context, even if you disagree with Lenin here.

          All of this combined is, I believe, shorter than 1 full volume of Capital.

          Hope that helps!

          • Binette
            11·
            16 days ago

            Thanks a lot for taking your time to send me all of that. It always shocks me how much all of you know so much about several texts and all.

            I’ll try my best to read through all of this.

            • Cowbee
              111·
              16 days ago

              Imma be honest chief, I’m just a nerd for Socialism and Communism. That’s really it, haha.

              Let me know if you have any questions!