I was a far-right lunatic until about 2009, when I started turning left. I have read many (center-)leftist articles from Jacobin, Common Dreams, The Guardian, and, from Brazil, Carta Capital and IHU (Catholic liberation theology).

Lemmy (despite my suboptimal instance) and communist friends got me interested in actual Marxism, but I have not yet really studied it. So please recommend:

  • The best Marxist Lemmy instance for my background.
  • Marxist books or videos in approximate reading/watching order. For the next many months (I suspect six months) I will have very little time, though.

Bonus:

  • reasonable tolerance of Catholic faith and individual morality
  • contextualized on Brazil, Cuba, broader Latin America or China

Background: Brazilian Catholic male autistic ADHD IT analyst with an electronic engineering degree and MsC in computer science. I have a son with my wife. I highly value privacy and software freedom. I read English well, but Spanish quite poorly. Native Portuguese speaker.

EDIT: I got a lemmygrad account. I am still processing the other recommendations.

  • Cowbee [he/they]
    7·
    2 days ago

    Like I already said, the New Deal was only possible because there was revolutionary pressure within, and a recent successful revolution outside to learn from. Where are these in the next US election? If you can’t point to them, then you don’t have a point at all.

    • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
      26·
      2 days ago

      So we agree. The New Deal changed people’s lives without needing an actual revolution.

      Thanks for helping me prove my point.

      I have been having this same argument with people since I was in high school. I’ve seen plenty of elections come and go, and not one revoultion in over 20 years.

      I’ll stick with the thing I can see, and leave it to you to dream your dreams.

      Good-bye.

      • Cowbee [he/they]
        5·
        2 days ago

        It needed revolutionary pressure from within, and an external revolution to serve as example. Without each, there have been no real mass concessions. You have seen no revolutions, but also no concessions, and when faced with the reasoning you say it’s better to not understand. That does make sense if you’ve been making this same false argument for 2 decades though, if you never attempt to understand anything why would you ever learn?

        • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
          12·
          2 days ago

          and when faced with the reasoning you say it’s better to not understand.

          If you’re going to try and put words in my mouth, please serve them with guacamole and chips.

          Good-bye

          • Cowbee [he/they]
            4·
            2 days ago

            You specifically railed against theory, explaning and understanding, what else could you have meant?

              • Cowbee [he/they]
                3·
                1 day ago

                Twist them yourself. What do you think theory even is? Theory is an attempt to better understand our present conditions and figure out the correct course of action with that in mind, and must be married to practice. It’s like the scientific method. By rejecting theory, you reject analysis of conditions and strategic actions, which is why you either don’t know what theory is, or are railing against understanding and strategy. Simple.

                • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
                  11·
                  1 day ago

                  figure out the correct course of action with that in mind, and must be married to practice.

                  So, you’re saying I’m right? That we should go out and find the actual best candidates in the next elections and work for them.

                  Thanks for proving me right. Again.

                  • Cowbee [he/they]
                    3·
                    1 day ago

                    The best candidate last time was Claudia De La Crúz, but as we all know she lost and Trump won. Electoralism can’t be allowed to actually change anything, the mover and shaker is working class organization. Without an organized working class, elections can’t change anything, and theory helps us understand why that is and how to best go about that.

                    The reason theory is important is because it highlights that nothing can change without working class organization, and therefore putting electoralism in the primary you won’t succeed at all, as has been proven over the centuries. Revolution on the other hand does work, and continues to do so.