Depends on who we’re talking to. For Anarchists, On Authority by Friedrich Engels since it provides a useful argument in favor of less decentralization. The principles of decentralization and anarchism are good, but I’d argue that dogmatically pursuing only decentralization isn’t necessarily productive. State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin is another good one in this case.
For propagandized Western anti-communists, Principles of Communism by Friedrich Engels is useful since it shatters many of the myths and more generally describes communism.
For baby leftists: State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin, What is to be Done by Vladimir Lenin, etc.
For burgeoning leftists, Capital by Karl Marx, “Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State,” by Friedrich Engels etc.
Edit: Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti is excellent for all leftists and Anarchists as well since it does such a good job of setting the historical and materialist context to previous and current attempts at socialism.
Could you provide the author’s names so that it’s easier to find exactly which book you’re talking about ? Some titles are not unique references I think.
I might look for some of these.
This is not the place to debate the merits of anarchism itself. While discussion is encouraged, getting in your “epic dunks on the anarkiddies” is not. As a result of the instance’s poor moderation policies and hostility toward anarchists by default, lemmygrad users are encouraged not to post here, though not explicitly disallowed if they aren’t just looking to start a fight.
Depends on who we’re talking to. For Anarchists, On Authority by Friedrich Engels since it provides a useful argument in favor of less decentralization. The principles of decentralization and anarchism are good, but I’d argue that dogmatically pursuing only decentralization isn’t necessarily productive. State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin is another good one in this case.
For propagandized Western anti-communists, Principles of Communism by Friedrich Engels is useful since it shatters many of the myths and more generally describes communism.
For baby leftists: State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin, What is to be Done by Vladimir Lenin, etc.
For burgeoning leftists, Capital by Karl Marx, “Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State,” by Friedrich Engels etc.
Edit: Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti is excellent for all leftists and Anarchists as well since it does such a good job of setting the historical and materialist context to previous and current attempts at socialism.
Could you provide the author’s names so that it’s easier to find exactly which book you’re talking about ? Some titles are not unique references I think.
I might look for some of these.
Sure. I’ll edit the original and list them here, too:
Thanks for the effort.
“Blackshirts and Reds” by Michael Parenti is the kind of readings I was looking for to go deeper on the subject of “Siege Socialism”. And it’s available here : https://archive.org/details/michael-parenti-blackshirts-and-reds/page/n7/mode/2up
I actually suggest the state and revolution more than on authority. State and Rev is far more specific
Yeah, I think you’re right here, and I’ll make recommendations accordingly in the future.