First, you should find some time in your day to either read some basic Marxist / Marxist-Leninist theory, or find people who can talk to you about the theory from the point of view of having read it themselves. Theory is the key to understanding what is to be done, hence the anti-communists and the idealists detest the idea of reading theory - they call it ‘ableist’ and ‘anti-worker’, and it’s imperative for the health of the communist movement that they be ignored. Without theory the movement is directionless, and the individual is blind.

Then, look in your area for communist parties. If you can’t find a communist party, look into your broader leftist parties. It’s important to shop around and do a little digging on the party, their positions, any ideologies they proclaim to follow, and their general history. There’s a lotta ‘communist’ parties that are nothing more than ultra-leftists, socdems in red hats, or utterly gutted by the capitalist state. It’s a trap that’s been masterly orchestrated over decades by the bourgeois class, and you should try to avoid falling into the trap when possible. You should also look into non-party organisations that organise in your area, like unions, book clubs, or the SRA. Getting involved in the communist community around where you live is valuable in just about every possible way, and if you get involved in a good organisation you’ll find yourself wrist-deep in community activism. Stuff like donation drives, outreach programs, and other such things.

If you can’t find a local party or organisation to join, and can’t start one of your own. Consider joining a national party or organisation, such as CPUSA, PSL, or the IWW if you’re American. Otherwise, spend time learning about communism and ideology in general so you can understand how to live as a radical and how you can make a difference in your community. Plus, if you become well informed on theory, you’ll have an easier time radicalising your left-leaning friends. That’s always a plus to the movement.

Lemmygrad is a great place to ask questions and become more informed. We’ve already answered many of the basic questions, so you can read the threads that already exist on those if you want. Our members are usually pretty friendly and forthcoming with information if you can’t find the answers you’re looking for, so don’t be too nervous about asking.

I think people should JOIN AN ORG.

You have to. You have to work on the ground. Talk is cheap. But doing IS learning.

Communist parties meet the problems of the proletariat right where they are, and show them the alternative there. This has led to success in growing popularity towards communism where it has been tried.

We meet people where there is injustice and agitate them for action. We don’t hijack the movement or take charge of it as if we know better, we go in there and offer solutions. If we offer the right solutions, the affected people will follow them. And because we know what we’re talking about, this is how we show people the effectiveness of our praxis and get them results against their grievances. This is something that’s only achievable through a party and collective effort.

But practice is only one part of the contradiction, theory is the other. Without theory, there cannot be effective practice. Without practice, what good is theory? For theory, you should reasonably read everything you can get your hands on from Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao. There are other cool theorists like Gramsci, Luxemburg, Michael Parenti, Vijay Prashad… and many others I’m forgetting right now. I’m just name dropping them in case you weren’t aware of them and want to look them up.

I also recommend prolewiki https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/ProleWiki:Main_page since, well, I’m on the team lol. But it’s a wiki that was made exactly for situations like yours.