/lit/ - Literature

here's a starter kit from an actual marxist -

-principles of communism by engels (even this extremely short work would be good enough as a starting point to do away with all the myths about what communism is and isnt)

-german ideology part 1 by marx and engels(introduces the methodical framework of marxism and critiques the idealists of his time)

-wage labour and capital (good introduction to marxist economics that is not nearly as complex as capital + is easily applicable to real life TODAY)

-ludwig feuerbach by engels (not extremely necessary but engels here outlines the philosophical predecessors that culminate in marxist materialism)

-theses on feuerbach by marx (extremely short text but difficult to understand imo. i believe it contains some of his most fruitful thoughts on materalism though. dont worry if you don't get much from it, but i thought i should put it here. it takes like a minute or two to read.)

capital vol 1 (chapter one at the very least! it is the most difficult but the most important part of the book. its a long and difficult text, but a necessary one. understandable if you cannot read it all right now but at least read the first chapter CAREFULLY!)

-critique of the gotha program (gives an outline on how the transition from capital to communism might look like, talks about the dictatorship of the proletariat + labour vouchers etc.)

-18th brumaire of louis bonaparte (fantastic historical analysis by marx, his writing at its best. displays his method and framework at work + dispels mythical notions about that very method and framework such as strict teleology etc.)

-imperialism by lenin (important addition to marxism by lenin, the very specific mode of imperialism lenin talks about is not AS relevant today but still a necessary work to read imo, imperialism is still well and alive but not in the exact way lenin speaks of it)

-economic and philosophic manuscripts by marx (i put this at the end here for anyone interested in the early more humanist marx. you see marx here in a more philosophical stage, with his hegelian background in full focus. good for anyone interested in alienation and critiques of hegel)

the main thing with reading all this though is to read with an open mind. fuck all of your pre-conceived notions about marx. no one has fucking read him, everything you hear about him is bullshit. read carefully, read with an open mind, read not with the idea that this is some shit to do with capitalism vs communism but with the idea that you might actually fucking learn something from someone who spent his entire life studying the very structure of the mode of production that we live in. whether or not you agree with his final conclusions, literally everyone can learn something from marx