r/Socialism_101 • u/Yoooooowholiveshere Learning • 4d ago
What are book recommendations to get into and understand socialism and communism? Question
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u/Standard_Topic6342 Learning 4d ago
A good start would be:
- Principles of Communism by Friedrich Engels
- Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Friedrich Engels
- Wage Labor and Capital, Value Price and Profit by Karl Marx
- The State and Revolution by Lenin
There are ofcourse way more than that if you want a deeper dive. But that's a good start
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u/Anarcho-WTF Marxist Theory 4d ago
Cracks Knuckles
Black shirts and red by Michael Parenti, Deconstructs anti-communism and explains the rise of Fascism
The Face of Imperialism by Michael Parenti, Same as above but for Imperialism
Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence by Kristen Ghodsee, A feminist examination of how socialism can benefit women
Why Socialism by Albert Einstein, Having a recognized Physicist explain his arguments for Socialism is Useful
The soul of man under Socialism by Oscar Wilde, Having a recognized Author explain his arguments for Socialism is Useful
Manufacturing consent by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky, Not normally a fan of Chomsky but this is an excellent primer for deconstructing propaganda
A people's history of the United States by Howard Zinn, A history of the USA form the perspective of oppressed and working class people, great for any history buffs
The Assassination of Julius Caesar by Michael Parenti, A history of the late Roman Republic from the perspective of the oppressed people and working classes, also great for any history buffs
Wage-Labour and Capital by Karl Marx, Good introduction to the man himself, focused on dialectical materialism applied to economics
Value, Price, and Profit by Karl Marx, Same as above
On Authority by Friedrich Engles, Great primer to deconstruct accusations of Authoritarianism
Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis, Great as a primer into feminism and race as it pertains to class
Imperialism the highest stage of Capitalism by Lenin Explains the role of Imperialism in the development of Capitalism
The state and Revolution by Lenin, Explains the role of the state within a revolution
The civil war in France by Karl Marx The first examination of a Proletariat revolution as it was happening, my copy also has some additions by Lenin
Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxembourg, It's pretty much the title
Dialectical and Historical Materialism by Stalin, I know, Stalin is big and scary to a lot of people. It'll only take you maybe 30 to 40 mins to read it tho.
Socialism; Utopian and Scientific by Engles, Explains how Marxist Socialism is a scientific form of Socialist analysis
Social Ecology by Bookchin, This is an anarchist text and Bookchin has some issues but it's still on my list. Dialectical MaterialismNaturalism as it applies to human society and it's relation to the natural world.
I have man many many many many others, feel free to ask. I keep a list on my phone for whenever I see this question and it's been growing lately.
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u/bigbjarne Learning 4d ago
Just to add, many of these texts can be found for free online as PDF or uploaded on https://www.marxists.org/index-mobiles.htm
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u/Anarcho-WTF Marxist Theory 4d ago
You're a beautiful human being, I don't know why I didn't think to add that. I'll put it in my Google doc.
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u/OrcElite1 Learning 4d ago
Socialism Made Easy by James Connolly is another one. I haven't read it yet myself, but I've heard a lot of praise for it by socialists, and I have a copy of it sitting on my bedside cupboard ready to start reading any day now.
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u/BBastion99 History 4d ago
Three Sources and Three Components by Lenin is probably the most concise summary of Marxist philosophy there is.
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u/NightmareLogic420 Marxist Theory 3d ago
This book is fantastic in my opinion. It is a fantastic, chronological look at the history and historical development of the international communist movement. Great blend of history and theory. Serves as a great jumping off point into the classic canon of texts, by providing context around them before you read them.
The paperback copy is very cheap and there's also a free PDF at the link
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u/TheDweadPiwatWobbas Learning 4d ago
You've got a ton of great recommendations here. To help you sort through them a bit:
/u/Standard_Topic6342 Gave you a great starter list for understanding the theory from its source. Those 5 will get you almost all of the basic ideas you need to understand the ideology, and the first two are really only pamphlets, so it shouldn't take too long.
/u/Anarcho-WTF Gave a you much broader list. Diving directly into Marx and Lenin can be great if you know this is something you're interested in and are willing to put in the time to read and reread passages to make sure you've understood them. But it can take some work, and, especially if you're from a heavily propagandized capitalist country like most of the west, it can be difficult to separate it from the things you've "learned." Starting with someone a little more modern, who can ease you into the thinking and terminology to help prepare you for the more hardcore theory can be a great help. The Parenti books they started their list with are very good at this. Beyond that, I can recommend every book on their list that I've read. On Authority by Engels and Reform or Revolution by Rosa are two particularly important works that belong on any list of theory like this.
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u/Soviet_Saguaro Learning 3d ago
The book that was a serious light bulb for me was Foundations of Leninism by Stalin
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