this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2024
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Read Marx, everyone.
Do you have a good starting point? I have a rudimentary understanding of Marxism, but not much in the way of details.
I’d suggest Parenti’s Blackshirts and Reds. Or APeople’s Guide to Capitalism by Hadas Thier.
Thanks for the suggestions. Starting with Blackshirts and reds now.
I read while listening to the audiobook to keep me focused, ‘cause I’m old.
Here's a good study list, but it's specifically about marxism, so some deprogramming from imperial propaganda first might be needed, Blackshirts and Reds (and most other books by Parenti) is good starting book in English
Thanks, that is a lot to sink my teeth into!
I have a lot of suggestions, but for starters, what do you know so far, and what do you think you're lacking in?
No, but thank you though.
Why not?
Long, boring, hard to pay attention to. I read philosophy and theory sometimes but it's few and far between for those reasons. I really have to be in a special mood to sit down and read something that dense.
Edit: I'm not the original commenter
There are simpler, shorter, and easier works by Marx, Like Critique of the Gotha Programme, Wage Labor and Capital, as well as Value, Price, and Profit.
Reading Marx is like reading Adam Smith. Both wrote about economic systems before economics was even a thing. All ideas start somewhere but our ideas, and our society, have advanced dramatically in the 140+ years they've been dead. They're more interesting for historical purposes than economic ones.
But it's also hard to know what contemporary economists are arguing without reading those foundational writers
All of Marx's main concepts, surplus value, classes and class struggle, alienation, are just as relevant today as when they were written. Much like Newton, Marx built the solid foundation that scientific socialists stand on today.
Right, but nobody tells anyone interested in physics to read Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. If you're interested in history, sure. If you're interested in physics, read a modern physics textbook.
Yeah, nobody learns Maxwell's equations anymore, they're so 19th century. 🤡
Easy to follow vidyas onYoutube might be more engaging.
Das Kapital described crypto before digital computers were even an idea. His work is still relevant.
I thought to look this up cause I think it's neat and it's often the case that some technology is described long before you'd think. The first description of using electrical switches to do logic operations came in 1886 in a letter from Charles Sanders Peirce. That's between Capital volume 2 and 3, and most importantly, AFTER he described the law of value.
Lol. Lmao, even.
In what manner has this proven Marx wrong?
You're very good at saying you're right and very bad at providing evidence. The best thing about lemmy's size is I can recognize which usernames to disregard immediately after enough encounters.
What evidence am I supposed to provide here, exactly? I'm asking for clarification.
Memes. Look at their username.
The books Marx wrote are the evidence. If you read them then you'd see why they are obviously relevant today. Of course, reading and understanding serious literature takes more effort than trolling on public forums.
Are there any modern books which talk about the same/similar contents which are easier/smaller for a beginner to start?
These books are fairly accessible and touch on a lot of the same ideas you'd find in seminal works like Das Kapital
Thank you
It's always hilarious when illiterates proceed to make clowns of themselves by discussing things they haven't read.
Why would I want to read some crusty old dude that is outdated?
Political theory has moved on since Marx yet people still cling to him like a religion (like a cult).
Because he isn't outdated. People have built upon him, but the foundations he and Engels laid out remain true.
Good idea. Read about a hypothetical economic theory that is impossible to implement unless everyone become obedient to a small group of elitist while pretending the people are in control. I'm sure you'll get it right this time
You're exactly the type of person that needs to read Marx.