this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2025
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"How do I get Christians to swear off the Bible?"
Same shit. You don't. They're going to do what they do. You're going to do what you do.
Nobody needs to "read theory," honestly. People naturally come to these conclusions when exposed to a system that isn't intentionally bleeding them to death. I cannot count the number of "right wingers" I have sat down and had beers with that absolutely agree with me on every single point right up until I use a scary word like "anarchism," or "socialism," or "communism." Then their brains shut down and they go directly into flight-or-fight mode. It doesn't matter though.
It's not your job to "convert" people to leftism. It's not a fucking religion. Help people. Volunteer at kitchens. Volunteer at mutual aid networks. If there aren't food kitchens or mutual aid networks where you live, create them. You want people to be leftists? Show them why they should. This is not an impossible task. We do this all the time. Be the leftist you want to see in the world, and people will follow you. Sounds lame as fuck, but people are sheep. Give them something to flock to other than mindless consumerism.
Some people need to read theory. I believe most need little-to-none, beyond a shallow understanding of relevant history and class relations that you can get from word-of-mouth, two-page pamphlets, or even memes. That helps contextualize the practical lessons of being exposed to the operations and consequences of capitalists systems, rather than being led into a false conclusion.
But I don't see what useful value most people will be getting from Capital. That also doesn't mean no-one gets value from it! In the same way that most people here have no need to go to medical school but I sure am glad that some people did.
Absolutely agree. Would I like it if everyone read Capital? Absolutely. That is a dense, esoteric tome though. I don't literally mean that nobody needs to read any theory. But as you say, a lot of it can be absorbed by osmosis from a leftist community.