I admit having a chuckle when I followed that link and saw it go to a guide on running a study group. I’ve posted here a few times how the theory just isn’t working for me for several reasons. I really don’t believe telling someone who is looking at France and going “I want to do that here” to read some dense theory for a year before doing anything…

i think calling it a "study group" is a mischaracterization. action without direction is just flailing around, so your party needs to have the requisite base of knowledge before it can possibly create lasting wins. it would be like getting behind the wheel before you ever read the driver's handbook. how can you "do that here" without knowing how they did that there, whatever that may be?

why I am not doing that and I’m not blaming people around me for doing the same

i'm not saying that you have to go out and smash windows, nor am i saying that you need to get 10 of your friends and go around smashing windows. actually, part of the reason to read these books is to be able to be effective without going to jail. as the united states slides further into fascism, that's going to be increasingly important.

especially in a time and place where all or most of the left wing has been co-opted or crushed, the first thing we need to do is learn from our mistakes. communism in the us has historically been a failure, and it's the historic responsibility of the communists to right that wrong.