askchapo

I have no idea because whenever I try to talk to a non-leftist about capitalism, let alone theory, sometimes their whole understanding of how our system works is so messed up that it's like trying to explain the internet to someone from the 1700s. There is too much to teach and they are conditioned to hate learning. Couple that with me not being all that smart, and I struggle to be convincing.

Meet the people where they are - modernize the language in theory. No one uses booze waz je in normal speak. Just say rich fucks. No one uses prole la terry at. Use commoners or the rest of us besides the rich fucks. It's been over 100 years since Marx and the egalitarian language of the late victorian era where theory was written. Things have changed, though the base ideas are similar. Language has changed. Terminology has changed.

You got to make it bite sized and simple.

Modern contradictions of crap-it-all-ism is incompatable with a sustainable and peaceful society.

“The communism situation is crazy” 1:54:32

As stupid as this may seem, we have to make people give a fuck first. People who actually care about something might bother to read. Getting someone who is barely bothered by politics or social issues to read about them is borderline impossible.

Also I dunno, just keep impressing them with your knowledge as you politicise them and press home that you learned this stuff by reading lol.

"How do we get people to do their homework?" They don't really think it's posh and only for rich white college students, they just don't feel like reading. It takes time, it's work, and there's better things to do.

I was calling myself a leftist a decade before I finally started reading theory; ultimately it was the pandemic that forced me to read because I was bored. I kept up the habit after that.

The only idea I have is to ground them until they do their homework. "No investigation, no right to speak" but applied socially.

You can't force a person to do anything, but what you can do is use your position to influence them to start reading. I openly read theory at work, with a book in one hand and my cigarette or coffee in another. Most of the authors that we know of, nobody else does, so it's not gonna raise suspicion. But when someone asks what i'm reading about, i use very plain language, especially if it's something sensitive. "It's fucked up" resonates better than a theoretical breakdown for a lot of people, and you can work from there on.

Tell them that reading theory makes them better at posting and winning online arguments.

I think you're putting the cart before the horse a bit. You read the theory, apply it to your conditions, and develop practical actions. Those actions are what should get people interested in what books you're reading. People need to see some results come out of your theory-- not just historical results, mind you, but things that can help them now.

Bake it into parables in popular media, like putting your dog's medicine inside a tasty treat.

Or practicable, easily consumed media like zines, memes, art, etc.

The same message can be applied today but needs to be translated to modern language and examples for some audiences. Reading Kapital isn't for everyone. (Isn't there a graphic novel of Kapital now?)

Sign them up for a hexbear account and tell them it's a forum for liberals like them

my mom reads me theory before I go to bed

I tried to get the anarckiddies I was organizing with to read but can't tell them to do anything lol. I've since used a dialectic lens when discussing current events or things like capitalism and poverty. That kind of helps I think.

I do have a few reading lists for those willing to read. I have cowbee's, one from a Marxist discord server, and my short and sweet one with it's audiobook counterpart.

Is 'reading the manual to understand how something works' also too posh?

...Actually, they'd probably say yes to that too. Unfortunately I think the answer to this is "you don't." This probably won't be a popular response, but I have been doing this stuff for a long time, and the thing that seems to be lacking most to me is that people do not want to learn. They don't want to learn, and they especially do not want to be wrong. You see this all the time in other places, too—"I shouldn't have to read to use my computer," "I shouldn't need to know how a car works to drive," etcetera. Maybe so, but no one ever hurt for having curiosity, that nonsense idiom about the cat aside. There is a joy in learning, a joy of discovering history and information and knowledge, but it needs to be taught and encouraged early and often. It's not, and I don't think it ever has been in modern society really, and so this is what we get: anti-intellectualism as a proxy for class interest. I don't know how to fix it, and I have severe doubts that you even can without some serious cultural reassessment, which is not going to happen soon.

Make a movie adaptation…

Which won’t actually do anything because most people don’t remember what they watch, let alone what they read.

"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.

organised political education built into the regular activity of a mass socialist party

the road to mass political education isn't just handing out books and pamphlets but developing infrastructure and organisers who are popular pedagogues that can spread Marxist thought beyond the confines of small, insular groups. at the same time the need and usefulness of revolutionary theory must be demonstrated by the effectiveness of our interventions into the class struggle wherever it is to be found.

There has to be a purpose for reading theory.

Your friend is a little bit right: some people read theory just to know, but they don't do anything with it. Except maybe tell others and make it and ego thing. That's a bit posh.

Theory is relevant to left organizing. If you get your friend doing organizing work, then the people around her will make references she doesn't understand and you can share why things should be done a certain way, what historical precedent there is, etc and she won't understand. Those will be reasons to read. And if it is a good org it will require reading groups.

does she read other nonfiction?

maybe ask your friend if the BPP were posh and then show her their reading list from 50+ years ago.

Everything has to be done socially. We have to have a movement that values reading that people are pushed to become members of, that then pushes its members towards reading.

Anti-intellectualism doesn't come from nowhere, it comes from social movements that impart anti-intellectualism on their members. Unfortunately most social movements in existence right now have that as a feature, for many reasons stemming from their capitalist foundations.