Asklemmy

Sure, the Manifesto is a pretty short easy read. But being more politically educated is always good

Even if you don't agree with an ideology it's always best to read it's basis so you can accurately identify what you don't agree with.

Yep, that would be great! I think a good place to start would be this reading list I put together. You can just check out the first couple sections:

1. Introduction [~1.5 hr]

Before beginning your studies, it's important to learn how to best economize our time, and why we should study Marxism-Leninism in the first place.

1. General Rules for Independent Study - N. Krupskaya (1934)

Webpage [~5 min]

Written by one of the founding Bolsheviks for students in the early USSR, this is a concise guide on how to best absorb the information to come as efficiently as possible by Nadezhda Krupskaya.

2. Why Socialism? - A. Einstein (1949)

Webpage | Audiobook [~10 min / 22 min]

Wanting to persuade his contemporaries to pursue a path of intentional development in order to avoid nuclear war and escape the profit motive, Einstein argues the case for moving onto a planned and collectivized economy over the chaos of markets and the profit motive.

3. Why Marxism? - R. Day (2020)

Webpage | Audiobook [~15 min / 21 min]

Roderic Day makes his case for why now, in the 21st century, Marxism-Leninism remains the strongest tool for working-class liberation, and why we should defend the achievements of actually existing socialism despite their real flaws.

4. "Tankies" - N. Frome (2020)

Webpage | Audiobook [~5 min / 11 min]

Marxist-Leninists do not believe Stalin, Mao, etc. did no wrong, nor do we believe actually existing socialist states (AES) to be perfect and free from criticism. Proper appraisal of the genuine achievements and genuine shortcomings of socialism in real life requires brushing away capitalist mythologizing. Once the fact is separated from fiction, only then can we hope to build on the successes of our predecessors while avoiding repeating mistakes.

5. US Interventionism, the Third World, and the USSR - M. Parenti (1986)

Webpage Transcription of Speech | Original Speech [~1 hr / 1 hr 33 min]

Dr. Michael Parenti delivers perhaps his most famous speech, discussing the predatory role of the US Empire and the progressive role played by socialist countries, including the necessary mechanisms of protection they develop against western imperialism.

6. Why do we Have to Study Theory? - Ho Chi Minh (1957)

Webpage [~10 min]

As a hugely successful revolutionary, Ho Chi Minh explains why it is not enough to have good intentions, we must do our best to study revolutionary theory to guide revolutionary practice.

Checkpoint

• Why do you want to study Marxism-Leninism?

• How can it be helpful in your present life?

• Why should we establish a socialist society?

2. Fundamentals [~2.5 hr]

To start off your studies, a clear understanding of basic terminology, as well as the historical context that gave rise to Marxism, is necessary.

1. Principles of Communism - F. Engels (1847)

Webpage/.epub | Audiobook [~30 min /48 min]

A glossary of terms and background information, in an FAQ format.

2. Karl Marx: A Brief Biographical Sketch with an Exposition of Marxism - V.I. Lenin (1914)

Webpage | Audiobook [~1 hr / 1hr 28 min]

Lenin, as a part of his rigorous studies of Marx and his writings for application in the conditions particular to his contemporary conditions, came to know and understand Marx and his ideology at a deeper level.

3. The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism - V.I. Lenin (1913)

Webpage | Audiobook [~5 min / 18 min]

Outlaying the 3 major components of Marxism, and a short history of how they came to be.

4. Manifesto of the Communist Party - K. Marx & F. Engels (1848)

Webpage | Audiobook [~1hr / 1 hr 35 min]

Marx & Engels call the international proletariat to action using the in this overview of the aims of the communists.

Checkpoint

• What historical context gave rise to Marxism?

• What are the 3 major components of Marxism?

• In your country, what does the class makeup of society look like? Which can be aligned with the proletariat? Which cannot?

Of course, I recommend the whole thing. Alternatively, Prolewiki's Marxism portal contains a fantastic short list of articles that help explain the absolute basics quickly.

Absolutely. It's short.

Do note that most of how communism worked, on paper and in practice, originated later, though. Marx, a German who mostly lived in England, wrote the Manifesto in 1848 and died in 1883, while the revolution was in Russia in 1917. And there's stuff in the manifesto that obviously didn't age well, like the bit about the invention of trains leading to the end of nationalism.

Still, it's great historical perspective, and obviously inspired how the Soviet Union looked at things pretty heavily.

sure. you're not going to be infected with some sort of horrible mind virus. if you're interested, read it

Read principles of communism instead, it is the same content but better formatted

Oh, and watch Luna Oi's Marxism 101: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeaTLoy1C9rM

Whatever you think of Marx, it's undeniable he has literary value. I'd say read him.

curious_beetle, I hereby declare you can read whatever interests you

I feel it's like reading many philosophical works.

You'll read some bits and go "Wow that's a profound observation!"

And then turn the page and be like "Lol that's a biiiiig stretch, my dude. You couldn't have been serious."

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it”

— Aristotle

Yes, you should. Reading something doesn't mean having to automatically agree with it, but it will broaden your perspective. Read it critically, engage with the arguments being made, and use them to test your own world view. See if the arguments make sense to you, and whether you have strong counter arguments of your own to the ones being made.

Yeah! Communism is one of the most important movements and ideologies in modern history. It has shaped the lives of everyone on the planet, whether you are one of billions living under socialism or in a state that represses labor movements. It's one of the most read pieces of literature for a reason, and it's a good idea to be informed of the demands communists aim for. Although it was a couple hundred years ago the demands are largely the same to this day, just slight modifications such as the 10 point plan of the black panther party

The Communist Manifesto is a very short, somewhat satirical pamphlet meant for Agitation, not Education. Should you read it? Sure, it'll take you like 10 minutes! But you're probably familiar with the ideas it introduces: that the working class should band together, rise up and seize control of the farms and factories, the tools and machines, by any means necessary. The Manifesto doesn't go into much more detail than that, since it was intended as a Mass propaganda tool.

Unfortunately, in order to really understand the nitty-gritty of Marxism you must read Capital, or a later work that heavily references it (such as State and Revolution, an easier read).

I feel like you should read anything that people find so polarizing and taboo. It's short and its pretty dang hard to disagree with.

Absolutely.

Fundamentally, only reading about ideas that you already agree with is bad for you. You will learn less about your beliefs than if you had read something that challenges your beliefs.

Let's say you're very pro-capitalist, and you want to know everything about capitalism, so you read Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. Great! You learned some things about the historical basis of your beliefs, and there's value in that. So then you read Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. Okay! So you're tripling down on the same ideas. You probably already know most of those ideas, though, right? There will be some new stuff, but ultimately it's more of the same stuff you already know.

So you try some more recent authors, and give a shrug to Ayn Rand, and you give Lions and Scavengers a shot. And maybe you pick up a new thing or two. But mostly, it's the same ideas that you're already familiar with.

Do you know what none of these books have? An angle of critique (except Smith, sort of). They're all just listing all of the good things about capitalism, and they're not telling you the bad things. Do you believe that Capitalism is a perfect system to organize a nation's economic policy, with no flaws? No? Then you should be interested in someone who elaborates on some of the negative aspects of capitalism, and what can be done to address those flaws, right? Because if there are flaws, you want to know what they are, so they can be fixed, right?

That's why you should read Das Kapital.

If anyone is looking for it, here's one of many links to that manifesto: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/index.htm

Of other possible interest, here's one of many links to Albert Einstein's Why Socialism? from 1949: https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Library:Why_Socialism%3F

Learning is always worth it

Yes. If I may, I would suggest "The origins of family and private property" from Engels. It's not explicitly political, but I find it serves excellently for dissolving some biases towards historical conditions and how they shape the current affairs.

The manifesto is just an ad for communism. You should read The Capital (part 1) if you want to interact with communism seriously.

Yes

Honestly, I find almost everyone who reads the Manifesto and nothing else does not understand it at all. It relies on a lot of complicated ideas which it doesn't go into detail on, and the popular English translation also has misleading translation errors. People who read it end up filling in the gaps with preconceptions that they have been primed to interpret it as from liberal society, and thus end up interpreting it in a silly way that is not how it was intended at all.

It is better to start with lengthier, more in-depth works that try to actually build out their worldview, like Critique of the German Ideology, The Poverty of Philosophy, and Anti-Durhing.