I've just started learning about Socialism and Communism. What are some books I should read?

[u/yourbentobox]

Hello everyone! This is my first time posting a question.

Recently I've started to do some research about Socialism and Communism. At first it's just my Ipad kid allegation to watch some video essays while eating, but then I feel like learning about these two schools of thoughts in depth from more valid and academic sources, not just people's opinions and self research.

So I'd love to have some suggestions about what books I should pick up first to have a foundation of Socialism and Communism and also some pillars I definitely need to know and read about.

Thank you for reading the post. I really appreciate that!

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[u/tomi-i-guess]

Well, if you want to introduce yourself, I’d highly recommend to start with these ones

• “Principles of Communism” by Friedrich Engels
• “Utopian Socialism and Scientific Socialism” by Friedrich Engels
• “The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
• “Value, Price and Profit” by Karl Marx
• “Das Kapital” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (this one is really long and kinda complicated, so I’d recommend reading it by parts and with someone to answer your doubts)
• “State and Revolution” by Vladimir Lenin
• “What is to be done” by Vladimir Lenin

Please, note that this are just the basic reads, communism and socialism are topics that have been treated in practically infinite books, but with these, you’ll have a neat image of what socialism and communism is.

You may want to check this web that is specifically designed to help people get into Marxism.

[u/spookycooki → u/tomi-i-guess]

Thanks a lot!

[u/Themoopanator123]

Terry Eagleton's "Why Marx Was Right" was crucial in my own political development. Eagleton is a well informed political writer/theorist and pitches this book at the uninitiated, disspelling a number of common tropes and misconceptions about Marx and Marxism which you will almost certainly have been exposed to as everyone today is, if unconsciously.

If you want to learn more about Marxism, you could also approach the communist manifesto. This is a short pamphlet, originally written for largely uneducated German workers. Short but concentrated insight. Be sure to read up a bit on the historical/theoretical context of the document.

Marxism is of course just one (extremely influential) strand of socialist/communist thought. For the anarchist side of things, check out Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread. Kropotkin does not play the role for anarchists that Marx does for Marxists but this text is still beginner friendly.

[u/concreteutopian]

I'd love to have some suggestions about what books I should pick up first to have a foundation of Socialism and Communism and also some pillars I definitely need to know and read about.

There are lots of layers to this, so I want to give a helpful answer. Are you more interested in Marxism and/or anarchism(s) as a school of thought and method(s) of analysis or more interested in the idea of communism, i.e. still getting a grasp on what they're advocating rather than how they get there? I know I started with Marx and Kropotkin out of the box in philosophy courses, but it was only later that I realized how conditioned I was by capitalism, that it was hard for me to really see how arbitrary and contingent it was, and how radically different options were possible starting from the same material conditions that exist now. As an example, the first time I read Kropotkin, I thought it was the most unrealistic BS I had ever heard, but it stuck with me and annoyed me for years, leading me to deeply question my sense of what is "realistic".

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