Not a judgment or indictment on anyone, I understand some people don’t have time, others have trouble focusing and those are valid reasons to take your time with theory, but that being said, I was wondering how well we as a community are doing with reading the core tenants of Marxism. I’m just getting into it and I’ve not finished many works, but I’ve read many of them if that makes sense lol, I can’t seem to make decisions and stand by them, I always pick a book and switch to another one when I’m interested in that but the result is a series of unfinished books with more and more mounting up. What is the leftist reading experience like for you? And that’s not even to mention apolitical reading that seems lightyears away by now. Edit: just as a suggestion, I highly suggest Critique of the Gotha Programme. Also Mao’s Little Red Book 📕
Maybe I’ll lose some respect but I value being honest: I’ve completed zero theory books.
I’ve read some of Imperialism: Highest Stage of Capitalism, Das Kapital, the Communist Manifesto. I’ve read little bits and exerts from Mao, Che, Lenin, Marx, Trotsky, and a few other less famous people. Honestly I probably got 80% or more of my theory from YouTube videos and articles all across the web.
Despite this, I can say with confidence that I have a pretty solid understanding of most of the fundamental concepts. I’ve always strove to try and understand things on my lonesome, I see it as a mark of understanding to be able to explain a concept in completely original words.
I would definitely like to read more but I already have a dozen things I am juggling in life and it may be years more before I completely finish a single book, and as far as politics go the next thing I should be doing is joining an organization again and making propaganda as besides some niche issues I feel like I have all the education I need to do what is required of me, and any further while nice is a little redundant. I would definitely never describe myself as a cadre and I know when to defer to the superior knowledge of better-read comrades, but to be blunt I know what is and isn’t my position within the movement.