“Read theory.”

We say this all the time. It’s basically an expression, isn’t it? It can be advise, bragging, scorn, mockery. It’s all become a bit ephemeral.

That’s not to say that people shouldn’t read theory. Without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement. Even so, isn’t it a bit silly to suggest, even implicitly, that being a Marxist or communist boils down to a familiarity with the source material? If that’s not book worship, I don’t know what is.

I understand that this is, on some level, an accusation. I am suggesting that many of our communities are caught up in a somewhat liberal, idealist mindset. We all have an ideology, a set of opinions about the world which we express and propagate at the expense of our competitors. Can we seriously deny this is what we are doing?

If Marxism-Leninism is a science, there must be some technical aspect. What are we supposed to do in the world? How do we do it? And how do we know if it’s working?

  • RedClouds@lemmygrad.ml
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    8 months ago

    This is a fantastic resource comrade. Thank you. Off the top of your head, do you know of a place I can find more textbooks or classroom-like material from communist countries available in the US? Either in print or digital?

    • RedWizard [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      8 months ago

      I don’t personally. Maybe there are more. I do know this book is part of a 3 or 4 book series and they are currently translating book 2. Its a very easy read, the glossary and index are super useful. I think it’s great even as a reference document.