#thank uuuu kyra also if you want a specific pdf but cannot get it I can probably get it for you

[communistkenobi]

Hiiiiiiii Nick, so sorry if you've already answered this somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I was wondering if you have any recs for leftist literature that's somewhat digestible for people who don't usually read a lot of academic papers/journals and the like? Basically, theory for beginners, I guess. I've been wanting to start reading more theory and while everything you posted about The Authoritarian Personality was super interesting, I think that trying to read a 1000 page book right now would kill me 💀

(also definitely don't feel the need to answer, I just thought you might appreciate getting an ask that's not star wars related asjdjdjshdjdhsjdjfj)

oh god yeah do not start with authoritarian personality that thing is insane

There is a Marxism archive that has a page for beginners here (ignore the advice to read Capital. Like try if you want to but it’s not accessible at all in my experience lol, so I would not start there). That website gives you free access to a lot of theory, you can poke around there and see what you might want to read (if you scroll to the bottom of the page I linked it has a link where you can search by subject - so if you want to learn more about leftist feminism, or colonialism, or etc, you can do so). I’m not the most well read marxist unfortunately so I can’t give you detailed recommendations from the lists they give. I have read a bit of Lenin and found him to be quite funny. Also sorry this is skewing communist, I have only read a few bits of anarchist literature and wasn’t impressed with it (not a dig at anarchism in general, I just did not have a good introduction to it and because of my schooling I tend to spend most of my time with more critical/marxist lit). So don’t let that sway you, this is just my own bias and theoretical instincts.

Why Marx Was Right by Terry Eagleton (this is a book, sorry I don’t have a link) is fairly accessible, as is Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher (this is very short, like under a hundred pages).

Also I KNOW I keep bringing this up but Discourse on Colonialism is such a fantastic essay (you can skip past the introduction in this pdf if you like and go straight to the essay). You don’t need to know all the theorists Cesaire is talking about or get all of his references. I think this is a very good introduction to colonialism as a force in the world. Cesaire is a fantastic writer, extremely witty and scathing while being incredibly insightful, truly a level of hater we should all aspire to become

There’s also the communist manifesto, which is very short and easy to read. You don’t have to pay too much attention to the historical stuff they bring up imo. This just answers the basic question of like “so what do communists believe exactly?” Even if you’re not a communist I think it’s useful to see these beliefs articulated in plain language.

If you want a book to read, there is Black Jacobins by CLR James about the Haitian Revolution (~200 pages). This is a history book written from a leftist perspective. I find reading about history very instructive because it alerts you to a lot of the problems with mass organising, all the sticky ways that class conflict manifests at all levels of society, and gives you context to a lot of leftist thought that, when detached from its historical circumstances, may seem weird or abstract.

I hope this helps!