r/Socialism_101 • u/knowlem • 2d ago

Question Good books to build a better general knowledge?

I'm sure this question has been asked many times, but I just want some recommendations to have more sources to cite and better back up my claims when talking about leftist theory, so anything goes.

I already have a pretty strong grasp of the basics, but I'd just like to have some really solid and credible sources to pull from when discussing any theory.

8 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

91% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ BEFORE PARTICIPATING.

This subreddit is not for questioning the basics of socialism but a place to LEARN. There are numerous debate subreddits if your objective is not to learn.

You are expected to familiarize yourself with the rules on the sidebar before commenting. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Short or non-constructive answers will be deleted without explanation. Please only answer if you know your stuff. Speculation has no place on this sub. Outright false information will be removed immediately.

  • No liberalism or sectarianism. Stay constructive and don't bash other socialist tendencies!

  • No bigotry or hate speech of any kind - it will be met with immediate bans.

Help us keep the subreddit informative and helpful by reporting posts that break our rules.

If you have a particular area of expertise (e.g. political economy, feminist theory), please assign yourself a flair describing said area. Flairs may be removed at any time by moderators if answers don't meet the standards of said expertise.

Thank you!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

8

u/SensualOcelot Postcolonial Theory 2d ago

sources to cite

This is a dead-end. No matter what sources you cite, there will always be some internet crank whose read some bourgeois academic that disagrees with you, or more frustratingly, a baby leftist who won’t let go of a left anti-communist they find helpful in their journey.

If you actually read Kapital vol 1, that’ll be more than 90% of people who call themselves Marxists. It will take months!

2

u/gddfyhh Learning 2d ago edited 2d ago

I’d say the communist manifesto, it’s not a long read and ultimately it’s release is the official birth of communism. it really goes into detail, and some books also have specific writers and philosophers’ introduction on the basics and how the book was even formed. for example i have the hungarian version which was released in 1948, a century after the original released, it’s introduction was written by Dezső Nemes, historian. edit: if you want to have a general knowledge on the economic system, Das Kapital (which i haven’t finished yet) is a good read. i have these books IRL though, i don’t trust the media about this subject. i’d rather read 200 year old books about the topic. definitely a hard read!