Hello everynyan, we’re studying Marxism-Leninism. Here is a link to the list
This week we’re reading:
-
Why Socialism? - A. Einstein (1949)
Webpage | Audiobook [~10 min / 22 min] -
Why Marxism? - R. Day (2020)
Webpage | Audiobook [~15 min / 21 min] -
Why do we Have to Study Theory? - Ho Chi Minh (1957)
Webpage | Audio book [~10 min / 11 min] -
General Rules for Independent Study - N. Krupskaya (1934)
Webpage [~5 min] -
“Tankies” - N. Frome (2020)
Webpage | Audiobook [~5 min / 11 min]
Next week we will be watching 6. US Interventionism, the Third World, and the USSR - M. Parenti (1986)
Webpage Transcription of Speech | Original Speech [~1 hr / 1 hr 33 min]
Thanks for the feedback! I go back and forth on Why Socialism?, and will continue to oscillate. If I’m undecided, I’ll side with trimming it, most likely, but others have made good points on its continued inclusion.
The reasoning for the placement of General Rules for Independent Study is to take place after the reader has developed the ideological reason to study in the first place, which is why it’s right after the Why X? trio. It’s as early as it can be without interrupting the “hook” section.
before i reread the article this morning i was thinking that the article wasn’t appropriate for this reading group. but after having read it again, i have to say, i hope you keep it as the first article of the list. besides that there would be something missing if the intro had why marxism but not why socialism, i think the parts about the relation of the individual to society are really important for a readership almost certainly starting from a position of rabid individualism. a lot of people who could benefit from this list are starting from the impression that production is somehow separate from politics, that the state is a neutral institution separate from and above class struggle. why socialism lays the appropriate groundwork to dismantle that notion. in my opinion, this whole section would have to be reworked to account for its absence.
also, the name recognition might make people more open to reading the article who otherwise would have ignored the list entirely.
I’ll probably keep it at this point, the feedback is loud and clear, and that was the point of me front loading with my own criticisms. Maybe for next section I’ll provide my thoughts on cutting after discussions have taken place? Who knows.