Hello!
I’ve been lurking in Lemmygrad for awhile and I decided to finally bite the bullet and join in. The main reason I joined was to learn more and ask questions about the movement. As well as get book recommendations!
I would probably describe myself as a Marxist-Leninist.
I don’t have any particularly crazy takes that I can think of. Perhaps I think American food is far worse than British food. But I can hardly cook despite my best efforts so I can’t talk too much. 😄
I’m still learning frankly, but I have always loved history. After moving more left (that’s an understatement) I feel the need to examine everything I’ve learnt again under a more materialistic lens. Despite that, my main focus was the first world war. I got depressed reading about that and instead decided to explore other areas, such as Weimar Germany. My love for history and paired with learning about the period of the Weimar Republic - particularly about Rosa Luxemburg- I began to slowly question my political beliefs and slide further left.
Generally I don’t feel like I know enough. There’s so much to learn and so little time to do it. I’m open to exploring all avenues of Marxist thought and stealing all of your book recommendations. I’ve accumulated quite the reading list and I’m more than happy to add to that collection.
Other than that I love cooking despite it not loving me back. I’m a bit of a caffeine addict and I have a tendency to ask too many questions. I’m very interested in learning about and exploring different cultures as well.
Otherwise I’m happy to be here and I wish you all a pleasant day!
Hi!
History recommendations: 10 Days that Shook The World is a personal account of the Bolshevik take over. Its not very long but its a lot of fun and has one of my favorite quotes. “The way I see it there are 2 classes, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, and whoever isn’t on one side is on the other”
The Jakarta Method is not fun. I think it is important because it details the methods of anti-communism. It strengthens resolve and hardens the heart against liberalism and shows exactly why fascism must be opposed. It is a bit of a slog.
Justin Podur’s podcast Civilizations Scramble for Africa, and World War Civ. Is history covering from late 1400s to WW1 (so far) Justin is a self avowed tankie. His co-host is Dave Power, his highschool history teacher, and it is fun listening to Justin slowly chip away at his liberalism.Theory: The Proletarian Revolution and The Renegade Kautsky is a scathing rebuke of a revisionist. It exposes pitfalls that a Marxist might fall into and explains why they are wrong.
What is To Be Done needs some adaptation to become a good model for today but the ideas about agitation, propaganda, and organization are key. Taken together they form a good base of What to do and what to avoid as a revolutionary communist.
I still haven’t gotten through Capital. The historical bits in there are good. Talking about factory conditions and learning about the process of Enclosure is really important but I glaze over when Marx starts explaining P=(C+V)÷S or PP=k+p⋅(C+V)Hello!
That’s great I was looking for a book just like “10 Days that Shook the World”, thank you for the recommendation! I have heard of the Jakarta Method in passing but have not actually added it to my reading list yet. After highlighting it’s importance I will definitely give it a go.
Haha yes that does sound like Marx. I sometimes find myself rereading the same page just to decipher it ^^
Thank you for all the recommendations, always appreciated. Definitely adding all of those to the list.
Welcome to the grad’ friend. We’ve got a fairly interesting recurring cast around here, I’m sure you’ll fit in.
Thank you! ^^
hi :)
Hello!
Welcome, hope you enjoy your stay .
Perhaps I think American food is far worse than British food.
Now THAT is a hot take. ;)
Thank you!
I will defend beans on toast until the day I die. It’s really not that bad. ^^
Hi. Feel free to ask questions if you are confused about any aspect of the website. You are very welcome here.
Hello and thank you! I definitely will.
hi hi hi!
The main drive behind my own further moving left/being less vibes&unserious was also related to me further investigating history, though, on the Chinese end, since my formal education had only like a single paragraph about both opium wars, brief mention of boxer rebellion, and a page or two of “communism evil and killed lots of people”.
It’s also very interesting to think of history, globally, in terms of coeval and similar temporally relative terms
- Marx gave his speech “On the Question of Free Trade” in 1848, only 6 years after the first Opium war ended and HK was signed away to Britain in the Treaty of Nanjing (the British used “free trade” as liberal ideal justifying the opium wars; however in the speech Marx makes no mention of China but does speak of the English mercantile economic extraction of its colonies).
- Lenin’s October Revolution (1917) heavily influenced the founding of the Communist Party of China (1920) of which, before, the left-leaning “anti-Old Ways” intellectuals were more predominantly either in the camps of republican democracy models exemplar of America/France, or anarchist social experimentation (particularly big “fandom” of Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid)
- Less directly related: Indonesian mass killings (detailed in Bevins’ Jakarta Method #CIA interventions) were 1965-66 (iirc prior, Mao & others had advised the PKI to arm themselves); Chinese Cultural Revolution started 1966 and among the main currents of it was to denounce and destroy anything possibly liberal or bourgeois.
- And a similar vein (also not directly related) – decline and eventual fall of Soviet Union, particularly exacerbated by internal popularity of liberalization late 1980s :: official govt reaction to the june sixth incident (1989) in China, where many of the student protest leaders and some urban workers demanded liberalization similar to that of USSR.
TBH my history knowledge about WWI is somewhat in a similar state (not quite as dire but definitely many holes) as my former knowledge base regarding modern Chinese history, do you have recommended readings or media on that end?
Hello!
It seems we had a similar beginning then. My education was much the same, it drove me to learn more myself and I ended up learning a lot more that way.
It is very interesting! It’s a bit like seeing all the pieces of a puzzle and how they interact with each other like a chain reaction. I will definitely take a look at some of the events you mentioned because I am actually not familiar with all of those, particularly the happenings in Indonesia.
On the first world war I would highly recommend ‘Passchendaele: Requiem for Doomed Youth’ by Paul Ham. I have not read it in awhile but I do remember I did enjoy reading it. It’s very detailed.
Otherwise The Great War channel has a series with Indiana Neidell where they go through each event of the first world war. I remember I enjoyed that too however in some other related shows they have been pretty anti-communist. I can’t remember if that series in particular has the same stance but just keep that in mind if you decide to give it a go.
Welcome!
stealing all of your book recommendations
You may already have these on your list, but:
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Blood in my Eye by George Jackson
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Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti
And not a book, but Blowback podcast (from what I’ve listened to of it, not a podcast in the sense of casual chat - it’s more akin to an audiobook with a couple of people going over the history of certain countries that have been a target of US imperialism, such as Korea and Cuba)
Thank you! ^^
Ah yes I am familiar with Blackshirts and Reds, but I’ve never heard of Blood in my Eye before. I’ll definitely add it to the list, thank you for the recommendation. 😄
I’ve heard of Blowback! It’s really well done. I’ve watched a few seasons but I haven’t gotten through everything yet. I think the season about Korea was my favorite. It’s really well made.
Thank you for the recommendations, always appreciated!
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Other than that I love cooking despite it not loving me back.
What is your favorite dish to cook?
Oh and welcome, comrade! Glad to have you here.
Thank you!
My favourite dish to make would probably be Gyeran jjim. ( Korean Steamed Eggs ) It’s quick and easy and watching the egg rise super high is always exciting to watch! I like to add a little bit of soy sauce for some extra flavour, but not too much. `^^
