[Context/Hook] So. You’re fed up with the system. You see suffering abroad and exploitation at home, a looming environmental crisis with no visible alternative within the current framework and voting repeatedly for your local progressive candidate has done nothing to improve your conditions. What should you do? Thankfully, someone wrote an entire book exactly about what is to be done! [Insert glowing animation of Lenin] More seriously if you’ve reached this video, you’re looking for a framework to first and foremost analyze capitalism and understand it and second of all to have a viable alternative, a set of principles to follow, and a guidebook on how to achieve this alternative. For that, sorry not sorry, you have theory to read up on. Everything mentioned in this video is available either as a free pdf or as an audiobook, each work will have links next to its title in the description down below. The framework of these suggestions is Marxist. Our goal as Marxists is not to get lost in an endless envisionment of a perfect communist utopia beyond capitalism, or even to work in the current system. We are first and foremost realists, materialists. Our goal is to understand the material reality of today and to start working within those material conditions, to organize the working class as a political power, to overthrow this capitalist regime and to build socialism. The goal of these recommendations: to equip you with tools to participate in the liberation of all peoples of the world. Before those readings, I suggest you watch a few introductory videos to give you a sense of the topics you’re going to dive into. Paul from Marxism Today has a very good introductory playlist on Marxism 101, and The Marxist Project has very concise vulgarizations regarding political economy. I’ve also made long-form videos on the principle of authority, revolution, human nature, housing, ecology and various critiques of capitalism. Alright. Let’s dive in the sea of paper. Or wavelengths if you’re so inclined to listen to hours of Socialism4All’s voice. Understandable either way.

[Before theory: exposés] These first recommendations aren’t as much theory as they are historical analyses. They aren’t mandatory to have a proper analysis of capitalism, but they are some readings I have very much learned from, and I really recommend looking at them to understand how the current system exploits, pillages and destroys. The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein This first recommendation covers the extent of free-market shock therapy as a tool to destabilize society in a way that restructures it to benefit the owning class. It is a very good read to understand the US’ foreign and domestic policy and to have a general grasp of recent history, which is always useful when it comes to arguing against the system. Having concrete examples of things that happened will always be more persuasive than vague statements and generalizations. No Logo by the same author is also a very good recommendation if you want to understand the reality of sweatshop workers, corporate propaganda and advertising.

The Face of Imperialism by Michael Parenti This one is a beloved reading by Michael Parenti, to understand that US foreign policy isn’t pure irrational ideology or abstractly morally wrong. Rather that it is successful at achieving its goals of first asserting US hegemony, serving the interests of the US national owning class and multinational corporations. And second, of undermining any mass movement or leader that opposes intervention, that refuses to just give away their land and resources to the imperial core and tries to edify a socialist alternative. This work also analyzes how the US manufactures consent at home for these foreign interventions.

Washington Bullets by Vijay Prashad This is a banger work by Prashad discussing US imperialism. It speaks for itself, if you want to dive deeper into revolutionary movements, CIA atrocities and assassinations, and heroes the likes of Thomas Sankara and Che Guevara.

Blackshirts and reds by Michael Parenti This second book by Parenti is key to understanding how fascism rises, how popular leftist movements are crushed by reaction and intervention, how revolutionary socialism has worked in favour of millions of people in the past century, the plight of countries stuck with capitalist restoration, and it arms us with very concrete examples of how and when socialism worked, deconstructing the taboo of Marxism-Leninism, and of the communist boogeyman. A 10/10 read.

Women, race and class by Angela Davis If you’re interested in feminism, intersectionality and liberation movements, Davis has you covered with this Marxist analysis of the condition of women, going over how everything is linked to class and the capitalist system that enables patriarchy.

From these few introductory readings, you should have a good understanding of imperialism, capitalism, and global resistance movements. Now, to actual introductory readings to the world of communist theory.

Why Socialism? By Einstein One piece I always recommend, not because it has any theoretical value but simply because it gives a very important argument in favour of socialism: Albert Einstein wrote this essay in the early 1940s, detailing how a planned economy better allocates resources. This analysis is still relevant today, despite its lack of a theoretical framework.

[Fundamentals of Marxism] This section lays down a very important theoretical framework to understand the inner workings of capitalism, class relations, why socialism can’t just be a utopia, and more specifically the core principles of Marxism, from its materialist philosophy to its critique of capitalist political economy. This is a verbose way to put it, but I promise you’ll understand what this all means after these first few readings.

The Principles of Communism by Engels This first one is a summary of 25 questions answered very concisely by Engels, diving into what is communism, what social classes are and where they originated, how capitalism works, and what is the doctrine to do away with capitalism, different kinds of socialists versus communists, so globally it is an incredibly insightful first read to know the different concepts when diving deeper into socialism.

Wage-Labor and Capital and Value Price and Profit by Marx These essays are excerpts from the larger Capital work by Marx, which I suggest you dip your toes into after these introductory readings, as even though it is quite hard to properly grasp, it allows you to be very articulate in your understanding of capitalist class relations, understanding wages, money, profit and capital. But these essays are fundamental.

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Engels This is part of a larger work titled Anti-Dühring, and it goes over the Marxist framework for socialism, distinguishing it from the utopians and pure idealist prescriptions put forward by those who don’t really understand capitalism to begin with. It’s a really great read to understand just how important it is to have a scientific outlook to socialism rather than start with moralist critiques and vague prescriptions of what the world should be like. Great read.

The three sources and three component parts of Marxism by Lenin If you want to gain a stronger understanding of the fundamentals, what the entire outlook is based on, I recommend picking up this short essay by Lenin which covers the Marxist doctrine of historical and dialectical materialism, the economic doctrine of value, surplus value and scientific socialism, as well as tactics for class struggle. Lenin is always very easy to understand and enjoyable to read. I lowkey suggest you read everything this man ever wrote because it’s just that good.

Introduction to the principles of Marxism-Leninism by Jose Maria Sison Finally for this section, I recommend picking up this 200-page book by Jose Maria Sison, a Filipino Marxist-Leninist and founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines. He wrote this as a more thorough version of the previously mentioned text by Lenin, for all party members to grasp and understand materialism, political economy and scientific socialism. The first covers the philosophical basis of Marxism, then theory of dialectics and knowledge, the material basis of society, the superstructure and revolution. The second covers Marx’s critique of capitalism and Lenin’s critique of monopolist capitalism and imperialism, adding some more recent historical nuance. The third covers the dictatorship of the proletariat, AKA the rule of the workers as opposed to the rule of the capitalists, the socialist economy, and the transition to socialism.

Imperialism: the highest stage of capitalism by Lenin This one is a very important work by Lenin though it is very theoretical and analytical. It lays out a definition of imperialism, how it came to be as the concentration of capital in fewer hands made it mandatory for firms to export capital, and overall if you want to understand the economic basis for US intervention or even global geopolitics, and more broadly of how modern global capitalism works, Vlad has you covered.

[Grasping Materialism] Before continuing, here are some further recommended readings to help you grasp the roots of materialism, dialectics, and the contradictions that guide society. These are not mandatory readings, but it is always good to know what you’re talking about.

Theses on Feuerbach by Marx and Ludwig Feuerbach and the end of classical German philosophy by Engels Similar in form to The Principles of Communism, there are 11 bullet points on materialism. They’re pretty much just quick notes he took but they’re useful regardless. If you want to dive deeper into Feuerbach and classical German philosophy, Engels wrote this quick work covering idealism and materialism from Hege l to Feuerbach all the way to Marxist dialectical materialism

The origins of the family, private property and the state by Engels Important to grasp the historical development of society, this is a reading I suggest to everyone interested in how capitalism came to be, human nature, the state, the nuclear family unit and private property. It helps us grasp historical materialism, the history of class struggle.

Anti-Dühring by Engels This is a huge work by Engels, opposing Herr Eugene Dühring’s philosophy that was promoted by Bebel, leader of the German social democratic party. It goes in detail on the materialist philosophy of Marxism, political economy and scientific socialism, opposed to dogmatist beliefs and utopianism.

On Contradiction and On Practice by Mao Zedong Mao is someone who’s very straightforward in his writings, very easy to read. These two works are the foundations of Maoism, but more specifically on overcoming dogmatism and understanding the contradictions that are at the root of every process in the universe, even capitalism and the socialist class struggle. The Redspark Collective also has a free reading guide to better grasp it.

Materialism and empiro-criticism by Lenin This is a lesser-known work by Lenin around 1908. It dives into a very theoretical foundation for materialism, the theory of knowledge, and historical materialism. I’ll be honest, I have not read it yet, but it is on my reading list along with the following suggestion.

The German Ideology by Marx and Engels Again, to dive even deeper into materialism and German idealism, this is a go-to on my current reading list.

From there, we gain a very clear understanding of the philosophical foundation of the entire world outlook of Marxism-Leninism.

[Scientific Socialism] Now that the foundations are laid out and you understand capitalism, Marxism and communism, it’s time to talk about the edification of socialism. What even is there to be done, should we work in parliamentary democracy, should worker unions be the basis of our organizing, what even is a vanguard? All these questions will be answered with this section on scientific socialism. Because we understand that there is an undeniable material reality, organs of state power that suppress worker resistance and that the capitalists have immense amounts of power to command labor, we know that it is impossible to just abolish the state or capitalism overnight and wish that something good comes out of it. We need a plan, a flawless one at that.

Reform or revolution by Rosa Luxemburg This first text is a pretty short and sweet read by Luxemburg, arguing against Eduard Bernstein’s reformism and in favour of revolution. It argues that socialism cannot be achieved in a parliamentary democracy through gradual reforms, and that a revolutionary transformation of society is needed to truly liberate the working class.

State and Revolution by Lenin Then, to understand the role of the state as an organ of class rules, and how a revolution works, what do we do with the state after the capitalists are overthrown, what is a dictatorship of the proletariat, the concept of a vanguard party, critiques of anarchism and social-democracy, that is the point of this book by Lenin. It must be the most important work mentioned so far, and he wrote it just as the Russian revolution of 1917 came. Pick it up, it’s great!

What is to be done by Lenin Mentioned in the beginning of this video, what is to be Done is a 1902 pamphlet by Lenin covering the strategy of a vanguard party, syndicalism, how to lead popular movements in a way that avoids endless movementism, dogmatism, propaganda efforts, and more. It is very much set in 1902 Russia, and a lot of references are kind of confusing, but the strategy is still very relevant in this era.

Combat Liberalism by Mao Tsetung This is a one-pager by Mao Tsetung, covering the way to combat liberalism in the party and in general discourse: All loyal, honest, active and upright Communists must unite to oppose the liberal tendencies shown by certain people among us, and set them on the right path. This is one of the tasks on our ideological front. It’s a good, quick read on how to talk to liberals and oppose reactionary tendencies. It goes hand in hand with Lenin’s what is to be done.

Left anticommunism: an infantile disorder by Lenin This is a 1920 work by Lenin in defense of the Bolshevik revolutions, talking about failed tendencies of the left, class struggle, trade unions, bourgeois parliaments and so on. It’s important to grasp these concepts when talking about concrete strategy.

Critique of the Gotha Program by Marx An 1875 work by Marx critiquing the program of a draft of the United Workers’ Party of Germany, in this one he addresses the dictatorship of the proletariat, the socialist transition to communism as a stage of historical development rather than socialism as an end-all-be-all or communism as an immediate political goal, commodity production and internationalism. Can’t miss this one!

[The national question] One thing’s for sure, most socialist revolutions happened in feudal or semi-feudal countries, neocolonies and postcolonial places. We can think of China, currently India and the Philippines with their guerilla struggles, the USSR, eastern Europe, Cuba, Vietnam, the list goes on. But there are two other types of societies/nationalities that differ from those: countries of the imperial core in Europe, and settler-colonies like the USA and Canada. The following elements are important to grasp: the importance of the national question (nationalism, the nation-state and class relations), and what is decolonization. The lesson from these readings is, quickly, that the workers of these settler colonies must wage a struggle shoulder-to-shoulder with indigenous nations, as a proletarian class struggle.

Lenin on the national and colonial question These are selected three articles from Lenin by Foreign Languages Press that I’ll put in the description. They broadly go over the socialist revolution and the right of nations to self-determination, as well as the colonial and post-colonial question.

The (n)CPC program on Canada To understand the settler-native relations and nations in Canada specifically, the (n)CPC (a Marxist-Leninist party in Canada) has a great exposé on their party program that focuses on a very straightforward analysis of national struggles, how they should be addressed and the necessity of socialism to eliminate these contradictions.

Finally, there’s a good article by Jared Houston titled “Becoming Proletariat on Stolen Land: Decolonization and Class Consciousness. It puts forward the point that to engage in class struggle must be a revolutionary alliance with indigenous peoples.

Hoxha’s Works on Revolution, Imperialism and Critiques of Maoism I strongly suggest you read up on what Hoxha had to say on Mao’s conceptions of the three-world theory, imperialism and revolutionary alliances and opposition to the USSR. It’s quick insightful and gives us an anti-revisionist ML perspective.

[On Practice] This section regards engaging in class struggle as a communist militant, drawing lessons from previous revolutions like that of 1917 Russia, Maoist guerrillas in the global south, and gives us the tools to be strong, principled and capable of mobilizing and listening to the broader masses. Two very important lessons here: firstly, that one who did not investigate a matter must not talk about it. We must know what we’re talking about, otherwise we risk the integrity of the entire movement. Second, as communists we must be willing to take risks to advance the class struggle. Socialism doesn’t arise by itself, and we don’t contribute to change by larping online from our armchairs.

Araling Aktibista by the Communist Party of the Philippines This is a document I’m nearly finishing up my reading on. The English title is “Activist Study” and it is a mandatory reading for Filipino revolutionaries engaging in actual armed class struggle. The first part of this document is a basic revolutionary attitude, and Mao Tsetung’s five golden rays, some of which I have already recommended. These are fundamental texts in Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, regarding party discipline and not just running away when push comes to shove. Then, it covers revolutionary study, the principle of the mass line, and democratic centralism. Even if you’re not a Maoist it is very insightful work to understand the reality of global south communist movements.

One step forward, two steps back and Party work in the masses by Lenin To gain a better understanding of Bolshevik revolutionary work, these two pieces are insightful.

[Supplementary Readings] If you’re interested, Stalin wrote many insightful pieces on Marxism-Leninism. First and foremost, the Foundations of Leninism goes over the method, theory and tactics of Leninism. Then, these two essays are important to read to understand how to combat liberalism and Trotskyist opportunism. Marxism and the National and Colonial Question is also a good piece regarding national liberation and socialism.

These were foundational works I suggest you read, I’ll make sure to go over them myself again as a refresher. If you have any supplementary suggestions, drop them in the comments below. If you’re looking for works that cover historical event, please make sure they cite proper primary sources and not just throw blanket accusations at people who oppose the imperialist capitalist west. And if you question the legitimacy of a certain work because “they sided with X leader”. Then why not question the legitimacy of those who sided vehemently against them and wrote works only to discredit socialism? Be principled, be critical of what you hear from people who serve the interests of the bourgeoisie and read up on theory!

In any case, I personally suggest you do work on your own reactionary or opportunist tendencies, engage in self-criticism and work up the guts to critique your comrades engaging in such tendencies. Also join a principled party or worker organization in your area. If you’re in eastern Canada or Quebec and are looking to get organized, please contact me via the email in my channel description. I’ll help you out.