Reading Materials

We have a recommended reading list for members who are new to socialism. We also have a lending library, where members loan books to other members to read. The lending library is currently only available to dues-paying members. The library, this reading list, and other educational materials are developed by our Political Education Committee. Our chapter has voted for an explicitly Marxist stance in regard to political education, and so our political education reflects that.

new to socialism? we recommend these books!

Marxism & Socialism 101

  • Principles of Communism by Friedrich Engels

    • Q&A about socialism that answers basic questions like “What is communism?” and “What is the proletariat?” in concise answers.

  • The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

    • Introduction to key principles of Marxism; ideas of class struggle, the goals of socialists, the differences between Marxism and other socialist ideologies, and how socialists should relate to other ideologies & parties.

  • Critique of the Gotha Program by Karl Marx

    • Critiquing an early socialist platform, and introducing basic Marxist ideas and terms such as “dictatorship of the proletariat”, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”, and others.

  • Socialism: Utopian & Scientific by Friedrich Engels

    • Details key Marxist principles like dialectical & historical materialism, and talks about the difference between utopian (non-Marxist) and scientific (Marxist) socialism.

  • On Authority by Friedrich Engels

    • Small text critiquing anarchism and so-called “libertarian” socialism and how the core ideology behind them is not able to be realized.

Strategy & Tactics

  • State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin

    • Describes the role the state plays in both a non-socialist and socialist society, as well as the need for revolution, and additionally contains critiques of the anarchist understanding of the state.

  • What Is To Be Done? by Vladimir Lenin

    • Largely details the role of a socialist party as well as the concept of democratic centralism. It further contains major criticism of the idea of 'economism': the idea that the working class is unready for political demands, and that organizing should be first and foremost based on economics.

  • Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg

    • Similar to State and Revolution, argues that reform alone is inadequate to achieve a socialist society, and that revolution is necessary to achieve that.

  • "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder by Vladimir Lenin

    • Critique of so-called “left-wing communism” and the struggle socialists must have against it. This details the need for party organization and planning versus spontaneity and horizontalism.

Economics

  • Wage Labor & Capital by Karl Marx

    • In-depth economic and scientific observation on how the capitalist economy works, why it is exploitative, and why it will eventually implode.

  • Value, Price, and Profit by Karl Marx

    • Detailed analysis of Marx’s theories of surplus value and the falling rate of profit in as simple and concise English as possible.

  • Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin

    • As the name suggests, describes how imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism and how capitalism is behind imperialist wars, and the economics associated with all of that.

History, Philosophy, and World Outlook

  • The Eighteenth Brumaire by Karl Marx

    • Principal source for Marx’s theory of the capitalist state, and also a prescient description of fascism.

  • The Civil War in France by Karl Marx

    • Marx’s statement on the significance of the Paris Commune.

  • Dialectics of Nature by Friedrich Engels

    • Unfinished attempt to apply dialectical materialism to nature.

  • The Origin of Family, Private Property, and the State by Friedrich Engels

    • Describes the development of human society and the family, as well as the role of property in the creation of the modern family.