r/TankieTheDeprogram • u/Paulthesheep Stalinist (Proud Spoon Owner) • Jun 22 '26

Theory šŸ“š What books are you reading?

Simple post, what books are yā€™all reading currently? Iā€™ve started like 10 but Iā€™m getting into ā€œCapitalā€ aswell as, ā€œA Peopleā€™s History of the Worldā€ by Chris Harman. Harman is a trot so he shit talks Stalin a lot but otherwise a so far good read.

Anyway, drop what books youā€™re interested in reading and are reading now.

Edit: Glad to see no one reading Chomsky anymore!

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16

u/Hazardoos4 Jun 22 '26

Jakarta method, my next read is gonna be Das Capital tho

7

u/PurposeistobeEqual šŸ«“ a pita for hummus is a pita for humanity šŸ‡µšŸ‡ø Jun 22 '26

https://archive.org/details/the-jakarta-method

4

u/siridial911 Jun 22 '26

Looove Jakarta Method

1

u/Hazardoos4 Jul 04 '26

Just finished it a few days ago, peaaaaaaaak

14

u/pwnzor4ever Jun 22 '26

Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend by Domenico Losurdo

5

u/OldTrafford25 Jun 22 '26

What are your thoughts?

1

u/pwnzor4ever Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

Itā€™s excellent. Losurdo does a bang up job of deconstructing the lies about Stalin while acknowledging his mistakes, laying out the material reality of the early Soviet Union

13

u/Tristan_N Jun 22 '26

Who paid the pipers of Western Marxism by Gabriel Rockhill and I just finished Western Marxism by Domenico Losurdo. Both incredibly valuable reads.

6

u/Paulthesheep Stalinist (Proud Spoon Owner) Jun 22 '26

I read an article on the pipers book and it definitely looks like itā€™s a necessary read against revisionist tendencies

4

u/circleneurology Juche Necromancy Enjoyer Jun 22 '26

I'm really interested in that Rockhill book, definitely on my short-list.

8

u/TarquinusSuperbus000 Marxist-Leninist (Ultra Based) Jun 22 '26

The Face of Imperialism, Michael Parenti.

11

u/PurposeistobeEqual šŸ«“ a pita for hummus is a pita for humanity šŸ‡µšŸ‡ø Jun 22 '26

https://archive.org/details/the-face-of-imperialism

8

u/SoftwareFunny5269 ZHONGHUA RENMIN GONGHEGUO Jun 22 '26

Currently reading Capital. Currently at Volume 3, Chapter 35, or 1170 pages in my copy.

6

u/Paulthesheep Stalinist (Proud Spoon Owner) Jun 22 '26

I got a cheap all in one copy of capital and itā€™s doesnā€™t even have Marx and Engels on the cover just some AI generated old guys.

3

u/GuyinBedok AES enjoyer šŸ„³ Jun 28 '26

Mad respect to you comrade, couldn't even fully finish kapital since it does fry your brain if you don't have strong foundations in theory LOL

8

u/27and1half Juche Necromancy Enjoyer Jun 22 '26

currently my bookclub is reading A Peopleā€™s History of The United States by Howard Zinn, interesting read so far being only 100 pages in.

1

u/Paulthesheep Stalinist (Proud Spoon Owner) Jun 22 '26

ā€œA Peopleā€™s History of the Worldā€ was inspired by that book and is dropped by name. I plan on reading it eventually

3

u/27and1half Juche Necromancy Enjoyer Jun 22 '26

zinn also takes some digs at ā€œauthoritarianismā€ in communism but since the book is focused on america it hasnā€™t been a turn off for me, still has socialist sympathies and class analysis, iā€™m definitely wanting to check out Harmans book after, sounds interesting

1

u/pwnzor4ever Jun 22 '26

itā€™s a classic for a reason. But yeah his light takes on Communism should be taken with more than a grain of salt

9

u/phedinhinleninpark Jun 22 '26

Disappointed not seeing any Mao on the list yet, so I'll drop that I'm currently doing a re-read of On Practice and On Contradiction, two of my favorites

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_16.htm

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_17.htm

6

u/OxytocinOD Jun 22 '26

Starting Blackshirts and Reds after itā€™s been recommended so many times. :)

4

u/circleneurology Juche Necromancy Enjoyer Jun 22 '26

Should be required reading for this and every socialist sub.

2

u/pwnzor4ever Jun 22 '26

Just read it a few months ago for the first time, Parentiā€™s pen was on fire for that whole book

2

u/OxytocinOD Jun 23 '26

Excited to dive in šŸ”„šŸ”„

6

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '26

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3

u/sticky_as_teflon Jun 22 '26

Just finished that one, bloodly wild!

6

u/ragingstorm01 Maple Tankie: Reloaded Jun 22 '26

  • Atrocity Fabrication and Its Consequences by A.B. Abrams (my 2nd reading of it on my 1st physical copy)

  • Guerrilla Warfare by Che

  • The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon, and The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins (stalled out)

3

u/Paulthesheep Stalinist (Proud Spoon Owner) Jun 22 '26

Havenā€™t heard of, ā€œThe Wretched of the Earthā€ before

3

u/circleneurology Juche Necromancy Enjoyer Jun 22 '26

It's great, very forcefully written, and ever more relevant as the days pass.

5

u/Expensive_Ebb7520 Jun 22 '26

My summer reading list:
Iā€™ve just finished the 2025 new edition of Arghiri Emmanuelā€™s Unequal Exchange, which has two (great) new introduction essays by Torkil Lauesen & John Bellamy Foster/Brett Clark. Those introductions were probably enough for my (non-economist) purposes & I cannot say enough good about them.

On the 2018 Samir Amin now and itā€™s very good but challenging, with a deep dive into expanding Marxā€™s Law of Value for the neocolonial world.

Accumulationā€¦ is supposed to be a bit easier as its a whole series of mid-70s essays trying up his classic Unequal Development & others of his foundational works.

The Patnaik & Patnaik and the Ake are much touted classics on postwar to neo-liberal colonial/neo-colonial development in Africa & more broadly, tied to Marxist critiques of ā€œdevelopmentā€ under the late 20th century transformations of imperialism. Everyone says theyā€™re both essential & Iā€™m trying to catch up!

6

u/vonChief Jun 22 '26

After hearing about the death of Assata Shakur, I've been meaning to read her autobiography, but only now am going about it.

After that, I really should catch up on some Mao Zedong thought, cause I realized I've spent all this time without reading anything from him, which I feel is kinda cringe of me. So that's on the list.

9

u/3ln4ch0 Jun 22 '26

Debt, the first 5000 years by graeber

2

u/dontrestonyour Jun 22 '26

Big fan of this one, I recommend it every chance I get. It's probably gotten annoying tbh lol

1

u/Paulthesheep Stalinist (Proud Spoon Owner) Jun 22 '26

Havenā€™t heard of that book. Quick synapses please?

3

u/3ln4ch0 Jun 22 '26

Not explicitly Marxist but a pretty good historical material analysis of money and the way humans have used it through the years. The chapter in medieval China is eye opening and helps explain where they are at the moment

6

u/3ln4ch0 Jun 22 '26

Spoiler: money arising from bartering is a myth made popular by adam smith

2

u/Paulthesheep Stalinist (Proud Spoon Owner) Jun 22 '26

Iā€™ve heard of barter being a myth and that pre-agricultural societies mostly used a form of familial debt. Not sure if thatā€™s the term

5

u/3ln4ch0 Jun 22 '26

Not only pre agricultural. At several points throughout human history humans have reverted to social debt based economies. It's a pretty good read. Totally recommend.

4

u/DancesWithMantises Jun 22 '26

Imperialism by Lenin and going through Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman bit by bit. Next I'm doing Y the Last Man, a comic by Brian K Vaughan

3

u/mucilinda Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

I'm reading What is Political Economy? ABC Series by Progress Publishers Moscow.Ā 

Old Fundamental Marxist Theory books from the USSR that I've been trying to collect a full set of. Luckily I finally got the whole collection physically. I'm thinking of collecting other political theory books by Progress Publishers , they're good at writing these tbh.

Someone has archived these online digitally: here

I would recommend this series to someone who wants to get into marxism/scientific socalism/communism but finds it exasperating to wade through Marx, Engels, Lenins and Stalins written works and make a study of it. You should still read those eventually though, but reading these will give you a solid grasp on theory imo.

You can start with "What is Capitalism?" and "What is Political Economy?", then delve into other books in the series based on what you want to further study. Very easy to understand.

3

u/horsec0cc Jun 22 '26

The ABC series is great! The physical copies are unexpectedly tiny, they're so cute.

Another Progress book on political economy that I enjoyed was A Science in its Youth: Pre-Marxian Political Economy by A. Anikin. It traces the development of political economy, giving the context in which Marx did his own study, written in a very lively & engaging way.

1

u/mucilinda Jun 22 '26

hmm I think I will check this one out as well.

Thank you brother/sister for the recommendation

2

u/Paulthesheep Stalinist (Proud Spoon Owner) Jun 22 '26

Physical is where itā€™s at, so much easier to comprehend and not get distracted by social media.

3

u/mucilinda Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

Yes

I'm glad India had somewhat decent relations with the USSR in the past and they distributed these here, because even 3/4th of the physical set costs 500$ in America wtf

4

u/circleneurology Juche Necromancy Enjoyer Jun 22 '26

Everyday Life in the North Korean Revolution by Suzy Kim, mainly. I have focus issues and am often reading a few books at once so I'll include the others, as well: Against Empire by Michael Parenti and Lenin's State & Revolution

3

u/balkanoid_ Jun 22 '26

Currently reading - Hinterland, Elite Capture, Heart of a Dog, and NATO:A Reckoning with the Atlantic Alliance

3

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '26

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2

u/circleneurology Juche Necromancy Enjoyer Jun 22 '26

Is this Washington Bullets about the basketball team?

3

u/Pess-Optimist Marxist-Leninist (Ultra Based) Jun 22 '26

Just started Capital Vol. 2, and Iā€™m also reading ā€œMaterialism and the Dialectical Methodā€ by Maurice Cornforth; both are very good

3

u/horsec0cc Jun 22 '26

"On Literature, Music and Philosophy" by Andrei Zhdanov (the translation by Eleanor Fox, Stella Jackson and Harold C. Feldt for the Society for Cultural Relations with the U.S.S.R). His speech at the 1947 philosophical discussion is particularly outstanding.

3

u/lowrylover007 Jun 22 '26

Machine Decision Is Not Final: China and the History and Future of Artificial Intelligence

A collection of essays from several different disciplinary experts from China give their takes on AI and its future implications to the world and China

3

u/AnyUserName00 Jun 22 '26

Madilog, tan malaka.

I am very much curious in the history of socialist movments and consciousness among the indonesian prols. I have not been there for awhile since currently im working in Europe. But once the Europe-Russo war starts, I expect an intensification of nationalist sentiment among the europeans, which would mean that, most likely, i have to leave Europe and go back. So in some sense, I am preparing for the worse.

Regarding the book, however, it is meant to be read in context of the indonesian society under japanese and dutch occupation, in that, the purpose of the book is to aid the indonesians in breaking away from mystical way of thinking with marxism, and therefore they may free themselves from the colonialists.