this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2024
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i would keep it simple and limited, when it comes to theory. The Communist Manifesto, Principles of Communist, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, Civil War in France, Critique of the Gotha Programme, Capital Vol. 1 - that's more than enough. if you like, you can replace Capital with books like Lenin's Imperialism or State and Revolution.
something i would keep in mind - at the end of the day Marx was true to his roots as a philosopher. i would be surprised if you can pick up an 'introductory' or 'easy' text by Marx without taking notes and reading a second or third time.
when reading, questions you may ask: "Marx argues [point], but why? Is this argument convincing? There are a lot of words I'm familiar with here, is he using them in the common sense, or is he referencing something else? Is that his own theory and what he personally believes, or is he making a point about another thinker (i.e., Proudhon, Hegel, Smith, Ricardo, Lassalle, Feuerbach)? What assumptions is he making? Why should I believe this? Why do I agree/disagree with this?"
If you agree with everything you read on first encounter, without questioning or doubting it, you might've misread something or you might be missing context. I, for example, had to read Critique of the Gotha Programme multiple times because on first time I was careless and failed to distinguish between Lassalle and Marx, and the second time I failed to distinguish between 'wealth' and 'value' - both mistakes are so wrong I would've been better reading nothing.
I don't question or doubt anything lol
i'm trying to think up a method or a book that'd be helpful to work from, but i don't want to limit Marx to philosophy
maybe trying these strategies with something light, but theory-heavy enough, would be helpful. for that i would recommend reading Chapter 1 of Walter Rodney's How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Feel free to work through other portions as you please, or if you feel necessary, like the Introduction.
There's also Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Freire, and Development as Modernity by Lushaba
for the purposes of a book club, though, i'm sure The Communist Manifesto and Principles of Communism will be alright. When you discuss with other people, you'll learn a lot faster. They'll pick up on details that you won't, and vice versa.
PS: I forgot to mention that Capital, at least the first volume, will be required at some point; and also, Theses on Feuerbach is deceptively short, each 'thesis' is densely packed info, I did not know this and, as a result, didn't really understand any thesis except the last
later on it could be a good idea to quickly look through For Marx by Althusser. this will give a good idea about how much someone can get out of Theses on Feuerbach if they study it carefully and research around the topics.