They’ll be going to a physical library to get books made of paper, so weird out of print stuff is off the table. Kids these days, with their ‘books’ and ‘physical media that a billionaire can’t delete’, am I right?
My child is old enough to say the fuck word, but not old enough to legally drink. So no need to hold back on complicated or mature content. ML, anarchist, Maoist, weird Deng-Hoxha-Gorbachev stans; any tendency is fine. I know where I stand, but I want them to be able to make up their own goddamn mind and not just agree with me, so diverse viewpoints are cool.
I know there are lists and resources lurking around here in some community’s sidebar, but I got some family emergency stuff to handle in the immediate present. I probably won’t read any of this for a day or two. Do a comrade a solid just this once? Please?
In Vietnamese schools and colleges, before they teach Marxism-Leninism, they first teach philosophy and dialectical materialism. Worldviews and methodologies are the foundations by which we understand ideologies.
For a kiddo that’s old enough to want to read, but young enough to not need the complicated works, I really think something like Why Socialism? by Einstein is a great place to begin. As much as I love Principles of Communism and Socialism: Utopian and Scientific for beginning dedicated study, starting off with a short work by someone outside the typical Marxist sphere is a great way to dip your toes without overwhelming the reader with jargon and context. Maybe also throw in Michael Parenti’s 1986 speech!
If your kiddo wants to go beyond that and dedicate themselves to study, I have a full basic study guide, but I’d hold off on that unless they seem to want to read all they can get their hands on. Maybe This Soviet World if they seem particularly interested in history. Unsure if you can find any of these in the library near you. They should be somewhat accessible at larger libraries though!
It probably not in print in most libraries, but I can’t recommend enough “Human Rights in the Soviet Union”. Its not a hard read and it gives so much historic context. It has its unfortunate takes, but it’s a solid book overall and gives a perspective on the world that most people entirely lack. https://ia800209.us.archive.org/16/items/HumanRightsInTheSovietUnion/Human Rights in the Soviet Union_text.pdf
Honestly your best bet is to hand them a reading list and tell them to try to find any of the books in the library.
I can hardly find any communist books in the libraries here. Maybe if you have a tablet or something you can use Anna’s archive to get some books
Comrade’s Library has high quality ebooks, and Prolewiki’s Library has tons of great books for reading in browser! Neither are print based though.
Hmm, perhaps Principles of Communism by Engels as a start, but I think learning dialectical materialism is one of the most important foundations for becoming revolutionary-minded. It helps to tremendously filter out idealist notions, liberalism, and how to identify revisionism, not to mention understanding the errors of previous and current socialist experiments. Having that scientific footing makes further study so much more effective.
