I stumbled onto LeftValues and took the quiz. Turns out that my political leanings aren't what I thought they were. Like, not even close. Just to preface, apparently I fall somewhere between Democratic Socialism and Centrist Marxism, with some leanings towards Social Democracy. 0% in common with Marxism-Leninism, which isn't going to be very popular in this community, but it's likely because of my feelings on centralization.
So, with all that in mind, does anyone have any recommended reading?
Definitions from the website follow below. And if this should be posted somewhere better, please let me know! :)
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Democratic Socialism is a form of socialism that seeks to utilize liberal democracy as a means to achieve a socialist economy and society. Democratic Socialists reject revolution and a centrally planned economy, instead supporting moderate social ownership in the form of publicly owned utilities and democratic workplace self-management.
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Centrist Marxism is a form of Marxism that adopts Marxist views on society and the economy while also refraining from taking a definitive position on revolution and reformism. Many Centrist Marxists may also be more nationalistic than other Marxists.
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Social Democracy is a centre-left ideology that advocates for mixing left-leaning values such as social welfare and corporate regulation with capitalism and liberal democracy in the form of a mixed economy. Many modern Social Democrats favor Keynesian economics.
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Marxism-Leninism is a form of Marxism that was forged in the 20th century in the Soviet Union. Marxist-Leninists heavily favor the use of a communist political party as the platform for both achieving revolution and establishing socialism. Many Marxist-Leninists are somewhat more nationalistic and patriotic than many other Marxists, and may favor industrial progress over environmental goals.
Prolewiki has an absolute beginner’s list that should be valuable to you. +1 to Blackshirts and Reds, personally I would read this before anything else. The State and Revolution is definitely a must read for all socialists, but I think I agree with the beginner list that it would be better as a followup once you’ve got a working understanding of marxism.
We are slowly making companion lists to this one, though it's always difficult to figure out a scope and then only 6-7 books within that scope. When I made that list I imagined someone who knows they're a marxist, or just wants to learn it deeply, but is starting from absolute 0 knowledge. But it wasn't really thought for people who just want to dip their toes in it and figure out if it's "for them".
I think to convince people it's "for them" I would suggest in no particular order the manifesto, blackshirts and reds, discourse on colonialism, On protracted war, and I think also A Socialist, Feminist, and Transgender Analysis of "Sex Work" which is a very thorough and convincing article on the topic. We all have them on ProleWiki.
That's what comes to mind right now anyway. With this list I would start chipping away at instilled ideas and show the power of marxist analyses while still remaining accessible.
To OP the thing with marxism-leninism is that once you get into it it just makes so much sense that you eventually come to the same conclusions as all other MLs. That's why not many people trust online quizzes; they might be able to tell you where you are, kinda, but not where you will end up, even if they often make you think they can. You're also relying on someone else to tell you what your ideology is when chances are, with those broad quizzes, that they don't quite get them. We're talking about a quizz that claims to place you on every ideology conceivable; they can't all be perfectly described. But I get the urge to get some guidance when you're starting out lol.