“Without Revolutionary theory, there can be no Revolutionary Movement.”

• Vladimir Lenin, What is to be Done? | Audiobook

It’s time to read theory, comrades! As Lenin says, “Despair is typical of those who do not understand the causes of evil, see no way out, and are incapable of struggle.” Marxism-Leninism is broken into 3 major components, as noted by Lenin in his pamphlet The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism: | Audiobook

1. Dialectical and Historical Materialism

2. Critique of Capitalism along the lines of Marx’s Law of Value

3. Advocacy for Revolutionary and Scientific Socialism

As such, I created the following list to take you from no knowledge whatsoever of Marxism, and leave you with a strong understanding of the critical fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism in an order that builds on itself over time. Let’s get reading!

Section I: Getting Started

1. Friedrich Engels’ Principles of Communism | Audiobook

The go-to FAQ of Communism. Quick to read, and easy to reference if you ever want to clear up a misconception you see or have.

2. Michael Parenti’s Blackshirts and Reds | Audiobook

Breaks down fascism and its mortal enemy, communism, and their antagonistic relationship. Understanding what fascism is, where and when it rises, why it appears, and how to banish it forever is critical. It also helps debunk common anti-Communist myths, from both the “left” and the right.

Section II: Historical and Dialectical Materialism

3. Georges Politzer’s Elementary Principles of Philosophy | Audiobook

By far my favorite primer on Marxist philosophy. By understanding DiaMat first, you make it easier to understand the rest of Marxism. Marxist states have historically taught Dialectical and Historical Materialism before Political Economy for that very reason.

4. Friedrich Engels’ Socialism: Utopian and Scientific | Audiobook

Further reading on DiaMat, but crucially introduces the why of Scientific Socialism, essentially explaining how Capitalism itself preps the conditions for public ownership and planning by centralizing itself into monopolist syndicates.

Section III: Political Economy

5. Karl Marx’s Wage Labor and Capital as well as Wages, Price and Profit | Audiobook

Best taken as a pair, these essays simplify the most important parts of the Law of Value.

6. Vladimir Lenin’s Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism | Audiobook

Absolutely crucial and the most important work for understanding the modern era and its primary contradictions.

Section IV: Revolutionary and Scientific Socialism

7. Rosa Luxemburg’s Reform or Revolution | Audiobook

If Marxists believed reforming Capitalist society was possible, we would be the first in line for it. Sadly, it isn’t possible, which Luxemburg proves in this monumental writing.

8. Vladimir Lenin’s The State and Revolution | Audiobook

Excellent refutation of revisionists and Social Democrats who think the State can be reformed, and not replaced.

Section V: Intersectionality and Solidarity

9. Vikky Storm and Eme Flores’ The Gender Accelerationist Manifesto | (No Audiobook yet)

Critical reading on understanding misogny, transphobia, and homophobia, as well as how to move beyond. Uses the foundations built up in the previous works to analyze gender theory from a Historical Materialist perspective.

10. Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth | (No Audiobook yet)

Decolonialism is essential to Marxism. Without having a strong, decolonial, internationalist stance, we have no path to victory nor a path to justice.

Section VI: Putting it into Practice!

11. Mao Zedong’s On Practice and On Contradiction | Audiobook

Mao wrote simply and directly, targeting peasant soldiers during the Revolutionary War in China. This pair of essays equip the reader with the ability to apply the analytical tools of Dialectical Materialism to their every day practice, and better understand problems.

Congratulations, you completed your introductory reading course!

You are now educated on the fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, and are equipped to do your own Marxist-Leninist analysis, comrade! Don’t think you can stop here, though. To be a revolutionary is to be a constant student, to be industrious, to have solidarity, to test theory and meet it with practice. Our struggle is a winnable one!

Next, I would continue to read intersectional theory. Leslie Feinberg’s Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue, J. Sakai’s Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat and Juno Mac and Molly Smith’s Revolting Prostitutes are all excellent next steps in your journey.

“Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent.”

• Mao Zedong