Shrew
Active Member
An aunt of mine came from Czechoslovakia.
But it was not that she had some horrible stories to tell or so.
It's more what I saw on television when I was a child.
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Communism: Questions & Answers
- Thread starter Laika
- Start date
But it was not that she had some horrible stories to tell or so.
It's more what I saw on television when I was a child.
Fair enough. Communism is weird subject to talk about because people get very passionate and defensive about it (including myself) when we lack direct experience or alot of information. I can't say that most of the bad stuff said about it is wrong or didn't happen but it can tend to be "absolutised" into the only thing people think about it. It still retains the "enemy image" even after the end of the Cold War for alot of people.
Shrew
Active Member
@Laika
Any suggestions what to read about Communism?
I often thought about reading Das Kapital by Marx but it is rather extensive and if I buy an abridged version I'm not sure how true to the original it is.
Any suggestions what to read about Communism?
I often thought about reading Das Kapital by Marx but it is rather extensive and if I buy an abridged version I'm not sure how true to the original it is.
Yeah, I think Das Kapital is just cruel and unusal punishment. I still haven't read it.
I think Communism is best understood in terms of its history. Studying the theory is useful but you can miss a lot of the meaning of it unless you have a decent background knowledge. It would be like trying to explain Christianity or Islam without knowing their historical evolution as that shows why it changed as well as how.
I haven't read this book but Robert Service is a good author with a grasp on the subject. I have his biographies of Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky, and they are all very readable. So I would guess this would be a good place to start.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Comrades-Communism-History-Robert-Service/dp/0330439685
If you looking for something by a specifically marxist author explaining their ideas, just ask. I thought it would be better having a good outline rather than swamp you with stuff you may not want or need.
Shrew
Active Member
Thanks for the hint.I haven't read this book but Robert Service is a good author with a grasp on the subject. I have his biographies of Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky, and they are all very readable. So I would guess this would be a good place to start.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Comrades-Communism-History-Robert-Service/dp/0330439685
If you looking for something by a specifically marxist author explaining their ideas, just ask. I thought it would be better having a good outline rather than swamp you with stuff you may not want or need.
I will look around, perhaps I find some material in German.
For a beginning it is always better to read in one's native language.
Interesting that the anarchists have a much better record on this front than the vanguardists, hey?
Interesting that the anarchists have a much better record on this front than the vanguardists, hey?
Well it gave George Orwell a lot of good writing material. E.g. Homepage to Catalonia, animal farm and nineteen-eighty-four.
If nothing else we make good villains and nightmares about "reds under the bed".