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Radical Reading List
Blood in My Eye - George JacksonGeorge Jackson was given a sentence of one year to life at the age of 18 for the alleged theft of $70 from a gas station. Written from prison (where he would spend the rest of his life), George Jackson makes extremely poignant condemnations of the prison system and the sociopolitical and economic system that feeds it. If theory is intimidating, these letters and essays serve as an excellent introduction to radical and revolutionary ideas.
“If revolution is tied to dependence on the inscrutabilities of “long-range politics,” it cannot be made relevant to the person who expects to die tomorrow. There can be no rigid time controls attached to “the process” that offers itself as relief, not if those for whom it is principally intended are under attack now. If the proponents of revolution cannot learn to distinguish and translate the theoretical into the practical, if they continue to debate just how to call up and harness the conscious motive forces of revolution, the revolutionary ideal will be the loser—it will be rejected.”
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa - Walter Rodney
An excellent introduction to imperialism, colonialism, and its connections to capitalism. One may go into the book with a moderate understanding of their connections, but the thoroughness of Walter Rodney’s work is undeniable. Creating a framework to make sense of the world, it is a paradigm shifting book that makes stomaching our current imperial structure impossible.
The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz FanonFanon demonstrates the importance of underdeveloped nations in global politics and the effects of colonization on its peoples. An important stepping stone in an American’s political radicalization is seeing the world beyond the domestic. Politics do not end at the borders of the United States. Foreign Policy is more than just something to debate come election cycles. See the world around you. Understand the effects of American and European colonization and their intrisic connection to capitalism.
Principles of Communism/Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx and Friedrich EngelsThe seminal texts of the communist movement. Marx and Engels lay out the goals of the communist party and very briefly give context to the social structures that proceed our current one. Brief, albeit foundational, introductions to the ideas of communism.
The State and Revolution - Vladimir LeninLenin, prior to the 1917 revolution that saw the Bolsheviks take power in Russia, writes at length regarding the function of the state and the need for revolution. Quoting Marx and Engels at length, he takes to task contemporary writers and theorists he felt misused and abused the writings of the “fathers of communism.” He argues at length that the state exists as a consequence of class irreconcilability and that revolution is the only way forward.
Che - John Lee AndersonPutting at the end of this list as it is incredibly long and not particularly political in its writing. However, reading of anti-colonial theory and thought being put into action helps humanize a struggle that is so foreign to those of us residing within the states or any other imperialist nation. Excerpts of Guevara’s writings are included throughout and paint a clear picture of the power and resilience of the underdevloped nation. They are not to be forgotten.