For someone who takes a little bit longer to understand all the concepts and maybe some of the concepts will forever be beyond them. Asking for a friend.
i think i might be the friend op is asking for.
If they can get the basics they can do some quality agit-prop. A lot of communists get too educated to speak like a normal person. They say things like “The capitalist bourgeoisie are the bane of the proletariat’s existence. We must seize the means of production to keep a fair share of the profits of our labor and liberate the peoples of the world from their reactionary indoctrination before there can be a equitable society of peaceful existence.”
A dumber person would say “Rich people steal half of every worker’s pay check and spend a quarter getting workers to fight each other. We need to kill the rich.”
You might be selling your friend short. Not everyone needs to understand all the works of former revolutionaries. The communist movement has many facets and requires all kinds of people with different skill sets and life experience.
One reason why some people might find it difficult to understand the concepts in ML literature, is because they find it difficult to envision it put in practice. This is why, for those people, it is beneficial to get some practical experience before diving further into the literature. Once they experience hang-ups in their own organizing, they might find help in some of the literature that directly relates to their hang-ups.
I won’t say that communists shouldn’t strive to always continue their education, but if someone does not grasp the words that they’re reading, then they must try something else. My biggest critique on communists reading lists is that they do not offer practical advice on how to start organizing, so many communists read all the books without putting the words to practice because they’re not sure how. Most organizing is local, and thus depends on location and existing local structures.
Here’s a few ways someone could get started on gaining practical organizing experience:
- Talk with people you come across, try to understand their grievances, their relation to capital and how they perceive their relation to capital.
- join any sort of political organisation that does more than just reading, and switch organisations if you feel like it fits you better. It can be climate justice, indigenous justice, international solidarity, a more general socialist organisation, a renters union/collective, neighbourhood mutual aid, whatever exists in your area and fits your vibes.
- join a union and become an active member
- unionise your workplace
- form a renters union
Some of these options are more intimidating than others. Some will be more directly involved with revolutionary struggle than others. The main goal is that one gets to experience the economical, social and political landscapes and the way in which class struggle shapes those landscapes.
Just educate yourself to the best of your abilities and try to make connections that can help you understand or you can get organized with.
Wherever you want :) it’s just what you are willing to learn. As someone said I never read das kapiyal but I felt it’s weight all my life … or something along those lines.
Meatshield
Do not worry, the vanguard party takes care of everything. You continue to do manual labor while they lead the revolution. Your conditions will not change much, but at least the party members will take over the homes and palaces of the ruling class they replaced.
Leadership!
The same role that ‘Boxer’ the horse played in Orwell’s ‘1984’.
That’s animal farm, but I fully agree with your point.
ouf, I don’t know if I want that
