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Basic Communist/Socialist Reading List
These 5 Works are Necessary Reads for Every Communist & Socialist
Comrade Drew
March 24, 2025
Introduction:
There are differing opinions from leftists on whether or not it is necessary to read theory. I am firmly in the camp that it is necessary for a couple reasons: education, specifically self-education, is good for you because learning how to intake knowledge and actually use it is one of the most important skills that one can have, theory is theoretical, not practical, but theory provides a base from which practicality can flourish from a structured methodology, and last, but not least, we should read—we should read far and wide—because we are becoming increasingly worse at it, and it’s not an ability that we can afford to lose. With that being said, I don’t think theory is the end-all-be-all for communists/socialists; we absolutely need to combine theoretical knowledge with practical experience. So here is my list for the five basic, but necessary, readings for all communists and socialists as well as my reasoning behind selecting these specific works! All available works will be linked below so you can access them for free :)
1) The Principles of Communism by Friedrich Engels
The Principles of Communism is by far the best first work of theory that you can read because it introduces and explains many of the terms that you’ll see throughout the majority of communist/socialist theory. Terms that are necessary to understand such as “proletariat” and “communism” are given a brief, yet informative, explanation that allows one to gain valuable insight without the density of some other works. In a span of thirty-or-so pages, and answering twenty-five questions, Engels delivers a very accessible and informative “pocketbook” on communism/socialism including the history behind the classes, information regarding what communism/socialism would look like, and why it is the best way forward for the laboring masses. Definitely give this one a look if you haven’t already!
Socialism: Utopian and Scientific is a great work by Engels that establishes why and how Scientific Socialism, the Socialism of Marxists, socialists, and communists, is based on concrete material conditions rather than the “utopian” idealist conditions that aren’t possible in contemporary society. It touches on Utopian Socialism, dialectics, and historical materialism in a way that is easy to understand and proves why Marx, Engels, and their comrades were not dreamers thinking up a world that is unachievable and unrealistic, but philosophers and great thinkers basing their theories on the material conditions of the world, and how matter is the driving force for all of society, which led to their historical materialism—an incredible knowledge of history and how societies have changed over the course of human existence based on the material conditions of the time—and how problems are responded to through material based solutions rather than idealistic ones. It’s an excellent look into Marx’s and Engels’ dialectical materialism, it’s fairly easy to read and understand since Engels wrote it, and it’s not long. Please do yourself a favor and read this if you haven’t yet!
3) Wage-Labour and Capital/Value, Price and Profit by Karl Marx
This is the most “difficult” work on this list, but I still consider it necessary as it is really helpful to read before you dive into Capital. Everything covered in Wage-Labour and Capital and Value, Price and Profit is covered in Capital, however this work is still good for providing an understanding into Marx’s economic theories before deciding to read his magnum opus. Marx makes the argument that the laborer has only their labor power as a commodity in which they sell to the capitalist in return for a wage, thus making the laborer its own form of capital for the bourgeoisie to create value in the form of profit for the owner of said capital; wherein the capitalist needs more labor capital to create more profit which reduces the “value” of a single laborer so they get treated worse and worse which leads to discontent and eventually revolution. That’s my basic summary to be taken with a grain of salt as I haven’t read it in over two years, but it gets the general idea. Marx’s writing is not difficult, but it’s more dense in terminology that was more common during his time than the writing of Engels or Lenin. I definitely recommend giving this a read before moving onto Capital as it will only help you understand that work better!
4) The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism by Vladimir Lenin
“The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism” by Lenin is the shortest work on here, but is an excellent introduction into what comprises Marxism. I’ve written briefly about this essay before, but I’ll be more summative here. Lenin, who had the greatest understanding of Marxism in his time, writes about the three main components of Marxist ideology and the sources for where Marx and Engels developed those components. Lenin states that the philosophy of Marxism is dialectical materialism—which is crucial to understand for the vast majority of theory—, capitalism, through its inherent nature in maximizing capital, and, consequently, profit for the capitalist, is what creates the great power of the proletariat, and the class struggle is the driving force of all development. Lenin explains how Marx and Engels expanded upon the ideas of the German Idealists—namely Hegel and Feuerbach—to create the philosophy of dialectical materialism which they expanded upon even further with historical materialism to explain the changes underwent throughout all societies. Through looking at the nature of wage-labor and the treatment of the laborer, Lenin explains how capitalism drive the laboring class closer together through its exploitation and mistreatment of the proletariat. Finally, Lenin uses historical materialism to explain how capitalism developed out of feudalism and why class struggle was at the forefront of that development. I don’t want to say too much as this is literally a fifteen minute read. Absolutely check this out if you are struggling to understand what comprises Marxism or how the components developed!
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5) The State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin
The State and Revolution is one of the most important pieces of theory because it comprises so much from other revolutionaries as well as polemics against Karl Kautsky, the imperialist nature of WWI, and other opportunists within the greater Marxist movement. It’s around 100 pages with tons of passages from Marx and Engels explaining the state, its purpose, why the state is needed for the proletarian revolution, and how the state becomes dismantled. Lenin uses historical examples of the Revolution of 1848 as well as the Paris Commune of 1871 to show how opportunism betrays the proletariat, and how the state withers away once the proletariat has seized control of it. This is my personal favorite book on this list and I cannot say enough about it. So much of what Lenin wrote here still resonates today and should be studied and understood by communists and socialists. This is 100% a must read!
Conclusion:
Take everything here with a grain of salt as this was my opinion on a basic reading list that should be easy to understand while still being really informative for communists and socialists. As I said before, I have linked all the works available online for free below so you can check them out without having to purchase them! Let me know what you think—did I miss something, or is there something that you’d replace, or maybe you thought my list was pretty good and just want to let me know. If you have some spare time then reading is never a bad idea, especially theory which can be both entertaining and informative for us all to take and learn from. I hope you got something of value out of this list. If you’d like another reading list, perhaps a more advanced or modern list, then please let me know in the comments!
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