Fair, the Hexbear group shouldn't reject you though!

Yes. I will post a thread for each every Monday.

you're going to do soviet democracy and cowbee's list at the same time?

Reading circles help!

it’s clearly the only path forward, but i literally just got rejected yesterday by the 3rd group i’ve tried to join this year and that’s been a pattern for me since 2001 – reading groups are not option-able for a lot of people.

I will post a thread every monday you can add comments to about the weeks reading. Others will hopefully also add comments so you can reply to them to talk about it.

count me in for the cowbee reading group. It will be beneficial to (re)read those texts for the purposes of solidifying and cross referencing. (yarn wall meme)

Are we doing critical analysis discussion as well? I ask because ~6 months for the whole course seems like a pretty brisk pace.

Reading circles help! You can bounce ideas off of others, and the schedule helps maintain momentum!

put me on the list for the basic course. i have free time for now and have been meaning to it.

i've tried this on my own before -- if you can have more success than i did, lmk how pls :p

I hope as many people join as possible! With that being said, I will also be participating, as I have not yet done a step-by-step readthrough myself. I will actively be looking for feedback on improvements. Primarily, I wish to ruthlessly cut what does not add tremendously to the guide, as I firmly believe the goal of this guide is to equip people with the basic knowledge needed to join an organization active in their areas, and carry on your studies with the party you join.

I also think this list will be very helpful both for new comrades that have not studied much, as well as comrades that have studied a lot. I have included lesser-read works that I believe deserve study and discussion. Each weak, I will give my thought process on why I included each work, why they have their place, and whether or not I think they should be taken out or replaced.

I will be reading everyone’s comments eagerly, and cannot wait to study alongside everyone! The same goes for the Sovietology group, I learned a lot, and cannot wait to learn more!

Thanks! I hadn't heard of this book and it seems like something I should check out.

For everyone else the author has released it free (but you can also buy physical if you want) https://labourdialectics.org/

All I could think of after watching this video was this song:

And the people in the houses

All went to the university

Where they were put in boxes

And they all came out the same

And there’s doctors and lawyers

And business executives

And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky

And they all look just the same

And they all play on the golf course

And drink their martinis dry

And they all have pretty children

And the children go to school

And the children go to summer camp

And then to the university

Where they are put in boxes

And they all come out the same

https://youtu.be/XUwUp-D_VV0

Time to improve human quality of life.

Meritocracy is plain bullshit. Just the abstract idea; for it to work, everyone should start equal. That means their parents were all equal, because people are equal. Then you get to different incomes because everyone will act in a specific way, because they are different. You get to different results because people are all different. So people are both all equal and different at the same time. Genius liberal thinking

I guess I need to read the literature that explains that a meritocracy that invests heavily at all levels of society would be more effecient, productive, etc.

Also, the most racist whites keep doing dna tests and they are not pure.

It’s literally ignorant assholes and inbreds falling for propaganda.

This dude is right, it so dumb but the people that need to learn are too dumb to understand they’re being duped.

Who are they?

Don't forget that they are actually trying to restrict their racist ass definition of white again with this "heritage american" shit.

Obligatory:

it sure is an oligarchy today, i wonder how this happened? i just finished chapter 11 of The Shock Doctrine, i highly recommend it. in short, the embracing of rapid and violent privatization in russia was due to demands by the World Bank and IMF. the "hope" by jeffrey sachs was that after "democratizing" their economy to be free and open to foreign investment and businesses, large loans would be given from the IMF to help stabilize their financial crisis. instead, no aid came, furthering the crisis and enriching the new oligarchic class, buying up over 100,000+ state companies for bargain deals (think fewmillion for companies with hundreds of millions/billions in revenue). tldr; the only reason an oligarchic class was born in russia was because of neoliberal chicago boys influence "neoliberal-izing" their economy. of course, the people of russia suffered (and continues to) immensely. i like this section from the book:

"... Sachs could not see the most glaring political reality confronting him in Russia: there was never going to be a Marshall Plan for Russia because there was only ever a Marshall Plan because of Russia.

...

This was the real tragedy of the promise made to the Poles and Russians that if they followed shock therapy they would suddenly wake up in a "normal European country." Those normal European countries (with their strong social safety nets, workers' protections, powerful trade unions and socialized health care) emerged as a compromise between Communism and capitalism [not sure why Klein only chose to capitalize communism, but whatever]. Now that there was no need for compromise [after the fall of the USSR], all those moderating social policies were under siege in Western Europe, just as they were under siege in Canada, Australia, and the US. Such policies were not about to be introduced in Russia, certainly not subsidized with Western funds."

it's serious business -- unlike stomping on turles and each mushrooms and stars :p

Serious Mario is serious.

Oh do explain how pointing out that you are troll spewing ignorant nonsense is misogynist. This ought to be good. Maybe don't respond with utter drivel if you want people to respect you.

@yogthos you're a toxic misogynist. You could be nice and have a discussion, but you choose to be insulting and to degrade people who respond to your comments.