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What is the book that changed your views? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago by Different_pie@lemmy.world to c/books@lemmy.ml

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Please share books that affected your worldview or changed your thoughts.

For me, it’s A People’s History of the World by Chris Harman. I studied business and work in finance, and before reading it, I never questioned the idea that capitalism was just the natural way of things. This book made me realize that capitalism is man made. It had a beginning and it can have an end. Wealth and poverty are not just inevitable, they are created by human decisions. That perspective really shook me.

Do you have a book that had a similar impact on you?

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[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Blackshirts and Reds made the biggest difference on me regarding how I view Socialist states, also called AES, in that it helped me see them in a more sympathetic light and debunked a lot of Red Scare mythology.

As far as personal thought process is concerned, the big 3 works that made a big impact on me are Socialism: Utopian and Scientific for outlining the why of Marxism, Elementary Principles of Philosophy for clearly and simply explaining what Dialectical and Historical Materialism are and how they came to be, and Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, for explaining the primary obstacle in the way of Socialism worldwide.

Honorary mention to Capital, I am not finished with it yet but at the midpoint, it has helped flesh out parts of Marx's Law of Value that are only briefly touched on in works like Wage Labor and Capital and Wages, Price and Profit.

[–] WarmRegards@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I read Lenin's The State and Revolution and followed it with a chaser of Parenti's Blackshirts and Reds a couple years ago. A fine pairing.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 week ago

Both are excellent! The State and Revolution in particular is a surprisingly enjoyable read for its age, and is nevertheless exceedingly relevant. Also a big fan of Parenti's 1986 speech.