/lit/ - Literature

Discord link: https://discord.gg/aFsEFfF
Reading: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/

Are you apprehensive at global politics having recently taken a turn towards the sinister?

Have you found yourself struggling with political apathy, caught between a puritanically scrupulous left and a plainly fascistic right?

Have you lost your faith in the free market? Do you tire of corporations like Google and Facebook entrenching themselves in our already fraying social fabric? Do you resent their turning the human being into a commodity, to be bought and sold by idle speculators?

Our Discord is hosting CRITICAL, NON-DOGMATIC readings of some key Marxist and post-Marxist texts, starting with "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism" by V.I. Lenin, a particularly accessible text for those unfamiliar with other Marxist writing, and relatively short. This work, written in the early 20th century, concerns itself with describing the then-latest stage of capitalism: Monopoly. Lenin explains in detail how the concentration of the means of production by a few monopolists is an inevitable consequence of free competition, with reference to real examples from major capitalist economies, and how the domination of production by these monopolies effectively removes many spheres of economic life from public competition, transforming capitalism into a form of imperialism.

All are welcome to read and discuss, regardless of experience level or political leaning, and there is no strict schedule or commitment necessary. All we ask is that you engage with the text in good faith and put your best foot forward in the discussions.