Absolutely.

Fundamentally, only reading about ideas that you already agree with is bad for you. You will learn less about your beliefs than if you had read something that challenges your beliefs.

Let’s say you’re very pro-capitalist, and you want to know everything about capitalism, so you read Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Great! You learned some things about the historical basis of your beliefs, and there’s value in that. So then you read Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. Okay! So you’re tripling down on the same ideas. You probably already know most of those ideas, though, right? There will be some new stuff, but ultimately it’s more of the same stuff you already know.

So you try some more recent authors, and give a shrug to Ayn Rand, and you give Lions and Scavengers a shot. And maybe you pick up a new thing or two. But mostly, it’s the same ideas that you’re already familiar with.

Do you know what none of these books have? An angle of critique (except Smith, sort of). They’re all just listing all of the good things about capitalism, and they’re not telling you the bad things. Do you believe that Capitalism is a perfect system to organize a nation’s economic policy, with no flaws? No? Then you should be interested in someone who elaborates on some of the negative aspects of capitalism, and what can be done to address those flaws, right? Because if there are flaws, you want to know what they are, so they can be fixed, right?

That’s why you should read Das Kapital.

Yes, you should. Reading something doesn’t mean having to automatically agree with it, but it will broaden your perspective. Read it critically, engage with the arguments being made, and use them to test your own world view. See if the arguments make sense to you, and whether you have strong counter arguments of your own to the ones being made.

Honestly, I find almost everyone who reads the Manifesto and nothing else does not understand it at all. It relies on a lot of complicated ideas which it doesn’t go into detail on, and the popular English translation also has misleading translation errors. People who read it end up filling in the gaps with preconceptions that they have been primed to interpret it as from liberal society, and thus end up interpreting it in a silly way that is not how it was intended at all.

It is better to start with lengthier, more in-depth works that try to actually build out their worldview, like Critique of the German Ideology, The Poverty of Philosophy, and Anti-Durhing.

I feel like you should read anything that people find so polarizing and taboo. It’s short and its pretty dang hard to disagree with.

It’s good, it’s def on the list. You’ll be surprised by how moderate-seeming of Reforms it actually calls for, while being a revolutionary program.

Also read "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, Wage Labor and Capital, and Critique of the Gotha Program. State and Revolution by Lenin and Reform or Revolution by Luxemburg are other great foundational works.

This is a good theory foundation to begin reading socialist history books: Wretched of the Earth, Black Reconstruction in America, Hammer and Hoe, Black Jacobins, History of the German Revolution, History of the Russian Revolution, etc.,

Also big recommendation for Ten Days that Shook the World by Jack Reed, it’s legit one of the most exciting books you’ll ever come across. It’s better than any action fiction book, and it’s just straight journalism of the actual October Russian revolution.

If you like podcasts, Mike Duncan’s Revolutions podcast is pretty good, his last season on the Russian revolution is a good primer for the years prior to the 1917 revolutions, and the first fiveish episodes are pretty good historical and theoretical primers on various revolutionary movements and theorists. Season 10 episodes 2 and 3 are about Marx and Engels specifically, and I know lots of people who had their eyes opened to M&E by these episodes. I think Duncan ends the series on a sour note wrt Lenin that lacks real complexity and depth, but those early episodes are pretty good as an entry-point to Marx&Engels and socialist theory.

Absolutely. It’s short.

Do note that most of how communism worked, on paper and in practice, originated later, though. Marx, a German who mostly lived in England, wrote the Manifesto in 1848 and died in 1883, while the revolution was in Russia in 1917. And there’s stuff in the manifesto that obviously didn’t age well, like the bit about the invention of trains leading to the end of nationalism.

Still, it’s great historical perspective, and obviously inspired how the Soviet Union looked at things pretty heavily.

Whatever you think of Marx, it’s undeniable he has literary value. I’d say read him.

Yes. If I may, I would suggest “The origins of family and private property” from Engels. It’s not explicitly political, but I find it serves excellently for dissolving some biases towards historical conditions and how they shape the current affairs.

Sure, the Manifesto is a pretty short easy read. But being more politically educated is always good

Read principles of communism instead, it is the same content but better formatted

Oh, and watch Luna Oi’s Marxism 101: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeaTLoy1C9rM

Even if you don’t agree with an ideology it’s always best to read it’s basis so you can accurately identify what you don’t agree with.

Yeah! Communism is one of the most important movements and ideologies in modern history. It has shaped the lives of everyone on the planet, whether you are one of billions living under socialism or in a state that represses labor movements. It’s one of the most read pieces of literature for a reason, and it’s a good idea to be informed of the demands communists aim for. Although it was a couple hundred years ago the demands are largely the same to this day, just slight modifications such as the 10 point plan of the black panther party

I’d say that Das Kapital is more useful. The manifesto was a specific call to arms for a specific time. It’s worth understanding as a historical note, but, it’s not really a theoretical work.

Das Kapital, is a work about a theory of political economy and layed out the actual basis of Marxist theory.

Everything else is sort of down stream of that. At least in regards to understanding what specific objections or concerns people in Marxist thought have.

sure. you’re not going to be infected with some sort of horrible mind virus. if you’re interested, read it

Yep, that would be great! I think a good place to start would be this reading list I put together. You can just check out the first couple sections:

Of course, I recommend the whole thing. Alternatively, Prolewiki’s Marxism portal contains a fantastic short list of articles that help explain the absolute basics quickly.