-update from reread- man i wish i could reexperience reading this for the first time again... the way reading this genuinely made me so giddy with excitement and revolutionary fervor (makes me think of how ho chi minh would be prompted to stand up and make speeches on his bed after reading lenin). perfect intro text, probably the best choice for your first book of theory, and fucking phenomenal no matter what stage of political development you're currently at <3

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besides being a fundamental text of marxism-leninism and an illuminating overview on the functions of the state under a transitional stage of communism and the eventual withering away of all state structures, lenin slam dunks on kautsky relentlessly. it's fucking hysterical. when lenin uses the double exclamation points i feel excited for him. like he just yelled and made someone shit and cry.

possibly my favorite part of this book, however, was lenin's conception that under communism, we didn't need a special apparatus of suppression to deal with the excesses of individual persons, but rather it would be taken care of by the armed, organized people, the same way communities of civilized people now (or in 1917 i guess) step in to stop brawls or help women in danger.

not much else to say except i will be rereading this for years. a better world is inevitable!