Hi! I am a stranger on this instance, I have read a lot of warnings about the "tankie triad", but wanted to see for myself and keep an open mind.
I watched this video, and it made me want to take a deep dive into socialism/communism, with
as much objectivity as I can.
https://youtu.be/BeRjTtKFlVM
I understand how capitalism works, and I have doubts that it is a sustainable system for society long term, but social democracy has been a good way of keeping capitalism in-check in Norway. So even if capitalism is not ideal, it is in theory possible to tax the rich more and keep the whole thing going in the future. I also understand the exploitation and the extraction of surplus value, rent seeking etc.
Other capitalist countries such as the US is currently struggling with basic human needs. And that is "the shining beacon of capitalism".
In Norway it has for a long time been common to use the US as an example of what not to do.
What I am interested in learning is how society would operate and function under socialism / communism. More about the differences. Preferably from less dry sources than The Capital from Marx. Where can I learn more? Preferably a bit entertaining.
It is important to me that it is historically accurate and factually correct.
Look forward to your replies ๐
Keep in mind that any hypothetical or actual example of a socialist project or society must account for the fact that it will be built in essentially wartime conditions in direct confrontation with capitalism/imperialism from its very beginnings. Therefore, much of how it functions will inevitably be intertwined with the question of how to defend itself from covert sabotage and overt violent destruction from capitalist/imperialist reaction. We should look at history and at ongoing modern attempts at constructing socialist societies and projects, as well as all projects/societies which confront imperialism, in order to have a more comprehensive view of the actual outcomes and possibilities under various conditions. For these reasons, someone new to socialism generally should also be studying history along with learning theoretical concepts.
I second the recommendations of the Blowback podcast as a way to learn some history about the worldwide confrontation with imperialism. You may also be interested in the videos and articles of Geopolitical Economy Report, he mainly covers current events but he does cover historical events as well. I also recommend ProleWiki, which will give you a fairly standard Marxist-Leninist view on a variety of topics and you can also look at the various cited sources for jumping off points of your own research. You may be interested in the book Socialism With Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners by Roland Boer.