In a local branch meeting I attended last month, a young Socialist Party member suggested that we use alternative media instead of traditional books. They argued that newer, younger members may struggle to grasp or have the patience to read Marx, Engels, or even Lenin. The member suggested that we ‘get with the times’ and introduce new forms of media like audiobooks, films, and podcasts.
Personally, I was recommended State and Revolution as an introduction to socialism, but I am middle-aged and haven’t had my brain zapped by TikTok and YouTube shorts. So, I ask for advice here: should we offer easier-to-digest media?
It’s not patience that prevents me from reading Marx or whoever - it’s lack of interest or need.
I’d rather spend time actually doing community stuff than reading about doing stuff in a theoretical future. My political opinions & activism work on a very basic “be kind to people + everyone deserves to live without suffering” ethos which doesn’t really require background reading
Also a lot of men who’ve suggested theory to me in person have been
insufferable misogynistic knobheadsunkind, so I figure reading theory didn’t improve their behaviourThis sounds a little like the questioning churches do “how do we get young people in? Does the bible need simplifying/transmogrifying to attract a younger audience?”
And the general consensus (among the sensible sects) is that it’s good to do outreach by these means, but that generally people will consume further media when they’re ready.
Putting things in an audiobook might help accessibility, but other methods, unless done very well, have a chance of falling in an awkward valley (imagine an old testament comic book, for example).A more interesting figure for British readers – albeit one that should also perhaps be taken with a healthy dose of salt – came in 2019, when a study by Kantar Insights found that, while 51% of UK adults had read a book in the past year, only 34% of readers managed 10 or more – a total pushing them into the ‘heavy readers’ category.
Source: https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2020/03/what-the-amount-of-books-you-read-a-month-says-about-you
Half of British people did not read a book last year. Of course, you should listen to him!
