On this day in 1953, the U.S. and British governments initiated a coup d’état against the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh. Mosaddegh had been preparing to nationalize Iran’s British-owned oil fields.
Mosaddegh had sought to audit the documents of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), later re-named British Petroleum, and to limit the company’s control over Iranian oil reserves. When the AIOC refused to cooperate with the Iranian government, the parliament voted to nationalize Iran’s oil industry and to expel foreign corporate representatives from the country.
In response, the British began a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil to pressure Iran economically and engaged in subterfuge to undermine Mosaddegh’s government.
Judging Mosaddegh to be unreliable and fearing a communist takeover, Winston Churchill and the Eisenhower administration overthrew Iran’s government. The coup action was also supported by the Iranian clergy, who opposed Mosaddegh’s secularism.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hired mobsters to stage pro-Shah riots and paid people to travel to Tehran and take over the streets of the city. Between 200 and 300 people were killed in the ensuing mayhem.
Mosaddegh was arrested, tried, and convicted of treason by the Shah’s military court. Many of his supporters were imprisoned, several received the death penalty. Mosaddegh himself lived the rest of his life under house arrest, dying in 1967.
After the coup, the Shah ruled as a monarch for the next 26 years until he was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
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The Iranian coup, 1953 libcom
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How does one ‘read theory’ ? I try to read Marx, engels, Lenin and they are always referencing some shit or some group ive never heard of and I get confused and lose interest. I try to read Bakunin and his ADHD is even worse then mine, I can’t follow it for shit. And i dont know what a ‘Hegel’ is and at this point im afraid to ask.
I’m frankly shit at reading anything beyond graphic novels but I want to be better at leftism
Read blackshirts and reds, far more accessible
I’ll give it a read for sure
This is a pretty good list, designed to operate in increasing complexity. (ML focused)
What works are you specifically trying to get into, and have had issues with?
I guess I just want overall to know where I stand as well as be able to talk somewhat intelligently about communism and anarchism. I’ll check out this list for sure and have read a couple already
It’s a great list overall. I wouldn’t skip anything, but make sure you understand Dialectical and Historical Materialism. DiaMat is the most useful tool in a Marxist’s arsenal.
Which have you read already?
I’ve actually read principles of communism and foundations of Leninism. I guess maybe it was foundations that I remember just getting confused over the references and history I think I was missing. The same thing when I tried to read god and the state. But I’ll keep going on this list especially since dialectical and historical materialism is next for me. Thanks!
Foundations of Leninism sets the stage and prepares you for Lenin’s works IMO. It’s woefully incomplete, even when you finish the list you won’t be an expert, but it’s a building block for more. Ask in c/theory or c/marxism if you have any questions, or one of the current megathreads!
Good list. A lot of Marxist works like these are meant to be short and accessible and aren’t nearly as dense as something like Capital.
I like that it gets into Dialectical Materialism pretty much right off the bat as well, Marxists’ most useful tool.
You may be able to find annotated copies of each of these. 19th century philosophy is nearly impenetrable almost regardless of topic, partly because as you point out it’s a conversation with a lot of contemporary philosophers. Annotated copies provide context and modernize the vocabulary somewhat.
You can supplement your reading with podcasts. Rev Left Radio has a lot of episodes where they talk about leftist figures, books and historical events. I also recommend the Antifada, they have a great class/materialist analysis of current events