Cicero- a short, coherent apolitical argument for why we care about other people and our political life. Not strictly leftist, but probably some of the earliest 'communal' thinking we have in writing. v Capital- dense but foundational. If you've read it before or if the old school writing is Too Much, read Piketty instead. Dense but SO thorough. If both of these feel like too much or too intimidating to even thing about reading, try Foundations of Economics, then Piketty. v Why Socialism? for a concise, short, well written primer that helps distill the socialist theory of it all. v Caliban and the Witch - We've read Marx, time to bitchslap the theory. v A People's History - with the marxist/socialist foundation in place, time to read a social democrat's American history review. Skip if you're not American. v Understanding Power and The Conquest of Bread. I suggest in this order. v Manufacturing Consent - Please read this before capitalist realism, it's not your fault that you didn't know about this stuff. v Capitalist Realism v The Shock Doctrine, Empire - Go in this order if you want to read both. Shock Doctrine is punchier and easier writing which will leave you wanting to know more and motivate you to read Empire which is much broader and Less Good writing. v Abolition Democracy OR Socialism Past and Future OR Envisioning Real Utopias. Go in this order if you want to read them all. If you have to pick one, go with Abolition Democracy if you are in the US, Socialism Past and Future if you're in a country that had a powerful socialist movement that isn't relevant anymore, and Envisioning Real Utopias if you're already in a social democracy.

Optional- Legal Education and the Reproduction of Hierarchy - relevant in America where liberal legalism has us in a chokehold. Read if you work adjacent to law or gov't. Little Red Book- A beginning to understand global movements, not just western movements. Fundamentally anti colonial, and gives a great window into the political realities facing decolonized countries. Influenced many of the leftist movements in Asia. A GREAT complement to Empire.