Some good political literature.

[Profane Methane]

No right wing literature please.

I've been reading Noam Chomsky and John Pilger for a bit, and I've been searching for some other Political literature.
I would like something about political philosophies preferably, though you don't have to stick strictly to that.

Edit: Also no Michael Moore.

[jewishjosh]

Two obvious ones on my reading list are Plato's Republic and Machiavelli's The Prince, both of which sound appealing to you. You may enjoy Candide by Voltaire, which can be found online. I have more to take from this thread than to give, so I'll leave my recommendations at that.

Also, as a liberal to a liberal, may I recommend giving some right wing philosophies a shot? I read America Alone by Mark Steyn when it came out and it definitely stretched my perspective. I know you can easily look at a lot of that stuff and dismiss it as extreme fundamentalist crap, but the better ones are worth it. If the author can put together a valid argument, even if you disagree it's worth a read for a dose of the other side.

[Profane Methane]

I'll give those a check. I'll probably be able to find those in my dads book collection.

Anyway I wouldn't really class myself as a Liberal and more of an Anarchist though a bit more rational then most Anarchists.

[Tweek]

What is Property? by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon.

Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau.

[Riddlebox]

Do you mind Satire? If so Colbert's book and Stewart's America the book are good for some chuckles.

Based on the other suggestions you want more serious stuff, so I would suggest Voltaire. Thomas Paine's The Age Of Reason is a good as well, but I don't know too much about anarchism because it doesn't appeal to me.

[Profane Methane]

Satires fine, and anarchist literature isn't what I'm searching for just general stuff.

[The Fetus]

You Are Being Lied To by Disinfo.com is pretty good. More on the side of conspiracy stuff.
The I Hate Corporate America Reader isn't even necessarily left-wing, but a great book. Might be a little different for you though, Profane, because you live in Australia. Never the less, I highly suggest checking it out.
Fuck The System and pretty much anything else by Abbie Hoffman is a great read. His books give a great view on left-wing youth politics in the sixties and seventies. Again, mainly about American politics.
Terror Attacks is a great book. It portrays every major terrorist attack in history. Not necessarily a political activist book, but a darn good one if you're into that sort.

EDIT: OH! And stuff by Che Guevara are all good. Never finished one of his books, though. That's pretty much as liberal as you can get.

[ZulieKat]

Common Sense by Thomas Paine and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin are both very good. I admit that I was dreading both the first time I read them (for a poli sci class), but loved both. Really fun to read from an analytical prespective, taking into consideration that when it was written, it was basically ultra-liberal writing for an ultra-conservative audience.

[Hypnotic]

Philosophy is sort of boring. It doesn't really explain anything since modern politics is just a heavy blend of all types of philosophy. I suggest you find a period in history, a country, a leader, etc, and figure out what interests you.

I recently bought Team of Rivals. (http://www.amazon.com/Team-Rivals-Political-Abraham-Lincoln/dp/0743270754/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220502727&sr=8-1) Lincoln has always fascinated me and Goodwin is a great author. I just need the time to open it up and give it a start.

[jewishjosh]

She was advertising that book on Colbert tonight. Tell me how it is, because it sounded really neat.

[Chocoholic]

The Truth Believer:Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_True_Believer) by Eric Hoffer.
It's a short book but the dude lays out all of his thoughts on how people gain support for mass movements and describes different ways as well as different groups that are more likely to join a movement. It's pretty damn truthful.

I don't know if this is exactly what you're looking for but it's at least worth skimming through. It's an interesting read.

I would also recommend this book that contains a bunch of manifestos and stuff by marxists/communists that describes how guerilla warfare and marxism are intertwined. It contains works by just about every major communist and socialist including Che Guevara, Mao Zedong, and Karl Marx himself. I can't remember what it's called though. I'll check next time I'm at my dad's. I'm pretty sure it's called something like "Guerilla Warfare and Marxism" though.

[CrowbarDoom]

Atlas Shrugged is a fantastic book. I find Ayn Rand's philosophy really interesting, and...no, wait, no right-wing stuff.

I used to like Michael Moore's stuff when I was a lad.

[Hypnotic]

She was advertising that book on Colbert tonight. Tell me how it is, because it sounded really neat.

I saw that and they barely talked about the book. I bought it like 2 weeks ago, I'm just too busy for another 700 page book under my belt.

[Pachycephelosaurus]

A People's History of the United States (http://books.google.com/books?id=P8V7J5qm5-YC&dq=Howard+Zinn&pg=PP1&ots=hsIlYcDAss&sig=ilblYqfXcF_Mtu1cEvgp_0ta49g&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result) by Howard Zinn is a great read. It's essentially the history of the US from the p.o.v of under-represented, abused, and minority factions. It gives you a new view of America, to say the least.

Also, as has been suggested, Thomas Paine is fascinating. Especially when he gets to talking about separation of Church and State.

Thomas Jefferson is unbelievable as well. Read anything you can by him. Not only was he a genius, but he had such incredible foresight. He absolutely foresaw where politics would be today.

[Jallen]

Anything by George Orwell.

1984, although a very fictional book, is a very interesting look inside a totalitarian government. There is so much in this book that makes it incredible and awesome that I can't even explain.

Animal Farm is a satirical work that portrays the Bolshevik revolution as if it were to happen at a farm. I read it in 7th grade and I know that I need to read it again in order to get the full picture. A 7th grader can't fully comprehend such an awesome piece of literature.

[timbot]

I know someone already said Atlas Shrugged. But I would suggest anything by Ayn Rand, whether her novels or her essays. I suppose it's right wing, but not in what I would consider the standard way. I read her stuff when I thought I didn't like anything right wing, and it really changed what I thought.

[Tweek]

The important thing to remember with anything political is that left and right are not clearly defined.

[john_salinger]

George Orwell is always a good read. I would suggest you pick up A Collection of Essays. It’s not always political, but it’s a good read nonetheless. And of course, there’s Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four.

I would seriously advise you not to pick up Ayn Rand, unless you wish to discover what true cold-bloodedness is. Objectivism is the “philosophy” of old lesbians.

Hunter S. Thompson is good. Anything by Thomas Paine. The Federalist Papers are brilliant, and should be required reading for high school students...

[timbot]

I would seriously advise you not to pick up Ayn Rand, unless you wish to discover what true cold-bloodedness is. Objectivism is the “philosophy” of old lesbians.



Can you make a serious post without making offensive, groundless, erroneous statements like that?

Also, does economic literature count? Economics and politics seem to go hand in hand. I would suggest reading some of Wealth of Nations.