Trying to avoid bias is a fool’s errand. You’re better off going into it accepting that everything has some degree of bias (and objectivity is impossible, anyone claiming to be objective is actually claiming that their personal perspective is the default).
So what do you do? Read multiple perspectives. You won’t get what you need from any one book.
Pick a topic, read books that argue for and against various sides. Read reviews of the books you read that critique their perspectives.
Personally, I think reading histories about how and when a topic became debated are particularly helpful for context.
c-e-bird on
Politics and world history are deeply entwined. Is there a specific country’s politics you are interested in? Do you want the history of its politics or mostly focused on modern? How government functions? Current political arguments? How we got here?
hmmwhatsoverhere on
No such thing as an unbiased book, but here are some great suggestions that state their biases upfront and show their sources, which is the best case:
*The darker nations* and *Washington bullets* by Vijay Prashad
*The Jakarta method* by Vincent Bevins
*Black against empire* by Bloom and Martin
*Liberalism* and *War and revolution* by Domenico Losurdo
*Black Marxism* by Cedric Robinson
*Decolonial Marxism* and *How Europe underdeveloped Africa* by Walter Rodney
*Discourse on colonialism* by Aime Cesaire
*The hundred years’ war on Palestine* by Rashid Khalidi
*Empireland* by Sathnam Sanghera
*What is antiracism and why it means anticapitalism* by Arun Kundnani
*The capital order* by Clara Mattei
RitoChicken on
since you said that you want to learn more about israel and marxism
Israel:
The Hundred Year’s War on Palestine – Rashid Khalidi
Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict – Norman Finkelstein (bit academic, not super easy, but by far the best book to understand the conflict in my oppinion)
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine – Ilan Pappe (the book is more objective / unbiased than the title would make u think)
Marxism:
The Principles of Communism – Friedrich Engels (great starting point)
Wage Labor and Capital – Karl Marx (one of the easier works of his)
4 Comments
Trying to avoid bias is a fool’s errand. You’re better off going into it accepting that everything has some degree of bias (and objectivity is impossible, anyone claiming to be objective is actually claiming that their personal perspective is the default).
So what do you do? Read multiple perspectives. You won’t get what you need from any one book.
Pick a topic, read books that argue for and against various sides. Read reviews of the books you read that critique their perspectives.
Personally, I think reading histories about how and when a topic became debated are particularly helpful for context.
Politics and world history are deeply entwined. Is there a specific country’s politics you are interested in? Do you want the history of its politics or mostly focused on modern? How government functions? Current political arguments? How we got here?
No such thing as an unbiased book, but here are some great suggestions that state their biases upfront and show their sources, which is the best case:
*The darker nations* and *Washington bullets* by Vijay Prashad
*The Jakarta method* by Vincent Bevins
*Black against empire* by Bloom and Martin
*Liberalism* and *War and revolution* by Domenico Losurdo
*Black Marxism* by Cedric Robinson
*Decolonial Marxism* and *How Europe underdeveloped Africa* by Walter Rodney
*Discourse on colonialism* by Aime Cesaire
*The hundred years’ war on Palestine* by Rashid Khalidi
*Empireland* by Sathnam Sanghera
*What is antiracism and why it means anticapitalism* by Arun Kundnani
*The capital order* by Clara Mattei
since you said that you want to learn more about israel and marxism
Israel:
The Hundred Year’s War on Palestine – Rashid Khalidi
Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict – Norman Finkelstein (bit academic, not super easy, but by far the best book to understand the conflict in my oppinion)
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine – Ilan Pappe (the book is more objective / unbiased than the title would make u think)
Marxism:
The Principles of Communism – Friedrich Engels (great starting point)
Wage Labor and Capital – Karl Marx (one of the easier works of his)
Blackshirts and Reds – Michael Parenti
The Jakarta Method – Vincent Bevins