A project of the Baltimore Libertarian Socialist Caucus, the Council Communism Study Circle met every two weeks from August 2020 until April 2021, brought together by an interest in exploring the ideas and history of the Dutch/German Radical Left. This tendency is criminally understudied and unknown within the left spaces that we often organize within, and many of us, after a summer both horrifying and hopeful, felt that we needed to learn more about the socialists and communists who took seriously the autonomy of the working class. We had active members from all across the country, from Baltimore to Atlanta to Cleveland to Seattle.

The following is intended to help share some of what it was that we learned and to provide a map for others who might follow us. If you are curious, if you have heard of workers councils but don’t know what that refers to, if you feel stifled by the rigidity of social democracy, we hope you’ll take a look, find a group of comrades, and start engaging with these great texts.