--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some people have read a few Marxist books…" description: "\"Some people have read a few Marxist books and think themselves quite learned but what they have read has not penetrated, has not struck root in their m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/mao-zedong-1123_blow_some-people-have-read-a-few-marxist-book_835591.jpg" --- # Some people have read a few Marxist books and think… ![“Some people have read a few Marxist books and think themselves quite learned but what they have read has not penetrated, has not struck root in their minds, so that they do not know how to use it and their class feelings remain as of old. Others are very conceited and having learned some…” quote by Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/mao-zedong-1123_blow_some-people-have-read-a-few-marxist-book_835591.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/mao-zedong-1123_blow_some-people-have-read-a-few-marxist-book_835591.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/mao-zedong-1123_blow_some-people-have-read-a-few-marxist-book_835591.jpg) > “Some people have read a few Marxist books and think themselves quite learned but what they have read has not penetrated, has not struck root in their minds, so that they do not know how to use it and their class feelings remain as of old. Others are very conceited and having learned some book-phrases, think them terrific and are very cocky; but whenever a storm blows up, they take a stand very different from that of the workers and the majority of the peasants. They waver while the latter stand firm, they equivocate while the latter are forthright.” [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Superficial study of Marxism leads to empty rhetoric; true understanding requires deep, practical engagement with class struggle. **In simple terms:** Reading Marx isn’t enough; apply it to real class issues. Key Takeaway Engage deeply with theory and practice. Themes marxism class consciousness education ideology practicality Mood critical reflective challenging Type political philosophical educational When to use this quote - political education - labor organizing - academic curricula - grassroots activism Key Concepts dialectical materialism political theory revolutionary praxis Questions to Reflect On - How can theory be made relevant to everyday struggles? - What barriers prevent deep engagement? A Different Perspective Intellectualism can become detached from lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Marxist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Peasants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peasants/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Stand firm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stand-firm/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [Many who have read Marxist books have become renegades from the revolution, whereas illiterate workers often grasp Marxism very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/many-who-have-read-marxist-books-have-become-renegades-from-the/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [This army is powerful because all its members have a conscious discipline; they have come together and they fight not for the private interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/this-army-is-powerful-because-all-its-members-have-a-conscious/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [To keep something around just because it is already on the books, I think, is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/to-keep-something-around-just-because-it-is-already-on-the-books-i/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [...I'm no longer prepared to accept what people say and what's written in books. I must think things out for myself, and try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/i-m-no-longer-prepared-to-accept-what-people-say-and-what-s-written/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [About my books, that's all that I think the public has, in its normal way, to know. My private life is, by definition, private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/about-my-books-that-s-all-that-i-think-the-public-has-in-its-normal/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [“books, i think, are a different kind of time machine. instead of reminding you of a lost world, they create one for you. more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/books-i-think-are-a-different-kind-of-time-machine-instead-of/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [What do we, as a nation, care about books? How much do you think we spend altogether on our libraries, public or private, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/what-do-we-as-a-nation-care-about-books-how-much-do-you-think-we/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [I don't believe in children's books. I think after you've read Kidnapped, Treasure Island, and Huckleberry Finn, you're ready for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-don-t-believe-in-children-s-books-i-think-after-you-ve-read/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [The books we think we ought to read are poky, dull, and dry The books that we would like to read we are ashamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/the-books-we-think-we-ought-to-read-are-poky-dull-and-dry-the-books/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [I'm trying to be less bombastic. I love my books. I think I've done things nobody else has done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-m-trying-to-be-less-bombastic-i-love-my-books-i-think-i-ve-done/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“People think, Hey, I love kids, I want to write children’s books. But they think children are happy. That’s their first mistake. \[Messinger, Jonathan.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/people-think-hey-i-love-kids-i-want-to-write-children-s-books-but/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [The computer is the way I'm making books, but I still think about the physical properties. I visualize the length of a book, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/the-computer-is-the-way-i-m-making-books-but-i-still-think-about-the/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I was a very quiet kid who didn't feel normal being outgoing and running around, so all the beauty that was in my life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-sudol/i-was-a-very-quiet-kid-who-didn-t-feel-normal-being-outgoing-and/) [Alison Sudol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-sudol/) > [All good children's books, I think, address metaphysical issues in some kind of way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/all-good-children-s-books-i-think-address-metaphysical-issues-in-some/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Mao Zedong > [Firstly, do not fear hardship, and secondly, do not fear death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/firstly-do-not-fear-hardship-and-secondly-do-not-fear-death/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [The most effective method of propaganda directed at the enemy forces is to release captured soldiers and give the wounded medical treatment... Whenever soldiers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/the-most-effective-method-of-propaganda-directed-at-the-enemy-forces/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/a-revolution-is-not-a-dinner-party-or-writing-an-essay-or-painting-a/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [At the beginning of anything out of the ordinary, the mass of the people always dislike it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/at-the-beginning-of-anything-out-of-the-ordinary-the-mass-of-the/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [Winds flap the sail, tortoise and snake are silent, a great plan looms. A bridge will fly over this moat dug by heaven and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/winds-flap-the-sail-tortoise-and-snake-are-silent-a-great-plan-looms/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/let-a-hundred-flowers-bloom-let-a-hundred-schools-of-thought-contend/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [ In the struggle to defend the legacy of Leninism . . . \[Stalin\] proved himself to be an outstanding Marxist-Leninist fighter. . . .… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/in-the-struggle-to-defend-the-legacy-of-leninism-stalin-proved/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [New things have to experience difficulties and setbacks as they grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/new-things-have-to-experience-difficulties-and-setbacks-as-they-grow/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [It is necessary to master Marxist theory and apply it, master it for the sole purpose of applying it. If you can apply the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-necessary-to-master-marxist-theory-and-apply-it-master-it-for/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [It is a very good thing, and a significant one too, to exterminate the bourgeoisie and capitalism in China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-a-very-good-thing-and-a-significant-one-too-to-exterminate-the/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [Return to Shaoshan I regret the passing, the dying, of the vague dream: my native orchards thirty-two years ago. Yet red banners roused the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/return-to-shaoshan-i-regret-the-passing-the-dying-of-the-vague-dream/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [We should go to the masses and learn from them, synthesize their experience into better, articulated principles and methods, then do propaganda among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-should-go-to-the-masses-and-learn-from-them-synthesize-their/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [Complacency is the enemy of study.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/complacency-is-the-enemy-of-study/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [Women hold up half the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/women-hold-up-half-the-sky/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Explore all 287 Mao Zedong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) ## More Blow quotes > [The wind always seems to blow against catchers when they are running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-garagiola/the-wind-always-seems-to-blow-against-catchers-when-they-are-running/) [Joe Garagiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-garagiola/) > [Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/blow-winds-and-crack-your-cheeks-rage-blow-you-cataracts-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If he wants to blow his head off, let him. I don't give a damn about Jim Bakker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/if-he-wants-to-blow-his-head-off-let-him-i-don-t-give-a-damn-about/) [Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The only two good words that can be said for a hurricane are that it gives sufficient warning of its approach, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-only-two-good-words-that-can-be-said-for-a-hurricane-are-that-it/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [Music is a wind that blows away the years, memories, and fear, that crouching animal I carry inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/music-is-a-wind-that-blows-away-the-years-memories-and-fear-that/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [One of the wonderful things about Portlandia - and I'm not just blowing smoke, although I can blow smoke, but I'm not - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-raab/one-of-the-wonderful-things-about-portlandia-and-i-m-not-just-blowing/) [Scott Raab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-raab/) > [I would always find a way to blow the deal and I'm not sure why. I think there was part of me that wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-would-always-find-a-way-to-blow-the-deal-and-i-m-not-sure-why-i/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [Letters crossing in the post, unfamiliar tunes heard three times in one day, the way that blows of fate descend upon the same bowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/letters-crossing-in-the-post-unfamiliar-tunes-heard-three-times-in/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Truth is, right now two bombs could drop out of the sky and blow up this house and whatever building you're in and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/truth-is-right-now-two-bombs-could-drop-out-of-the-sky-and-blow-up/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > [The old saying is true: If you have only the Word, you dry up. If you have only the Spirit, you blow up. 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Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) Browse all 2,324 Blow quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some people have read a few Marxist books and think themselves quite learned but what they have read has not penetrated, has not struck root in their minds, so that they do not know how to use it and their class feelings remain as of old. Others are very conceited and having learned some book-phrases, think them terrific and are very cocky; but whenever a storm blows up, they take a stand very different from that of the workers and the majority of the peasants. 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