WLaC is also good, because it describes the role of Capital itself within Capitalism as it relates to Workers, and thus allows Capitalists to exploit them.

CotGP is added because it clears up a ton of misconceptions people who have not read Marx yet consider themselves leftists have about Marx and what he advocated for, practically. He essentially dismantles a weak Socialist/Social Democrat plan and explains the transition to Communism. He even adds on just how lengthy a process reaching higher-stage Communism will be.

Edit for your edit:

Yep, it's always cool to see logical analysis lead to correct conclusions that later make themselves apparent. It's funny how often Marx ended up being correct even on limited information simply due to strong analysis.

[–] Juice@midwest.social 3 points 2 months ago

Yeah I read WL&C after a failed attempt at reading Capital (I had never read much Marx other than the manifesto at that point) and realized I needed to understand his economics first, as I felt completely out of my depth. Turns out reading Capital v1, the first few chapters are just like that! But I'm glad I read WL&C, like you said its short and gave me something to chew on for a year or so before diving back into the big book.

I edited my comment above about CotGP. All solid recommendations, for exactly the reasons you state.