These guides will make studying and understanding Marxist works and ideas easy!  They are also an excellent way of getting a Marxist Discussion group going!  So what are you waiting for?  Dive right in and start spreading the word!  And be sure to visit the section on Marxist Theory for an extensive selection of classic and contemporary works!

• Marxism and the State
  Use this short pamphlet in your local discussion group to introduce your comrades and contacts to the Marxist theory of the state.  Print out the cover on colored paper (print on one side), and then print out the rest of the pages on white paper, double sided.  Staple together, and sell at branch meetings or other events for $1.   This will help ensure that all comrades have access to the material, and will help raise financial resources for YFIS.  For more information on starting a discussion group click here. Also available on the web: Marxism and the State.

• If America Should Go Communist and Workshop Talks
  These two short articles by Leon Trotsky and James Connoly are a great, humorous introduction to the ideas of socialism. They give us a hint as to how communist society would look in a country like the United States, and also provide us with ideas on how to discuss with people who are skeptical of Marxism and Socialism. Now available as a YFIS pamphlet/study guide! Open up these files in Microsoft Word and print them out for use at discussion groups for public sales!

• On the Mass Organizations - Letter to the Russian Marxists
  This excellent letter from Ted Grant provides many historical examples explaining the importance of orienting towards the traditional organizations of the working class. It also looks at issues such as Stalinism, Anarchism, the collapse of the USSR, conditions in Russia today and the revolutionary perspectives for the future. Also available online here.

We recommend the following introduction to Marxism as a good starting point:

• What is Marxism?
  We are reproducing a slightly edited version of 'What is Marxism?' by Rob Sewell and Alan Woods, last published in 1983 to celebrate the centenary of the death of Karl Marx. The three articles on the fundamental aspects of Marxism, Marxist Economics, Dialectical Materialism and Historical Materialism were originally published separately in the 1970s. These articles are a good, brief introduction to the basic methods of Marxism and can serve as a first approach to the ideas developed by Marx and Engels.