Greetings!

[VeritablyV]

Greetings, Comrades. Figured I would post here to begin my time on RevLeft. Over the past couple of weeks I have been reading posts from this forum due to my beginning interest in Marxism, and found the forums very useful, especially for resources. Originally my interest began with a close friend of mine getting into Marxism about a year ago through Academic exposure, and likewise I am now finishing up the same philosophy class which exposed him to Marx.

At the present time I do not subscribe to any branch of Marxism(nor do I know the differences), and any leftist positions outside of it I am really unfamiliar with.(e.g. Anarchism) Hopefully, joining these forums will give me insight into leftist positions and help me clarify where I stand myself.

[red cat]

Welcome to RevLeft ! :)

[VeritablyV]

Thanks, Red Cat, nice to be here!

[Comrade J]

Hey welcome to RL!

Don't worry if you're not clued up on every possible branch of Marxism, you won't be tested :lol: I know where you're coming from anyway; you don't have to be clued up on all the economic theory and have read thousands of Marxist texts to know what you believe - I was a "Marxist" before I'd ever even heard of Marx! But obviously it is advised just to give yourself a better grounding and help you participate in debates.

If you're not familiar with it, check out Marxists.org - it is a huge archive of Marxist texts, and they even have an introductory section with recommendations on what to read first.

Also, although I'm something of an Autonomist Marxist myself I would recommend the Anarchist FAQ - even moreso than Marxists.org - which you can read here (http://www.infoshop.org/page/AnAnarchistFAQ). It is in about 10 different sections and each has various questions in it. Section C and D are particularly useful for learning about the flaws of capitalist economics, statism, private media and so on. There are also sections on the difference between Anarchism and Marxism, which you should find helpful.

Any questions and stuff you have, just ask in the Learning forum, don't worry if your question seems naive or trivial, people there are usually courteous in explaining to people. :)

[VeritablyV]

I would also regard myself as a "Marxist" for some time prior to exposure. Ya I've seen Marxists.org, very nice collection of works related. As for the distinctions between Marxist branches, I myself do not want to limit my outlook to any, or even to just Marxism, which I think is what you meant yourself by "Autonomous". Thank you for the Anarchist FAQ btw, I'll certainly check that out.

As far as arms of a Capitalist society, such as media, I hold them in little regard. Well the Media, especially mainstream, I just don't trust individually at all and would rather compare and contrast from different sources including opposing views. Take each with a grain of salt. I will probably be posting on Learning soon, once I finish my PHL Final.

Thank you though, Comrade J.