From Marx To Global Marxism

In our 21st century, the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are still widely taught, hotly debated, and adapted to different political and sociological contexts and theories. Today the “spectre of communism” haunts not only Europe, as assumed by the authors of the Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1848, but the world as a whole. After Marxism achieved statehood on the ruins of the Tsarist Empire as the consequence of the Russian Revolution in October 1917, revolutionary independence movements in Asia, Africa, and the Americas introduced new and varied readings of the socialist classics in the 20th century. This collection of articles, by contributors from across the globe, discusses Marxism based on Marx’s and Engels’s ideas and œuvre from transnational perspectives that connect Germany and Europe for example with Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Ghana, India, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Russia, and Turkey. With a critical postcolonial approach, the pluriversal debates look at the heritage of Karl Marx (and Friedrich Engels) in the context of histories of resistance, analytical thought, theory building, a latent Eurocentric outlook, and the ‘discursive monument’ Marxism.

This is the companion volume to Spectres of Marx , and tackles the central theme of the fate of Marxism after the global collapse of communism.

This book offers a unique re-conceptualization of Marxism in bringing together leading scholars across disciplines — history, philosophy, economics, politics, sociology, and literary and culture studies — into one comprehensive corpus. It demonstrates the engaging relevance of the perspectives and techniques of the analyses adopted by Karl Marx, Frederich Engels and contemporary Marxists, and will be immensely useful to scholars and researchers across social sciences as well as general readers interested in Marxism.

A penetrating reassessment of Marxist thought and its relevance today, by a world-renowned historian of Marxism

This book outlines and assesses the Marxist tradition as it developed in the twentieth century, and considers its place and standing as we move into the twenty-first century. It is divided into three parts examining Marxism historically, geographically and thematically: Part 1 analyzes early Marxism in Russia and Europe as it developed after the death of Marx. Lenin, Trotsky, Luxemburg, Kautsky, Bernstein and the school of thought associated with them are all examined Part 2 deals with thinkers, debates and movements that followed the early Marxism focused on in part one, and includes chapters on Marxism in Europe, the Soviet Union, Africa, Asia and Latin America Part 3 is concerned with more contemporary debates in relation to Marxism and its standing and role today. The chapters in this section consider various themes including the relationship between theory and practice in Marxism, democratic procedure and liberties, Marxism as an economic critique of capitalism and Marxist methodology. Twentieth Century Marxism is not an introspective discussion of Marxism that would be of interest only to a limited number of specialists. Rather, it provides a thoughtful and stimulating contribution to debates about the role of Marxism today and its future direction.

Faced with a new crisis of capitalism, many scholars are now looking back to the author whose ideas were too hastily dismissed after the fall of the Berlin Wall. During the last decade, Marx’s Capital has received renewed academic and popular attention. It has been reprinted in new editions throughout the world and the contemporary relevance of its pages is being discussed again. Today, Marx’s analyses are arguably resonating even more strongly than they did in his own time and Capital continues to provide an effective framework to understand the nature of capitalism and its transformations. This volume includes the proceedings of the biggest international conference held in the world to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Capital’s publication. The book is divided into three parts: I) "Capitalism, Past and Present"; II) "Extending the Critique of Capital"; III) "The Politics of Capital". It contains the contributions of globally renowned scholars from 13 countries and multiple academic disciplines who offer diverse perspectives, and critical insights into the principal contradictions of contemporary capitalism while pointing to alternative economic and social models. Together, they reconsider the most influential historical debates on Capital and provide new interpretations of Marx’s magnum opus in light of themes rarely associated with Capital, such as gender, ecology, and non-European societies. The book is an indispensable source for academic communities who are increasingly interested in rediscovering Marx beyond 20th century Marxism. Moreover, it will be of great appeal to students, as well as established scholars interested in critique of capitalism and socialist theory.

Globalisation is not a new phenomenon; but on the eve of the millennium, the processes that constitute the phenomenon of globalization are intensifying, and being experienced in new ways. This book looks at the writings of Marx which are relevant to these current issues.