Since the economic recession of 2008 and the subsequent austerity measures imposed in various countries around the world, Marx has regained his popularity amongst the young. As with most crises we’ve seen in the past caused by capitalism, purchases of his works then see a sharp uptick. Marx is also more widely taught in college classrooms now than he was 30 years ago and during much of the Cold War era. Much of this is due to the steady decline of western capitalism and how more transparent the cracks are now for people to see for the first times in their lives. During this ongoing pandemic, sales of Das Kapital and the Eighteenth Brumaire have increased 3x. There’s always going to be an insatiable appetite for Marx because wherever there is economic immiseration and despair, people look for answers not found in their government-funded radio or TV channels or corporate-owned media conglomerates. This dynamic is similar to what we see here in the US with MSNBC, CNN and Fox News. Or in Britain as we see with the BBC and the Guardian. In an online world, people are finding information they would’ve never found before and I personally encourage that thirst for knowledge. So I’m opening up the board today to anybody out there who has recently discovered Marx or knows someone who just started reading his works. Have your viewpoints on political economy changed at all? Do you feel as though we need to take a Marxist perspective when looking at how to deal with these glaring societal ills? There are no right or wrong answers, just opening up the floor for discussion below…
You can get all these delivered straight to your inbox. Comment, share and sign up today!
August 10 Discussion Board: Marx's Popularity
August 10 Discussion Board: Marx's Popularity
August 10 Discussion Board: Marx's Popularity
Since the economic recession of 2008 and the subsequent austerity measures imposed in various countries around the world, Marx has regained his popularity amongst the young. As with most crises we’ve seen in the past caused by capitalism, purchases of his works then see a sharp uptick. Marx is also more widely taught in college classrooms now than he was 30 years ago and during much of the Cold War era. Much of this is due to the steady decline of western capitalism and how more transparent the cracks are now for people to see for the first times in their lives. During this ongoing pandemic, sales of Das Kapital and the Eighteenth Brumaire have increased 3x. There’s always going to be an insatiable appetite for Marx because wherever there is economic immiseration and despair, people look for answers not found in their government-funded radio or TV channels or corporate-owned media conglomerates. This dynamic is similar to what we see here in the US with MSNBC, CNN and Fox News. Or in Britain as we see with the BBC and the Guardian. In an online world, people are finding information they would’ve never found before and I personally encourage that thirst for knowledge. So I’m opening up the board today to anybody out there who has recently discovered Marx or knows someone who just started reading his works. Have your viewpoints on political economy changed at all? Do you feel as though we need to take a Marxist perspective when looking at how to deal with these glaring societal ills? There are no right or wrong answers, just opening up the floor for discussion below…
You can get all these delivered straight to your inbox. Comment, share and sign up today!