XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

JS-48

Karl Marx 200 Years Later

RC02 Economy and Society (host committee)
RC32 Women in Society

Language: English

May 2018 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx. The past decade has witnessed a resurgent interest in Marxism within and outside the academy. This renaissance of sorts cannot be framed, however, as a simple return of Marxism. The multiple crises of Marxism since the 1980s – in both political and academic life – have had lasting and in some cases irreversible effects for the interpretation and implementation of Marxist theory. It is also true that theoretical approaches defined in contrast to Marxism – from postcolonial theory to deconstruction, from post-Marxism to varieties of feminism – have also encountered serious limits when it comes to thinking about the patterns of change and domination that define capitalism. A reappraisal of Marxism, reflecting back and looking forward, is called for.  This panel will bring together noted scholars that investigate both the legacy of Marx for understanding the development of society and economy under capitalism, and how Marx's writings can be used to anticipate and inform our analysis of emerging trends in an increasingly globalized world faced with growing populist movements in opposition to neoliberalism and austerity.  It will pay special attention to how Marx's ideas have been developed in Latin America, the Global South, post-Soviet societies and other emerging regions, in opposition to a Eurocentric understanding of social change and resistance to capitalism.