PURPOSE
The editors of Rethinking Marxism
announce “Marxism and the World Stage,” the fifth in its
series of international Gala celebrations of the Marxian tradition.
Marxism continues to inspire rich and diverse analyses and politics
across the globe. Within academia, Marxism provokes new critical insights
and excites passion in political economy, philosophy, anthropology,
geography, biology, literature, languages, sociology, cultural studies,
art, and many other discourses. Beyond the academy, Marxism resonates
among those the world over who are resisting oppression in its myriad
forms; it provides a theoretical grounding for projects that seek social
liberation and justice, international solidarity, and ecological sanity.
Despite
a century of effort by its opponents (and even by some advocates), Marxism
continues to resist containment—be it geographic, intellectual
or political. Banished from one quarter, banned from another, Marxism
soon emerges and flourishes in many more. And at a time of deepening
international flows and exchanges—of capital, commodities, weapons,
persons, ideas and aspirations—Marxism is proving its vitality
and power as a unifying ground for those seeking a just and sustainable
world.
The prior four gala celebrations, each attended by over a thousand people
from across the globe, brought together a variety of Marxian and other
liberation communities to discuss, debate, and strategize about diverse
theoretical and political concerns:
•In 2000, “Marxism 2000: the party’s not over” marked
the new millennium by reflecting on the many Marxisms that have shaped
the last 150 years while also articulating new visions and analyses
to move Marxism’s future forward.
•In 1996, “Politics and Languages of Contemporary Marxism” continued the dialogue to open creative new spaces
for political, cultural and scholarly interventions in the face of global
restructuring of social relations.
•In 1992, “Marxism in the New World Order: Crises and Possibilities”
confronted directly the challenges—theoretical, organizational,
and spiritual—which faced the Left and Marxism as the new millennium
neared.
•In 1989, “Marxism Now: Traditions and Difference”
created a forum where new, heterogeneous directions in Marxism and the
Left could be debated after the breakup of orthodoxy.
Like the previous four Galas, “Marxism and the World Stage”
promises to register the heterogeneous work, achievements, shortcomings
and failures of this tradition, and to promote lively interchange and
debate among these who draw on Marx in their contemporary theoretical,
practical and expressive practices. In keeping with the spirit of Rethinking
Marxism, the conference will feature the exchange of academic
and political analysis while providing a venue for installation and
performance art. The goal is to nurture the critical yet utopian spirit
of Marxism while stimulating the senses and provoking the mind. The
editors of Rethinking Marxism invite you to
join with us in this examination and celebration of this extraordinary
tradition.