Marx Now: Vanessa Wills on her favorite Marx quote from “The German Ideology”
Spectre is a new U.S.-based journal of rigorous Marxist analysis that can speak to a new generation of leftward-moving radicals, a forum open to activists and theorists leading struggles against racism and police violence, against imperialisms of all kinds, challenging austerity and exploitation, organizing for migrant justice, fighting for gender and LGBTQ liberation, tackling the climate crisis, and doing grassroots organizing in unions and on campus. Spectre editors will each select a quote from the Marxist canon (broadly construed) on crisis and/or transformation, explicate its relevance, and discuss our interpretations; in a moment where crisis has made good on that ever-present threat embedded within capitalist political economy, we will investigate the other “ghosts” haunting Marxism and social relations. (May 30, 2020)
On May 13, 2020, seven of Spectre’s editors made an exclusive presentation for subscribers. We’re now making this video public. Tithi Bhattacharya, Kate Doyle Griffiths, Zachary Levenson, David McNally, Charlie Post, and Vanessa Wills were interviewed by managing editor Ashley Smith. They talked about their respective political visions for the journal, as well as how they’d been keeping busy during quarantine. The event concluded with a brief Q&A. Thanks to everyone who attended!
On May 5th, 2018, Marx’s 200th birthday, the one-time-only multimedia experience, Dictionary of Marx, gave the chance to reencounter the work of the German economic philosopher Karl Marx. A dozen of Washington, DC’s most engaging presenter-performers came together at the Capital Fringe Theatre responding to key words from the Marxist lexicon in a series of artistic interpretations. From theater performances to musical works and from film to poetry, Dictionary of Marx explored these economic theories from today’s perspective. The viewer also had the chance to engage directly, whether in a creative writing workshop, a game of Anti-Monopoly, or a philosophic discussion at the bar.