Marx's legacy to humanity

A collection of papers presented at a seminar organised at the University in 1998 under the auspices of the Mediterranean Institute to mark the 150th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels, was eduted by Carmel Vassallo and Clare Thake Vassallo.

During the seminar, established and up-and-coming specialists in literature and literary theory, theatre, sociology, education, art, geography, law, theology, anthropology, and philosophy looked briefly at what each felt had been the impact of Marxism on their respective disciplines and all were in agreement that Marxism had come to constitute an integral part of the heritage of humanity.

Paula Allman, a distinguished academic and a prolific writer on education and Marxism and a self-declared admirer of Marx's work, wrote the introduction to the first part of this collection which relates to the 'social' sciences.

The introduction makes an impassioned plea for a return to the core of Marx's work: his critique of capitalism and political economy, an area which Allman feels has been relatively neglected in the writings generated by Marx's work. The second part, relating to the Arts, is introduced by Clare Thake Vassallo.

The seminar attracted considerably more attention than expected, both as regards media coverage and as regards attendance by the public, particularly younger people. The reason for this interest may be the wide dissatisfaction with, and the consequent search for alternatives to, a system - global capitalism - which many feel has failed to deliver. This is particularly true in the former Communist countries and in the Third World but it is increasingly evident in the so-called developed countries too.

There is no doubt concerning the justification of criticism of the now defunct Communist bloc for the lack of political participation, the absence of civil and intellectual liberties and the privileged existence of the elites. But all these ills pale into insignificance when set against the current backdrop of organised crime and corruption at all levels, breakdown in state finances, domestic and exported prostitution and child abuse, the destruction of model educational and health systems, and other developments which have resulted in massive poverty and under-nourishment, disease and a dramatic shortening of life expectancy in Eastern Europe and beyond.

In the countries of the Third World the scenario is even more dramatic with the gap between the income of the world's poor, the overwhelming majority, and the world's rich widening considerably.

In the 'developed' countries the state, in the hands of self-confessed conservatives or, more menacingly, reconverted social democrats, has rolled back the social gains brought about by the struggles of the working class movement and the presence of the 'alternative' socialist model during the post-World War Two period.

To sum up, the disappearance of the socialist camp has not brought about the much-heralded improvement in global democracy and living standards, at least as far as the vast majority of the world's population are concerned, and the tight hold which global capitalism exerts is not so much by virtue of its good qualities but mostly by virtue of the absence of a seemingly viable alternative.

This, according to the editors, is the major reason why one ought to look again at Marxism, the most powerful anti-capitalist discourse that has ever been put forward namely to examine what may be salvaged, or to be more ecological, what may be recycled, in the process of constructing a viable alternative to a system whose unbridled excesses are destroying us and the planet we live in. The editors trust that this publication constitutes a modest contribution towards that end.