The Invention of Marxism. How an idea conquered the world
Christina Morina (Duitsland Instituut, Amsterdam)
Oplysninger om arrangementet
Tidspunkt
Sted
Aarhus University, Building 1441, room 112
Arrangør
When Karl Marx died in 1883, he left behind a huge if fragmented opus along with a revolutionary new perspective of society. Yet his ideas were initially of limited influence; it was not until the following decades that their enormous impact came into play. How did this come about? Taking as examples nine committed intellectuals from all parts of Europe – including Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Kautsky, Eduard Bernstein and Wladimir Ilyich Lenin – the lecture demonstrates how Marx's ideas were taken up and spread throughout Europe. Thus, a theory to describe social reality in capitalism grew into that political philosophy that was to spread in the 20th century as a (state) ideology – inspiring one of the most influential and consequential political movements in modern times.