2018 Symposium on the 200th Anniversary of the birth of K. Marx
“Karl Marx” – Dead or Alive in the 21st Century?
The International Symposium on K. Marx in the 21st Century will be held at Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan, on December 22(Sat)-23(Sun), 2018. The year of 2018 is the bicentenary anniversary of K. Marx’s birth. This great thinker’s name has been incorporated in the modern world history. Even today, we still suffer from antagonisms and critical tendencies that can be comparable to what K. Marx regarded as the results of capitalist economy. So, the name of this revolutionary intellectual giant in the 19th Century arouses uneasiness in every field of politics, economics, social thoughts, philosophy, as well as of social and political movements. Here arises one fundamental question: Have the Marx’s ideas on the problems of modern economic system and society already been outmoded, or is it possible to make resurgence of his theory and ideas on the grounds of accumulated knowledge and with advanced analytical tools? What is the message of this bearded man to the people who live more than a century after his death?
However, K. Marx was not a prophet. He was a man who wished to ground his ideas in the materialistic view of history and declared his willingness to receive any scientific criticisms to his theory. In the occasion of the bicentenary of his birth, seven major academic societies engaging Marxian studies in Japan jointly organize a international symposium on “K. Marx in the 21st century” in Tokyo. We would bring K. Marx’s theory and ideas on scientific discussions by major international researchers, both from the perspective of historical approaches as well as theoretical approaches. Historically, we could not skip the 19th Century in which his ideas were grown and the 20th Century in which his ideas influenced intellectuals and social movements under the name of “Marxism.” Theoretically, we should examine his ideas in the context of theoretical system he intended to establish on the one hand, and compare them with new ideas of the 21st century on the other hand. In 2017, we already held a preliminary symposium of the 150th anniversary K. Marx’s Capital in Tokyo. Based on the discussions in 2017, Critical reviews and reappraisals of K. Marx in the 21th Century will be done on more boarder basis in our 2018 international symposium.
We are looking forward to active participation of leading Marxian researchers overseas as well as in Japan to address those major challenges.
Executive Committee of the “K. Marx in the 21st Century” Symposium
Chairman, Dr. Tetsuji Kawamura
(President of the Japan Society of Political Economy–JSPE)
Basic information and time line
Symposium date: December 22 (Sat.) and 23 (Sun.), 2018
Venue: Satta Hall, Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan
Contact: marxinthe21stcentury.jspe@gmail.com
CALL FOR PAPERS (PDF)
