University of Manitoba Undergraduate Economics Society

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IS MARX RELEVANT?
(Abstract)

With the collapse of the Soviet union and the demise of centrally planned economies, capitalism seems to be not only triumphant but also inevitable. Nevertheless, capitalism remains a very dynamic economic system, and its course of development is uneven and is anything but smooth and tranquil. These were precisely the characteristic features of capitalism that Marx identified, and he arguably explored them more extensively and deeply than any other major economist before or since. At a fundamental level, as Joan Robinson once remarked, Marx asked the right questions. Consequently, Marx is more relevant today than ever. For those seeking a means by which they can grab an analytical hold on this complex and turbulent system, Marx offers not only some important insights, but also an invaluable set of concepts and an analytical framework. Marx’s intellectual legacy is one that not only enables us to go some considerable way in terms of answering these fundamental questions, but it also provides us with the means by which we can ask the substantive new questions that pertain to our contemporary (and future) socio-economic world.

Biographical information:
Fletcher Baragar
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics
University of Manitoba
Research interests and areas of specialization include Marxian economics, the history of economic thought, and macroeconomics.