Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, considerable changes have taken place in Marxist theory, and the 21st century has seen the relevance of Marx called into question. Several wars, a global economic crisis, ecological disasters, political dysfunctions have either challenged, undermined, or strengthened various strands of leftist thought that emerged from Marxist thought. This collection of original essays by key thinkers in the field aims to update the literature on the state of Marxism today. It engages with significant areas of debates, from the political thought of Nussbaum and Zizek to the politics of development, liberalism, justice, the role of revolution, imperialism, and economic and technological determinism. A thorough investigation, it incorporates a diversity of approaches, including analytical philosophy (contribution from Norman Geras, e.g.) and postmodern influences (contributions from Ronaldo Munck or Stuart Sim). These different perspectives, which also correspond to the contrasting views on the nature of post-Marxist theory, will make this collection a valuable text for courses in political theory, Marxist studies, as well as international relations, post-colonialism, and development.

Author Biography

Matthew Johnson has taught at the University of Queensland and the University of Iceland and supervises Dissertations in Communication in Social and Economic Context at Berlin University of the Arts, Germany. He is a member of the Advisory Board for Studies in Marxism as well as the Editor-in-Chief of Global Discourse: A Developmental Journal of Research in Politics and International Relations. He is the author of A Theory of Cultural Evaluation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).