Marxism After Communism1

This essay assesses what is living and what is dead in Marxism after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the proclamation of a second end of history and the ideological triumph of capitalism. It discusses the importance of the Soviet Union for Marxists and socialists as a living demonstration, however flawed, of the possibility of an alternative to capitalism. It argues that a future for Marxism as an intellectual tradition depends on its ability to transcend the historicism and realism which characterised Marxism-Leninism and return to its classical roots as a critique of political economy, which analyses the forces which engender social injustice and inequality. The continuing insight of Marxist analyses can be seen in recent work on the state, accumulation, regulation, hegemony, globalisation and social reproduction.