In the occasion of the bicentenary of Karl Marx's birth, Dialogue and Universalism, the philosophical journal of the International Society for Universal Dialogue, dedicates a whole issue to the German revolutionary and founding anatomist of capitalist domination. Its theme is : Karl Marx, civilized or savage? Its main theme is value theory but other topics are welcome.

Dialogue and Universalism 3/2018

Argument

Fair enough for Marx, 2018 immediately will give him a new chance to be remembered, for Marxists in 2017 only were able to celebrate the secular impulse for massive installation of Western industrialism in Russia, instead of the 150th birthday of his Capital’s publication. « The only thing I know is that I’m not a Marxist », and we definitely should understand why by now. Does Marx’s one of the most quoted sentences still weigh, or has overquotation entirely depleted its subversive consequences ? In 2018, near-term extinction, or at least near-term collapse of the human species (not to talk about other ones) because of capitalism – capitalism indeed is the explicit content of geological neologism ‘anthropocene’ - has become a Pulcinella’s secret. Another one is that Marxism has done little or better said nothing to resist it, and very much more to contribute to Westernize the rest of the world under the ruinous banner of human emancipation. It has done so all along the XXth century, as if it had been, according to Lévi-Strauss’ pervasive insight, the ultimate trickery of modernisation : mainstream and thus dominant Marxism brutally displayed a frank and open admiration for the industrialisation process and for the generalisation of its corollary, waged slavery as the normal mode of production, i. e. as normal relations of production.

Now it could be a matter of honour, if not of political relevance, so to say a gallant last stand, in the occasion of this bicentenary of Marx’s birth, to address again the thought of our great anatomist of the capitalist power machinery under the light of the Savage, rather than under that of the Civilized, say that of the mere though brilliant and leftist apologist of the bourgeoisie’s achievements. Again : because it has been done so many times inside heterodox Marxism (the Frankfurt School, Operaism, etc.), but so many times undone and silenced by the overcoming and now, once the job is done, disappearing police inside the workers’ movement, its official organizations with their progessive religion. The Marxist comedy of Modernism turned into tragedy again, leaving full room to capitalist exterminism and to ecological extermination. Now the bad joke has been unmasked. To us, value critique, the core of Marx’s true genius, is the point of view of the Savage par excellence in Marx’s work. We thus would like to favour contributions in this area. But others are of course also welcome.

Reverentially, we invite you to take part in this enterprise.

Submission guidelines

The submission deadline is August 15, 2018.

The paper should not rather exceed 8000 English words. An abstract (maximum 100 words) with key words and a note about the author (maximum 100 words) should be added. For more technical details, in particular for bibliographical standards please see the link “Information for Authors” on the Dialogue and Universalism website: dialogueanduniversalism.eu

We would be grateful if you inform us about your decision as to the participation.

We shall gladly answer to all your questions concerning this project.

Please send all the correspondence concerning the issue to the addresses:

• Jean-Francois Gava: jeangava@ulb.ac.be

or/and:

• Małgorzata Czarnocka: mczarnoc@ifispan.waw.pl

Guest editor

• Dr. Jean-Francois Gava, guest editor of the issue
• Prof. Małgorzata Czarnocka, Dialogue and Universalism editor-in-chief