Great turnout and discussion at 200 years of Marxism meeting

Karl Marx photo Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons, photo Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons

Karl Marx photo Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons, photo Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Students from University of Liverpool, nearby Liverpool John Moores University and Edgehill University Socialist Students societies came together for a ‘200 years of Marxism’ meeting on 21 February.

We did this to show students just how relevant Marx’s ideas are in 2018 – 200 years after he was born and 170 years since the publication of the Communist Manifesto. Socialist Students national organiser Claire Laker-Mansfield introduced the discussion, describing how Marx’s analysis remains the most accurate explanation for the functioning of the world economy and the problems we face today, from the low paid ‘gig economy’ and public sector cuts, to the existential threat of climate change.

Weeks of leafleting and postering paid off with a great turnout of new faces, several of which have already agreed to get involved in Socialist Students, have attended our meetings and taken part in our leafleting campaigns. This meeting also coincides with the lecturers’ pension strike which has enjoyed overwhelming and highly visible support from students both here in Liverpool and at campuses across the country. It has not only helped Socialist Students boost our profile on campus in Liverpool with our campaign in support of the strike, it has also helped to prove the continued importance of Marxism after 200 years!

Jack Yarlett, Liverpool John Moores Uni Socialist Students