[Marxism] A Marx Revival Stirs in Britain

[Andrew Pollack]

Wall Street Journal
LETTER FROM THE CITY NOVEMBER 6, 2008
A Marx Revival Stirs in Britain
As Capitalism Struggles, 'Das Kapital' Moves Units; A Boom in Red Flag
SalesBy ALISTAIR MACDONALD

The credit crunch that has sent Britain reeling is providing a boon
for supporters of the man who predicted the country's economic
collapse more than a century ago -- Karl Marx.
The Communist Party of Britain is trying to make the most of what it
sees as a vindication of Marxism, or, at the very least, a renewed
curiosity in Marx in the country where he made his home.

Photoshot
Capitalizing: Marx's grave site in northern London
After a decade of being largely ignored, copies of "Das Kapital" and
other Marxist tracts are starting to sell again, and Marxist academics
are back on the airwaves to revel in the misfortunes of capitalism.
In London, where Marx lived for the last 34 years of his life and
where he wrote his most famous works, the Communist Party is
struggling to keep up with demand for hammer-and-sickle enamel badges
at £2.50 ($4) apiece, and £7 red flags. The party, which has never had
much of a following in the U.K. compared with many other European
countries, has ordered 3,000 red flags so far in 2008, far more than
the 1,000 it normally needs in a year.
Party representatives also are finding themselves in demand.
Once, people would have crossed the road to avoid "some lefty wanting
to discuss the crisis," said Robert Griffiths, the general secretary
of the party. "Now people come up and ask, 'What about this crisis,
then?' " he said.
To capitalize on worries about capitalism, the party has two printers
constantly churning out leaflets, including a recent one titled "The
credit crisis: your questions answered."
Last week, a Halloween costume party titled "Dancing on the Grave of
Capitalism" was staged outside the former London headquarters of
failed investment bank Lehman Brothers.
"We wanted to celebrate. It is not the end of the world, it is just
the end of capitalism," said Chris Knight, a professor of anthropology
at the University of East London, who helped organize the event. Mr.
Knight, who describes himself as "hugely inspired" by Karl Marx, says
he and other like-minded academics had been ignored for the past 10
years. "But now the corpse is twitching," he said.
But both inside and outside the City, not everybody is greeting the
return of Marx with open arms.
Visitors to the German-born philosopher's grave site in northern
London sometimes protest the £2 entry fee to the famous resting place.
It isn't what Marx would have wanted, they say.
"What absolute rubbish," responds Jean Pateman, the 87-year-old head
of the Friends of Highgate Cemetery, a charity that operates the
burial ground. "He led the capitalist life," she said. "He even pawned
his wife's silver."
Write to Alistair MacDonald at alistair.macdonald at wsj.com
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