Abstract

A 'generous soul' with 'ideas of genius' but a 'puerile idolater - Marx and his legacy remains an important focus for philosophers, economists, political scientists and others, but is Marxism dead and best forgotten, or is its relevance undiminished for today's troubled world? Echoes of Utopia sets out to explore the relevance of Marxism in the contemporary world, through economic, political and human dimensions. Combining philosophical analysis of central economic and political concepts with an historically based examination of the unfolding of the twentieth century global economy, Fuller explores the work of Marx as well as two of his most trenchant critics, Schumpeter and Weil. While critical of that central pillar of Marxism, the labour theory of value, Fuller concludes that some of Marx's ideas, especially those concerning over-production, under-consumption, crises, planning, and international democratic governance, are more relevant than ever in today's world of economic, political and environmental turbulence. Michael Fuller is a lecturer in philosophy at Bolton Institute, UK.