Where One Finds Marxist Thought Today
The tendency of some intellectuals to value certain aspects of Marxian thought while
economists pay little attention to it has continued. In most economics departments today
(especially top-rated graduate programs), you will find few Marxist economists, and those
that you do find are exploring what might be termed Marxian issues—such as tension
between classes and the instability of capitalism— using a broader radical paradigm that
includes Marxian ideas but is not necessarily built on a Marxian theoretical structure. In
economics, therefore, Marx, while not dead, is dying.
That does not mean that one will not find areas within academia where Marxian
thought is valued. In history, sociology, film, and modern literature departments, one can
find academics who call themselves Marxists. The focus on the Marxists is generally not on
Marx’s economic thought but on broader philosophical themes such as alienation. Thus,
Marxism lives on, even though much of its life is now outside of economics departments.