Marx, American Civil War, and Slavery

Marx and Marxists have been charged as being Eurocentric and not paying attention to the issues of those on the periphery, the margins. We will be analyzing this claim and based on the writings collected and analyzed in the book Marx at the Margins by Kevin Anderson.

American Civil war was perhaps the most signifcant event of the 19th century. This was an issue that was deeply important to the International socialist movement. Marx wrote extensively about it and analyzed the events precipitating in the USA. We will look at some of his writings to understand how Marx saw these momentous events.

The recommended reading for this meeting is Chapter 3 of Kevin Anderson's "Marx at the Margins."