Revival of Karl Marx

The publication of books of the Marxist theories is booming these days: The dissertation of Karl Marx Difference between the Democitean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature (Greenbi), The Anti-Fascism Struggles (Pulmujil) and My Life (Bumwoosa) by Leon Trotsky, the collection of the letters and critiques of Rosa Luxemburg The Free Spirit of Rosa Luxemburg (Yedam) among many others. This phenomenon reveals that the Korean readers started the reevaluation of the Marxism, which had been ignored after the collapse of the Socialist countries around 1990.

The Critical Biography of Karl Marx by Francis Winn (Prunsoop), The formation of the Marx` Capitalist theory Roman Rosdolsky (Baekui) are on the preparation for the pending publication. The History of the Russian Revolution (7 volumes) will be published from the first volume by Pumujil.

Recent interests of the Korean reader in the Marxist theory, represented by the sales of the Marxist books, are diverse in two directions. The first is the admiration to the life of the figure who contributed his whole life to realize his ideal. This trend emerged in the attraction of `Che Guevara`(Shilcheon Munhak, or the Practical Literature) by Jean Cormier. The book has sold 60,000 copies by now and continues to sale 2000-3000 copies a month.

The interest of these readers is not restricted in the Marxist theories. The life of the person who had devoted all his life to create an ideal world attracts the modern people who are busy with the everyday routine and overruled by their urgent business.

Rosa Luxemburg: her life and work (Chekgalpi, or the Bookmark) by Paul Trolich, published last year, has been repeatedly re-printed and sold steadily since the first release. And Bumwoosa recently published the first volume of the Trotsky`s autobiography, which has attracted many publishers.

The other interest of the readers is based on the reevaluation of the Marxism to find an alternative way after the problems of the neo-liberal Capitalism has been revealed. It is unusual that Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy (Baekui, 3 vols) has sold more than 1000 sets despite the academic difficulties. The sales cannot be simply attributed to an academic nostalgia.

No Comment on Lenin by Simon Clark (After) and The Changing Working Class By Alex Calinicos (The Bookmark) suggest the positive reevaluation of the Marxist theories in the neo-liberalist era.

Ko Byung-Kwon, a researcher of the Labor Institute of Korea University, who translated the dissertation of Karl Marx, remarked, ``compare to the 1980s when one could not dare to face the Marxist theories, now is the right time to read Marx from the open perspective.

However, Shin Hui-Yong, the editor of the Baekui Press, pointed out, ``although former social movement activists still maintain their interests in the critical social theory, the Marxism will no longer spread for a while.``

Considering that the French postmodernists such as Gilles Deleuze and Jacques Derrida have emphasized `the return to the Marxism` through 1990s, it is noteworthy of the future position of the Korean postmodernists toward the Marxist thoughts.

Kim Hyoung-Chan khc@donga.com