A New Communism? Views of Western Left-Wing Scholars on the Idea of Communism

Abstract

Do the conferences that have been held under the name of “The Idea of Communism,” together with subsequent discussion, show that a new approach to communism is emerging? Could the “political events” urged by some leading philosophers call forth a new politics? Could the spectre of communism they summon up have the power to challenge capitalist ideology and lead to a totally different alternative? This article aims to describe the revival of the idea of communism and to explore the methods and concepts used in their interpretations by the new left philosophers involved.

Keywords:

• the idea of communism
• the new communism
• the common
• Alain Badiou
• Slavoj Žižek

Notes on Contributor

Fan Chunyan is an assistant research fellow of the Academy of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. She specializes in Marxist theory of the state and politics. She is the Chinese translator of The Idea of Communism (China Social Sciences Press, forthcoming).