"If you look at the curriculum of most British universities now, there is almost nothing taught about the ideas of Marxism. And people understand, young people understand particularly that this intellectual vacuum in the heart of British universities needs to be addressed and they come here in order to find out about those ideas and to seek further reading," said Gordon.
Echoing Gordon, Dr. Pepijn Brandon, senior researcher at the IISH, pointed out that "more than the revival of Marx, there is a revival of interest in thinking systemic questions about how capitalism works and what its origins are".
The financial and economic crises have rekindled interest in Marxism.
"Since the crises and especially the financial crisis of 2008, Marx was on all the covers of the economic newspapers in the West, even The Wall Street Journal, The Economist. Still today, every day there is an article on Marx," said the filmmaker Peck.
"The success of a researcher, like Thomas Piketty, is attributed to the fact that he uses the Marxist instrument to analyze the economic situation in the world," Peck said. "He has succeeded in showing the enormous inequalities that exist today, which are more serious than 50 years ago."
"Is Marx out of date or not? We realize that Marx is unsurpassable as long as we are in a capitalist society," he added.
PROFOUND IMPACT FOR CHINA
"The profound impact of Marxism and policies inspired by Marxism, the profound impact they are having in China is absolutely undeniable," said Griffiths, general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain.
"What is also true is that Communist Party of China (CPC) is motivated by a desire to serve the interests of the mass of the people," said Griffiths.
John Foster, emeritus professor of Social Science at the University of the West of Scotland, said: "The manifesto provided the theoretical basis for socialist parties that over the following seventy years transformed the balance of power across Europe and Asia."
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, developed by General Secretary of CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping, marks a further stage in the progress of China's revolution and construction, while CPC has inherited and developed Marxist theories with its own social conditions, Foster noted.
In an interview with Xinhua, Qu Xing, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium, noted that the "starting point" of Marx and Engels is to give ordinary working people a guaranteed, dignified and equal life.
Therefore, the manifesto is the historical and ideological source of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which marks the modern development and stands as the new form of the manifesto, Qu added.
