Does Marxism have a place in radical politics today?

From the Economic Freedom Fighters to NUMSA and the South African Student Congress, the words “Marxist-Leninist” are ingrained in the constitutions, manifestos and policy documents of many organisations on the left. This is interesting given the observation of the decline of Marxist ideas globally.

Marxist thought, slogans and iconography are a common part of the youth political expression in South Africa today. This panel of young activists will consider the following questions: What is the appeal of Marxist ideas for youth and student movements in South Africa today? In what ways are Marxist ideas used and understood in these movements?

Sinawo Thambo – chairperson of the EFF Student Command, Western Cape
Lunga Mantashe – former president, Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (PASMA) and lecturer (Fort Hare)
Sibusiso Maneli – former SASCO chairperson (NMU, UWC) and SRC member (UWC)
Alex Hotz – former Rhodes Must Fall (UCT)
Ashley Nyiko Mabasa – branch leader Young Communist League (Wits) and contributor to Rioting and Writing: Diaries of Wits Fallists (2017)