New York University is celebrating Karl Marxâs 200th birthday in the form of a two-week long festival. Festivities started on Oct. 17 and run through Oct. 28th (for what it’s worth, Marx’s actual birthday is actually May 5).
The two-week birthday celebration called âOn Your Marxâ is described as a âfestival of art and ideas in celebration of Karl Marx’s 200th birthdayâ where participants put âMarxist theories and ideas to work in 21st century contexts.â
The first celebratory event to take place was called âP Project.â
âP Project (2012) is an escalating, interactive performance where actual cash fuels participation based on several P words, such as Piano, Pray, Pussy, Poetry, Poppers, and so on,â the description reads. âThe People will be offered several opportunities to Participate in the P Project, for which they be [sic] Paid quite well.â
Audience members were given cash to participate in âP Project,â which sounds oddly capitalist.
Next on the agenda was a lecture on âracial capitalismâ hosted by NYUâs Tamiment Library. And, for those looking for something more lively, there was also a âMarxist Dance Partyâ called âLet Us Eat Cakeâ complete with a DJ “spinning the finest Marxist tracks.â
Upcoming events include a discussion on climate change and global capitalism, a conversation on âlabor, aesthetics, and identityâ and a singing adaptation of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engelsâs Manifesto for the Communist Party.
Admission to all Marx birthday festivities is free, but students have been asked to “pay-what-you-think-itâs-worth,” according to NYU’s Skirball Center. At each event, attendees are given a list of expenses that were incurred to host the event. This odd practice is based on Marx’s philosophy.
Alexander James is a contributor to Red Alert Politics and a freelance journalist.
