Corbyn describes the German economist, philosopher and revolutionary socialist as a "great economist", while McDonnell says there is “a lot to learn” from Marx's seminal piece of work, Das Kapital which critiqued the political economy.

Are these two old British socialists wallowing in times gone by, that has no relevance in today's high tech society or can we apply Marx's ideas to a 21st century setting? Francis Wheen, author of Karl Marx, argues the case that he has never been so relevant saying, “In Das Kapital, he has so many ideas about alienation and how work turns people into machines. If you look at an Apple production line in China, you would not see him as outdated.”

RT looks at today's key proponents of Karl Marx's work.

Paul Mason, political commentator and activist

Journalist Paul Mason is the self-described "radical social democrat who favours the creation of a peer-to-peer sector (co-ops, open source etc) alongside the market and the state, as part of a long transition to a post-capitalist economy." He's a key ally of the Labour leadership and left wing organisation Momentum having spoken at many of their events including The World Transformed that runs in parallel with the Labour Party conference. He wrote the book PostCapitalism in 2015, reviewed by The Guardian in which they conclude that "Mason is a worthy successor to Marx".

He may not be an "orthodox Marxist" but one "which argued that information overload would ultimately destroy capitalism by dispersing knowledge among the workers", David Runciman suggests.

Like Marx, Mason forsees the collapse of capitalism "under the weight of its own internal contradictions", as Chris Mullin, a former Labour MP for Sunderland South puts it.Mason explains that unsustainable levels of personal and national debt, in combination with the rise of technology, will erode the market and property rights and destroy the connections between work, wags and property.

Read more

Aaron Bastani, Co-founder Novara Media

Author of Fully Automated Luxury Communism: A Manifesto; writer and broadcaster Aaron Bastani suggests that today's era of political polarization and revolution in technology has revived big ideas that originate from Marx.He says "Marxism is pivotal to leftwing thought".

Bastani has been one of the pioneers within left wing media news outlets to cause a stir on social media, particularly with his YouTube videos. He argues that in a climate of political turbulence, economic uncertainty - there has been a lack of solutions.

A space where, Bastani hints, Marx's big ideas can help bring new insights, saying "He may have been born 200 years ago, but his key insights – a materialist view of history and a grasp of capitalism as an inherently limited system – remain invaluable."

David Harvey, Professor of anthropology and geography

Based at the City University of New York, the Distinguished Professor of anthropology and geography David Harvey is said to be a highly influential proponent of Marx and often cited as being responsible for many people's first engagement with Marx's Das Kapital through his free online video lectures. Harvey wrote Companion to Marx's Capital in 2010. It is seen by many on the left as a foundational book to more radical ideas that have influenced left wing movements in the UK and stateside.

Just as Labour's leadership have been highly critical of what they see as the neoliberalization in western societies, such as Britain, that has dominated the political landscape for the last 40 years, Harvey has been equally scathing, remarking: “Neoliberalization has meant, in short, the financialization of everything. There was unquestionably a power shift away from production to the world of finance.”

Harvey suggests it has only emboldened and given growth to an economic elite: “Neoliberalization has not been very effective in revitalizing global capital accumulation, but it has succeeded remarkably well in restoring, or in some instances (as in Russia and China) creating, the power of an economic elite.”

If you like this story, share it with a friend!