What The Hell America!

Marxist theory is often assumed to be fundamentally alien to US history. But when a memo from Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget says federal resources are being wasted on advancing “Marxist equity,” it’s impossible to deny that Karl Marx looms large in American political life. Whether as beacon or bogeyman, Marx, whose 207th birthday was May 5, has had a significant impact on the United States over the past two centuries.

In Karl Marx in America, Andrew Hartman, professor of history at Illinois State University, traces the life and afterlife of Marx in the United States, from his extensive correspondence with Union troops during the Civil War to the Marxist-inspired labor revolts of the twentieth century and the contemporary right-wing trope of “cultural Marxism.” Hartman explores the reciprocity of Marx’s relationship with American political organizing and intellectual life, illustrating not only how Marx has shaped US politics but also how close study of the United States deepened Marx’s understanding of human freedom.

Cal Turner and Sara Van Horn spoke with Hartman for Jacobin about how US history shaped Marx’s thought, why liberals and conservatives continue to scapegoat Marx, and the ways Marx’s ideas are booming today.