COUNTERPUNCH, AUGUST 14, 2020
You may have noticed a reference to the Marxism mailing list in the tag-line at the bottom of my CounterPunch articles. I want to take this occasion to tell you about a recent crisis that nearly put this 22-year Marxism forum out of business and recount its history. Assuming that you are one of the kinds of people that Alexander Cockburn once described as a dwindling number of leftists “who learned their political economy from Marx via the small, mostly Trotskyist groupuscules,” the mailing list might be right up your alley. Maoists and independents, of course, are also welcome. 9/11 Truthers, no thank you.
In a crowning irony, the Marxism list—better known as Marxmail—was hosted on a University of Utah server. So, you might ask how the Mormon church and Marxism could ever co-exist. Oddly enough, the economics department housing the server was one of the few in the country that was hospitable to Marxism. Hans Ehrbar, now a professor emeritus, invited us to take advantage of the department’s hospitality, so how could we resist?
Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist 
Good read. Here’s a question: why is everyone involved some kind of advanced academic though. PhD, Grad Student, Econ Department, etc? Are there or were there are any proletarians on the list? Seems pointless if not.
After all Marx joined the International Working Man’s Association, went to worker’s conferences, wrote in mainstream newspapers, did addresses to workers meetings, wrote easy to understand pamphlets like Wage Labour and Capital for workers.
Comment by Tanaka Ueno — August 15, 2020 @ 9:28 am
I have just subscibed and I am a “lumpen element”.
Comment by John Wake — August 19, 2020 @ 4:30 pm