The Marx Conference 2027

Date/Time:

August 3, 2027 at 12:00 am – August 5, 2027 at 12:00 am

Location:

York University, Toronto, Canada

Calendar:

My Calendar

The Current Conjuncture and the Making of Possible Futures
York University, Toronto
3–5 August 2027

Submissions deadline: Tuesday, 15 December 2026

More information/application link: https://laps.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=3093140

We especially welcome contributions (individual papers, panels and roundtables) that combine theoretical analysis with historical investigation and/or practical experience of socialist organization and struggle. Travel subsidies are unfortunately unavailable.

The current conjuncture is marked by deep and intersecting crises of capitalism—rising inequality, deepening poverty, increased militarism, ecological destruction, and the erosion of democratic rights—which fall most heavily on working people, oppressed groups, and the peoples of the Global South. Yet Marxist and socialist forces remain weak, fragmented, and lacking in political leadership, even as anti-capitalist sentiment grows. Why is this the case? And, given the current conjuncture, what forms of organization, strategy, and mass struggle can rebuild a revolutionary Left capable of winning power? What lessons can be drawn from earlier conjunctures, struggles, and revolutions?

Following the inaugural Marx Conference in 2025, the 2027 conference, organized by Marxist Studies in Asian and Global Perspectives (MSGAP), an interdisciplinary and international intellectual initiative based at York University, Toronto, will bring together scholars, students, activists, and organizers to examine the disjuncture between the maturity of capitalism’s crises and the weakness of left organizing, with the aim of clarifying the conditions for socialist renewal in our time. MSGAP gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Science & Society: A Journal of Marxist Thought and Analysis, whose financial assistance strengthens MSGAP’s activities, including the organization of this conference. Additional supporting organizations will be acknowledged on the conference website and in the conference program.

Political economy, ecology, and new technologies

Capitalism, the law of value, and economic crisis
Domestic labour and the family
Dispossession and anti-dispossession politics
Cost of living crisis, precarity, and inequality
Housing, urbanization, and class struggle
Contemporary imperialism and so-called ‘sanctions’
Ecological and health crises
Digital technologies and the changing composition of the working class
Dynamics of capitalism in rural and urban spaces

State and democracy

Women’s liberation and struggles of racialized and religious minorities
Fascistic forces and cultural nationalism
Militarism, permanent war, and the struggle for peace
The capitalist state, democracy, and Left electoralism
National sovereignty and imperialism
Coercion, consent, and concessions in capitalist states
State neglect of education and healthcare
Neoliberalism and authoritarianism
Artificial intelligence, large language models, and surveillance

Socialism, culture, strategy and resistance

Socialism in an age of multiple crises
Left unity, sectarianism, and the united front
Anti-imperialism and Left internationalism
The revolutionary party, the masses, and socialist transformation
Immediate and transitional demands
New working-class strata and challenges facing trade unions
Marxist approaches to social movements, NGOs, and social democracy
Democratic, trade-union, and class consciousness
Students and intellectuals in revolutionary change
University as a site of class struggle by students, teachers and staff
Marxism and women’s liberation
Marxism and queer liberation
Decolonization and sovereignty movements
Marxism and popular education
Left parties and non-party Left movements
Peasants, worker-peasant alliances, and revolutionary transformation
Historical perspectives on socialist strategy and organization
Transitional societies (China, Cuba, etc.) and critical lessons
Local struggles over water, utilities, dispossession, the environment, local and regional government, and socially responsible development

Individual paper proposals should include a title, an abstract of 250 words or less, up to five keywords, and the author’s name, email address, and institutional or organizational affiliation (where applicable). For multiple authors, please identify the corresponding author.

Panel proposals (3–4 papers, roundtables, or book discussions) should include a panel title, a panel abstract (maximum 400 words), titles and abstracts for each contribution, and contact details for all participants. Incomplete submissions may not be considered.

Submit your proposal using this link : https://laps.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=3093140.

Timeline
• December 15, 2026:             Deadline for abstract submissions
• January 15, 2027:    Notification of acceptance/rejection
• March 15, 2027:       Registration opens
• April 1, 2027:              Preliminary conference program posted online
• May 15, 2027:            Early (reduced-rate) Registration ends
• June 30, 2027:           Conference registration closes; deadline for withdrawal with full refund
• July 1, 2027:                Final conference program circulated

Further information about the conference, the organizing committee, abstract submission, registration, accommodation, and MSGAP is available, or will soon be available, at https://marxiststudies.blog.yorku.ca/. Please direct all correspondence to: msgap(at)yorku.ca.