Specters of Marx: The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning and the New International

Published shortly after the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Soviet regime, Specters of Marx is one of Derrida’s most interesting and prophetic books. Whilst many in the West heralded the triumph of liberal democracy and ＂the end of history＂, Derrida takes several steps back to argue that whilst Communism may have disappeared in much of the world, the questions posed by Marx continue to haunt us.

In his customary provocative style, he asks some uncomfortable questions: after the fall of Communism, can we preserve Marx’s legacy of radicalism? How do we continue his philosophy of responsibility? Uncannily anticipating many of the challenges facing us today, Derrida argues that the capitalist system is plagued by a multitude of ills, including aggression, trade wars, debt, the exploitation of migrant labour and ethnic conflict.

This Routledge Classics edition is a translation of the revised French edition and includes a debate between Derrida and Étienne Balibar on Marx and Marxism, published here in English for the first time. It also includes new corrections and additions to the text and footnotes made by Derrida after the book’s initial publication in French.

Translated by Peggy Kamuf and with a new Foreword by Peter Salmon, this Routledge Classics edition retains the original Editors’ Introduction by Bernd Magnus and Stephen Cullenberg.

Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) was born in Algeria. His philosophy, known widely for launching the theory of deconstruction, fused psychoanalysis, Marxist theory, philosophy and literature. Derrida was a central figure in academic life in the latter part of the twentieth century, and his work continues to provoke and inspire throughout the intellectual world.