By Sean Healy
During March, more than 500 people attended a national campus speaking tour organised by Resistance on the topic: "Socialism vs Capitalism: what would Marx say today".
About 70 people attended the forum at Sydney University, at which the Democratic Socialists' lead candidate for the NSW upper house, Dick Nichols, spoke. At Adelaide University, 65 people attended. There were large turnouts and lively debates in Launceston and Hobart, at the University of Canberra, La Trobe University in Melbourne, in Perth and Brisbane, as well as other universities.
The forums addressed the issue of whether Marxist ideas are still relevant and showed the depth of interest in Marxism amongst young people and students.
"I think there's a definite thirst for ideas capable of explaining how the world got to be in such a shocking state, and how immense wealth for a few can coexist with misery for the overwhelming majority", tour organiser Wendy Robertson told Resistance. "These forums really hit the spot and caught people's imaginations — Marxist ideas were presented in way that made perfect sense."