See below for a list of some of the ongoing research activities associated with The Laboratory for Alternative Theories.
“The Global History of Karl Marx’s Capital”
Funded by Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Partnership Development Grants (2021-23)
Karl Marx’s Capital is one of the most influential scholarly books ever published and has inspired a significant body of literature, as well as social and political movements around the world. The proposed project will offer an innovative reading of this seminal text, and deepen our understanding of the intellectual and political history of the international labour movement. The main outcome of the partnership research – a collective book entitled the Handbook of Marx’s ‘Capital’: A Global History of Translation, Dissemination and Reception – will critically survey all the most important interpretations of Capital and trace the significant influence that this book has generated in academic disciplines, political parties, governments, trade unions, and social movements. The research will identify the key dynamics that have produced, sustained and eroded political and social movements inspired by Marx over time, and will explain how Capital’s key concepts changed and evolved in regional contexts. In so doing, it will challenge the prevalent Eurocentrism existing in labour history and address existing knowledge gaps. With its historical and theoretical insights, from all regions of the world, the project will promote academic and public reflections on the relation between economic systems and democracy, labour rights, inequality, social justice, and economic crisis.
The partnership has four objectives: 1) reconstruct the global diffusion of Capital in all languages in which it was translated; 2) critically analyze the most important theoretical debates engendered by Capital and its political impact; 3) produce a new English translation of Capital that will become the standard edition in this language; and 4) create a digital tool that will allow scholars and other readers to trace and better understand the evolution of Capital’s key concepts through the course of different versions and translations of this book.
The project brings together a unique collaboration of four archives, six research-focused organizations, and two museums from ten countries. The partner organizations are some of the most reputable research institutions in social history and social sciences in their respective countries. All research outputs will be cornerstones in the field and will be translated in several languages. Knowledge mobilization will be multi-faceted and all the institutions involved will contribute to the sharing of research outputs as they emerge over the duration of the grant.
“Alternative Socio-Economic Ideas, 1789-1871”
Funded by Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Insight Development Grant (2020-22)
Following the global economic crisis that erupted in 2008, many countries saw a rapid decline of traditional major political parties, coupled with the rise of new political forces and leaders that, in a variety of ways, served to contest the existing economic and social order. As a result, the “free market” is no longer entirely synonymous with democracy, and there is has been a renewed interest in alternative socio-economic ideas for the first time since the fall of Berlin wall. Yet, while debates over the negative consequences of capitalism unfold, ideas about how to promote a more just and democratic socio-economic system have lagged behind.
The aim of this two-year project is to re-examine economic, social and political alternatives to capitalism across Europe following the French Revolution. The period between 1789 and 1871 (the year of the Paris Commune) was tumultuous and inspired a significant body of literature outlining novel social and political ideas that merit further attention in light of the current global economic climate. The research will compare the inadequacies of the capitalist system of production and social organization in the 19th century with the contradictions, challenges and opportunities that capitalism offers today, identify the main characteristics of alternatives to capitalism as conceived by theorists between the French Revolution and the Paris Commune, as well as the most significant reforms implemented in the same period after labour movement mobilizations, and assess the relevance of those ideas and experiments to tackling contemporary social problems and systemic challenges.
This research will culminate in an anthology of germane but long-neglected texts, a project website, and at least one peer-reviewed journal article that will be translated into multiple languages. The project will seek to promote academic reflection on the relation between economic systems and democracy and the PI will present his findings at a series of international conferences (including the ISA 2022 World Congress). The research will contribute to debates in sociological theory and will also enrich public discourse in the fields of social and political theory, economics and history. Long-term benefits flowing from this research will include bringing new critical approaches to understanding the structure of social organization, the drivers of change, as well as promoting a broader perspective regarding the potential for socio-economic alternatives.
By examining the nature and development of alternative conceptions to capitalism, this research will critically reframe issues related to social inequality and promote fresh consideration of such topics as labour rights, democratic practices and ecology. Outside the academia, the findings of the project will be disseminated through a variety of community and policy channels. A wide range of teachers, intellectuals, union leaders, and activists in social movements, political parties and NGOs will find the resources brought forward through this grant useful to developing broader and more critical perspectives on the sociological, economic and political issues of our time. Finally, the PI’s use of op-ed pieces in newspapers, magazine articles, interviews, websites, and media appearances will also contribute to ensuring that the research outcomes are accessible to a broad audience in Canada and internationally.
