How do we write the history of both the theory and the practice of socialism and welfarism? How do historians negotiate the relationship between their politics and their scholarship? And in what way is Karl Marx's political thinking relevant for us today? Gareth Stedman Jones, Professor of the History of Ideas at Queen Mary, University of London, talked to us about the history of poverty in nineteenth century Europe, his recent biography of Karl Marx, and what Dickens can teach us about writing history. 

#welfare state #poverty #socialism #nineteenth century #Marx #Marxism #New Left