MARX AND THE
WALKING DEAD
Popular
culture
Fall 2013
MARX
 Without complete cooperation,
shared responsibility, and equal
allocation of assets, the entire fate
of the human race would be
doomed.
 The zombies embody the classic
Marxist critiques of capitalism.
 The heartless creatures mindlessly
devour resources (i.e. human
brains) in the same way that
capitalism pursues profit for its
own sake.
Zombies = capitalists?
THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO
 Capitalism expands vociferously (almost like a …
virus?) to all corners of the globe in pursuit of
profit.
Dominate markets
Exploit workers
Destroy local markets
 The zombies symbolize capitalism’s insatiable
need to constantly expand, exploiting (or feeding
on, more appropriately) people to reach its end
goal, which is merely to sustain itself.
MORE MANIFESTO
 Goal for Marx: eliminate
private property
 Reality for the survivors:
private property is futile and
useless
 Goral for Marx: abolition of
families
 Reality for the survivors:
with the exception of the
Grimes (kind of, no spoilers
here…) there isn’t really any
family to speak of save for
the survivors.
The survivors of The Walking Dead
operate as one unit.
TO THOSE WHO DON’T FIT IN?
 What of the survivors who
can’t overcome their own
issues or work as a team?
 To those who try to be too
independent, what is there
fate?
 The racist, sexist among
the survivors, what
happens to them?
MONEY HAS NO VALUE