In this conversation, Vanessa Wills explores the moral heart of Marxism. Challenging the view of Marx as a cold materialist, Wills reveals his deep ethical vision, one that is grounded in freedom, creativity, and collective self-determination. She argues that revolution is not chaos but humanity’s conscious effort to overcome alienation and shape a just world, where moral and historical progress unite in the struggle for genuine emancipation.

"What defines the human on which the “we” of this nation was (truly) founded?"

"There is a deep-rooted folk concept of the human organism, which assumes that our bodies are pure and uncontaminated by outside matter."