I don't see how Marxism can remain viable as theory if it is spent as a political force. AFAIC Marx's entire point as a materialist is that thought *cannot* be separated from action. Cue the the 11th Feuerbach: "Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it." If the aim now is just to wander around the Museum of Marxism dusting the display cases, we might as well just shut down the museum and be done with it. No praxis, no thaxis.
What fascinates me is that there seems to be a general collapse of actionable Big Ideas worldwide currently. All cant aside, no *thinking* person these days honestly views religion as anything but an embarrassment to humankind. Meanwhile, Freud has been reduced to an Aflac commercial: Quack! Quack! Even hegemonic neoliberalism is recognized by its more thoughtful proponents as a spent force -- as being like Wile E. Coyote running way beyond the cliff's edge, doomed to plummet to the earth once he glances down. What better bellwether than Francis Fukuyama, who clearly now sees no future for his liberalism-regnant "end of history."
The contradictions of capitalism are gathering momentum at an unprecedented rate globally -- the system's unalterable dynamic as a force for mass exploitation, alienation and environmental despoliation has never been more obvious. We're going to need some good ideas, fast, to get humankind out of its worsening predicament. Marxism still seems like a good starting point to develop the *practical* solutions that are urgently needed.
Carl