Karl Marx's works read aloud in Pori

Works of German philosopher Karl Marx were read aloud at the market square of the Finnish city of Pori On Saturday morning, commemorating the 200 anniversary of his birth.

Juha-Pekka Vaisanen, chairman of Finnish Communist Party (Suomen Kommunistinen Puolue) told the market place shoppers that neoliberal economic policies have decisively contributed to the "resurrection" of Karl Marx as a popular phenomenon.

Vaisanen along with artist Riitta Hakala has been touring Finland this spring giving public readings of Karl Marx. In his address in Pori, Vaisanen referred to Chinese leader's suggestion days ago that reading of Marx could become a habit. "Marx talks through art as well," Vaisanen said.

Finnish Communist Party has recently published again in Finnish language parts of the book Capital written by Marx. "Students told us that the books were in libraries but sold out in stores for decades," Vaisanen said.

Vaisanen underlined that Marx is not only for the economists, but for everyone at a time "when the robots may snatch your job", and "the robots do not need social security".

Marx was born in the German city of Trier on May 5, 1818. He died in London in 1883.

Pori is a location of old heavy industries and it was hit hard by the recession of the early 1990s. The unemployment rate once reached the height of 25 percent, and now remains at eight percent.

The latest development in Pori is educational plans that would bring Asian students to Pori. Esa Kohtamaki, the director for education and culture in Pori, said he has high hopes for the development. As a start, a hundred students from India study here.