Europeans mark 200th anniversary of Karl Marx's birth

BRUSSELS - People in European cities paid homage to Karl Marx on Saturday, marking the 200th anniversary of the great thinker's birth.

In London, the Marx Memorial Library organized an international conference celebrating Marx's work and exploring the significance of Marxism in the world today.

Speakers at the conference include John McDonnell, British Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. His speech subject is Marxism as a force for change today.

In the Finnish city of Pori, works of Karl Marx were read aloud at the market square.

Juha-Pekka Vaisanen, chairman of Finnish Communist Party, told the shoppers that neoliberal economic policies have decisively contributed to the "resurrection" of Marx as a popular phenomenon.

Vaisanen has been touring Finland this spring giving public readings of Karl Marx.

In his address in Pori, Vaisanen referred to Chinese leader's suggestion that reading of Marx could become a habit.

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

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

In the German city of Trier, a 5.5-meter-tall statue of Marx is set to be unveiled on Saturday. The statue, created by Chinese artist Wu Weishan, is a gift from China.

Marx was born in Trier on May 5, 1818 and spent the first 17 years of his life here. He died in London in 1883.