Karl Marx | Books, Theory, Beliefs, Children, Communism ...

Karl Marx, in full Karl Heinrich Marx, (born May 5, 1818, Trier, Rhine province, Prussia [Germany]—died March 14, 1883, London, England), ... KarlMarx TableofContents KarlMarx Introduction&TopQuestionsEarlyyearsBrusselsperiodEarlyyearsinLondonRoleintheFirstInternationalLastyearsCharacterandsignificance FastFacts 2-MinSummary TopQuestions HowdidKarlMarxdie? Facts&RelatedContent Quizzes Quotes Media Videos Images More MoreArticlesOnThisTopic AdditionalReading MajorWorks Contributors ArticleHistory RelatedBiographies PietroNenni Italianjournalistandpolitician JosephMedill Americanpublisher WilliamAllenWhite Americanjournalist LouisVeuillot Frenchwriterandpolitician SeeAll Home Philosophy&Religion Philosophers KarlMarx Germanphilosopher Actions Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. 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KarlMarx-Children'sEncyclopedia(Ages8-11) KarlMarx-StudentEncyclopedia(Ages11andup) Alternatetitles:KarlHeinrichMarx By DavidT.McLellan SeeAll • LastUpdated: Aug23,2022 • EditHistory TableofContents KarlMarx Seeallmedia Born: May5,1818 Trier Germany ...(Showmore) Died: March14,1883(aged64) London England ...(Showmore) Founder: FirstInternational ...(Showmore) NotableWorks: “DasKapital” “TheCommunistManifesto” ...(Showmore) SubjectsOfStudy: capitalism exchangevalue philosophyofhistory ...(Showmore) Seeallrelatedcontent→ TopQuestionsWhowasKarlMarx?KarlMarxwasaGermanphilosopherduringthe19thcentury.Heworkedprimarilyintherealmofpoliticalphilosophyandwasafamousadvocateforcommunism.HecowroteTheCommunistManifestoandwastheauthorofDasKapital,whichtogetherformedthebasisofMarxism.HowdidKarlMarxdie?KarlMarxdiedonMarch14,1883,whenhewas64,aftersuccumbingtoaboutofbronchitis.Notowninganylandwhenhedied,hewasburiedinLondon’sHighgateCemetery.Originally,hisheadstonewasnondescript,butin1954theCommunistPartyofGreatBritainetchedthestonewith“Workersofalllandsunite,”thelastlineofTheCommunistManifesto,alongwithaquotefromMarx’sThesesonFeuerbach(1845). Readmorebelow: LastyearsWhatwasKarlMarx’sfamilylike?KarlMarxwasoneofninechildren.Whenhegotolder,hemarriedhischildhoodsweetheart,JennyvonWestphalen.Thetwohadsevenchildrentogether,fourofwhomdiedbeforereachingadolescence.BecauseofMarx’santi-capitalcorebeliefs,hisfamilywasimpoverishedformuchoftheirlives.Summary Readabriefsummaryofthistopic KarlMarx,infullKarlHeinrichMarx,(bornMay5,1818,Trier,Rhineprovince,Prussia[Germany]—diedMarch14,1883,London,England),revolutionary,sociologist,historian,andeconomist.Hepublished(withFriedrichEngels)ManifestderKommunistischenPartei(1848),commonlyknownasTheCommunistManifesto,themostcelebratedpamphletinthehistoryofthesocialistmovement.Healsowastheauthorofthemovement’smostimportantbook,DasKapital.ThesewritingsandothersbyMarxandEngelsformthebasisofthebodyofthoughtandbeliefknownasMarxism.(Seealsosocialism;communism.)EarlyyearsKarlHeinrichMarxwastheoldestsurvivingboyofninechildren.Hisfather,Heinrich,asuccessfullawyer,wasamanoftheEnlightenment,devotedtoKantandVoltaire,whotookpartinagitationsforaconstitutioninPrussia.Hismother,bornHenriettaPressburg,wasfromHolland.BothparentswereJewishandweredescendedfromalonglineofrabbis,but,ayearorsobeforeKarlwasborn,hisfather—probablybecausehisprofessionalcareerrequiredit—wasbaptizedintheEvangelicalEstablishedChurch.Karlwasbaptizedwhenhewassixyearsold.AlthoughasayouthKarlwasinfluencedlessbyreligionthanbythecritical,sometimesradicalsocialpoliciesoftheEnlightenment,hisJewishbackgroundexposedhimtoprejudiceanddiscriminationthatmayhaveledhimtoquestiontheroleofreligioninsocietyandcontributedtohisdesireforsocialchange.Marxwaseducatedfrom1830to1835atthehighschoolinTrier.Suspectedofharbouringliberalteachersandpupils,theschoolwasunderpolicesurveillance.Marx’swritingsduringthisperiodexhibitedaspiritofChristiandevotionandalongingforself-sacrificeonbehalfofhumanity.InOctober1835hematriculatedattheUniversityofBonn.Thecoursesheattendedwereexclusivelyinthehumanities,insuchsubjectsasGreekandRomanmythologyandthehistoryofart.Heparticipatedincustomarystudentactivities,foughtaduel,andspentadayinjailforbeingdrunkanddisorderly.HepresidedattheTavernClub,whichwasatoddswiththemorearistocraticstudentassociations,andjoinedapoets’clubthatincludedsomepoliticalactivists.Apoliticallyrebelliousstudentculturewas,indeed,partoflifeatBonn.Manystudentshadbeenarrested;somewerestillbeingexpelledinMarx’stime,particularlyasaresultofaneffortbystudentstodisruptasessionoftheFederalDietatFrankfurt.Marx,however,leftBonnafterayearandinOctober1836enrolledattheUniversityofBerlintostudylawandphilosophy.Marx’scrucialexperienceatBerlinwashisintroductiontoHegel’sphilosophy,regnantthere,andhisadherencetotheYoungHegelians.AtfirsthefeltarepugnancetowardHegel’sdoctrines;whenMarxfellsickitwaspartially,ashewrotehisfather,“fromintensevexationathavingtomakeanidolofaviewIdetested.”TheHegelianpressureintherevolutionarystudentculturewaspowerful,however,andMarxjoinedasocietycalledtheDoctorClub,whosememberswereintenselyinvolvedinthenewliteraryandphilosophicalmovement.TheirchieffigurewasBrunoBauer,ayounglecturerintheology,whowasdevelopingtheideathattheChristianGospelswerearecordnotofhistorybutofhumanfantasiesarisingfromemotionalneedsandthatJesushadnotbeenahistoricalperson.MarxenrolledinacourseoflecturesgivenbyBauerontheprophetIsaiah.Bauertaughtthatanewsocialcatastrophe“moretremendous”thanthatoftheadventofChristianitywasinthemaking.TheYoungHegeliansbeganmovingrapidlytowardatheismandalsotalkedvaguelyofpoliticalaction. BritannicaQuiz FacesofEuropeanHistory:FactorFiction? Youmayhaveheardof"RobinHood"and"BloodyMary,"buthowmuchdoyoureallyknowaboutthesehistoricalfigures?SortfactfromfictioninthisquizofHoudini,Einstein,andotherfamousEuropeans. ThePrussiangovernment,fearfulofthesubversionlatentintheYoungHegelians,soonundertooktodrivethemfromtheuniversities.Bauerwasdismissedfromhispostin1839.Marx’s“mostintimatefriend”ofthisperiod,AdolphRutenberg,anolderjournalistwhohadservedaprisonsentenceforhispoliticalradicalism,pressedforadeepersocialinvolvement.By1841theYoungHegelianshadbecomeleftrepublicans.Marx’sstudies,meanwhile,werelagging.Urgedbyhisfriends,hesubmittedadoctoraldissertationtotheuniversityatJena,whichwasknowntobelaxinitsacademicrequirements,andreceivedhisdegreeinApril1841.HisthesisanalyzedinaHegelianfashionthedifferencebetweenthenaturalphilosophiesofDemocritusandEpicurus.Moredistinctively,itsoundedanoteofPrometheandefiance:Philosophymakesnosecretofit.Prometheus’admission:“InsoothallgodsIhate,”isitsownadmission,itsownmottoagainstallgods,…Prometheusisthenoblestsaintandmartyrinthecalendarofphilosophy.In1841Marx,togetherwithotherYoungHegelians,wasmuchinfluencedbythepublicationofDasWesendesChristentums(1841;TheEssenceofChristianity)byLudwigFeuerbach.Itsauthor,toMarx’smind,successfullycriticizedHegel,anidealistwhobelievedthatmatterorexistencewasinferiortoanddependentuponmindorspirit,fromtheopposite,ormaterialist,standpoint,showinghowthe“AbsoluteSpirit”wasaprojectionof“therealmanstandingonthefoundationofnature.”HenceforthMarx’sphilosophicaleffortsweretowardacombinationofHegel’sdialectic—theideathatallthingsareinacontinualprocessofchangeresultingfromtheconflictsbetweentheircontradictoryaspects—withFeuerbach’smaterialism,whichplacedmaterialconditionsaboveideas. 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SubscribeNow InJanuary1842MarxbegancontributingtoanewspapernewlyfoundedinCologne,theRheinischeZeitung.Itwastheliberaldemocraticorganofagroupofyoungmerchants,bankers,andindustrialists;ColognewasthecentreofthemostindustriallyadvancedsectionofPrussia.TothisstageofMarx’slifebelongsanessayonthefreedomofthepress.Sincehethentookforgrantedtheexistenceofabsolutemoralstandardsanduniversalprinciplesofethics,hecondemnedcensorshipasamoralevilthatentailedspyingintopeople’smindsandheartsandassignedtoweakandmalevolentmortalspowersthatpresupposedanomniscientmind.Hebelievedthatcensorshipcouldhaveonlyevilconsequences.OnOctober15,1842,MarxbecameeditoroftheRheinischeZeitung.Assuch,hewasobligedtowriteeditorialsonavarietyofsocialandeconomicissues,rangingfromthehousingoftheBerlinpoorandthetheftbypeasantsofwoodfromtheforeststothenewphenomenonofcommunism.HefoundHegelianidealismoflittleuseinthesematters.AtthesametimehewasbecomingestrangedfromhisHegelianfriendsforwhomshockingthebourgeoiswasasufficientmodeofsocialactivity.Marx,friendlyatthistimetothe“liberal-mindedpracticalmen”whowere“strugglingstep-by-stepforfreedomwithinconstitutionallimits,”succeededintreblinghisnewspaper’scirculationandmakingitaleadingjournalinPrussia.Nevertheless,Prussianauthoritiessuspendeditforbeingtoooutspoken,andMarxagreedtocoeditwiththeliberalHegelianArnoldRugeanewreview,theDeutsch-französischeJahrbücher(“German-FrenchYearbooks”),whichwastobepublishedinParis.First,however,inJune1843Marx,afteranengagementofsevenyears,marriedJennyvonWestphalen.Jennywasanattractive,intelligent,andmuch-admiredwoman,fouryearsolderthanKarl;shecameofafamilyofmilitaryandadministrativedistinction.Herhalf-brotherlaterbecameahighlyreactionaryPrussianministeroftheinterior.Herfather,afolloweroftheFrenchsocialistSaint-Simon,wasfondofKarl,thoughothersinherfamilyopposedthemarriage.Marx’sfatheralsofearedthatJennywasdestinedtobecomeasacrificetothedemonthatpossessedhisson.Fourmonthsaftertheirmarriage,theyoungcouplemovedtoParis,whichwasthenthecentreofsocialistthoughtandofthemoreextremesectsthatwentunderthenameofcommunism.There,MarxfirstbecamearevolutionaryandacommunistandbegantoassociatewithcommunistsocietiesofFrenchandGermanworkingmen.Theirideaswere,inhisview,“utterlycrudeandunintelligent,”buttheircharactermovedhim:“Thebrotherhoodofmanisnomerephrasewiththem,butafactoflife,andthenobilityofmanshinesuponusfromtheirwork-hardenedbodies,”hewroteinhisso-called“Ökonomisch-philosophischeManuskripteausdemJahre1844”(writtenin1844;EconomicandPhilosophicManuscriptsof1844[1959]).(Thesemanuscriptswerenotpublishedforsome100years,buttheyareinfluentialbecausetheyshowthehumanistbackgroundtoMarx’slaterhistoricalandeconomictheories.) The“German-FrenchYearbooks”provedshort-lived,butthroughtheirpublicationMarxbefriendedFriedrichEngels,acontributorwhowastobecomehislifelongcollaborator,andintheirpagesappearedMarx’sarticle“ZurKritikderHegelschenRechtsphilosophie”(“TowardtheCritiqueoftheHegelianPhilosophyofRight”)withitsoft-quotedassertionthatreligionisthe“opiumofthepeople.”Itwasthere,too,thathefirstraisedthecallforan“uprisingoftheproletariat”torealizetheconceptionsofphilosophy.Oncemore,however,thePrussiangovernmentintervenedagainstMarx.HewasexpelledfromFranceandleftforBrussels—followedbyEngels—inFebruary1845.ThatyearinBelgiumherenouncedhisPrussiannationality.