Karl Marx

**Karl Marx** (5 May 1818 in Trier, Prussia – 14 March 1883 in London, England) was a German political thinker who wrote about economics and politics. Marx thought that human societies develop through class struggle. Marx believed that no economic class_—_wage workers, land owners, etc. should have power over another. He believed that everyone should contribute what they can, and everyone should get what they need. His most famous book was the Communist Manifesto. He wrote it with Friedrich Engels in 1848. The book is about the ideas and aims of communism. His ideas are called Marxism.

## Biography

Karl Marx was born on 5 May 1818, in Trier, Prussia (now Germany). He came from a middle-class family, and his father was a lawyer. Marx studied law, history, and philosophy at the University of Bonn and later at the University of Berlin. During his education, he became involved with radical thinkers and developed his interest in philosophy and economics. After completing his education, Marx began his career as a journalist in the early 1840s, writing for various German publications. He explored political and economic issues, laying the groundwork for his later theories. In 1844, Marx met Friedrich Engels in Paris, France and became close friends by working together on the Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, sharing a passion for critiquing the socio-economic order. Their intellectual camaraderie helped shape Marxist theory. In his later years, Karl Marx faced financial struggles and health issues. He continued his political activities, writing, and research, contributing to the development of Marxist theory. Marx died in London on 14 March 1883, but his ideas had a lasting impact on political and economic thought.

### Personal life

Karl Marx lived in various European cities during his life. Some notable ones include Trier and Cologne in Germany, Brussels in Belgium, and London in the United Kingdom, where he spent a significant portion of his later life. Marx married Jenny von Westphalen, his childhood sweetheart, in 1843. Despite his revolutionary ideas, he struggled with poverty and relied on his friend Friedrich Engels for support. Marx had six children, and his family faced hardship due to their economic circumstances. Marx's Wife died in 1881 just two years before his own death in 1883. His personal life reflected the complexities of the era he lived in.

### Das Kapital

His most important work is _Das Kapital_, or The Capital. It is commonly known in English as simply 'Capital.' He spent many years working on the three parts of the book.  Das Kapital describes how capitalism works and the problems it creates, such as division of labour, alienation and exploitation. The book has led to many arguments between those who agree with the book and those who do not. Marx's ideas have been thought of as responsible for socialist revolutions (like the Russian Revolution).

### Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, advocates for the overthrow of capitalist societies by the working class. It emphasizes historical class struggles, predicts the inevitable rise of the proletariat, and calls for the abolition of private property. The manifesto outlines the principles of communism, aiming for a classless society where the means of production are collectively owned. Marx's Communist Manifesto, co-written with Engels, outlines the idea of a classless society, emphasizing the struggle between the bourgeoisie (owners) and proletariat (workers). It advocates for the overthrow of the capitalist system to establish a communist society where the means of production are collectively owned.

### Historical materialism

Marx's most popular theory was 'historical materialism', arguing that history is the result of material conditions, rather than ideas.  He believed that religion, morality, Social structures and other things are all rooted in economics.

### Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Marx also wrote the _Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844_, a critique of political economy in which he discusses topics such as labor wages, labor rent, and capital profit, and his ideas of how to change the economy, including proletarian socialist revolution and an eventual communist society.

## Legacy

Karl Marx's legacy is marked by his influential contributions to political theory and economics, particularly with his ideas on communism and class struggle. While his ideas have shaped various political movements, their interpretation and application have varied widely, sometimes leading to both positive and negative outcomes. However, there's ongoing debate about Karl Marx's legacy by historians. Some see him as a revolutionary thinker who highlighted class struggles, while others criticize his ideas for various reasons, including their implementation in certain historical contexts. Some historians argue that Karl Marx's ideas, as interpreted and implemented by various leaders, contributed to the development of totalitarian regimes, citing instances like the Soviet Union and Maoist China as examples. Many people continue to follow and develop Marx's ideas.

## Related pages

- Commodity fetishism
- Factors of production
- Political economy
- Marxism
- Friedrich Engels
- Communism
- Russian Revolution

### Biographies

- Friedrich Engels' _Biography of Marx_
- Franz Mehring's _Karl Marx: The Story of His Life_
- Vladimir Lenin's _Karl Marx Biography _
- Francis Wheen's _Karl Marx: A Life _
- Karl Korsch's _Karl Marx Biography_
- Maximilien Rubel's _Marx, life and works_

### Articles and entries

- Dead Sociologists - Karl Marx
- Ernest Mandel, _Karl Marx_ (New Palgrave article)
- **Marx on India and the Colonial Question**  from anti-caste
- Portraits of Karl Marx
- The Karl Marx Museum
- Marxmyths.org  - Various essays on misinterpretations of Marx
- Paul Dorn, The Paris Commune and Marx' Theory of Revolution
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
- Why Marx is the Man of the Moment

### Bibliography and online texts

- Marx and Engels Internet Archive http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/
    - _Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right_ (1843)
    - _On the Jewish Question_ (1843)
    - _Notes on James Mill_ (1844)
    - _Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844_ (1844)
    - _Theses on Feuerbach_ (1845)
    - _The German Ideology_ [with Engels] (1845-46)
    - _The Poverty of Philosophy_ (1846-47)
    - _Wage-Labour and Capital_ (1847)
    - _Manifesto of the Communist Party_ [with Engels] (1847-48)
        - Free audiobook from LibriVox (Also available in German)
    - _The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte_ (1852)
    - _Grundrisse_ (1857-58)
    - _A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy_ (1859)
    - _Writings on the U.S. Civil War_ [with Engels; compiled] (1861)
    - _Theories of Surplus Value, 3 volumes_ (1862)
    - _Value, Price and Profit_ (1865)
    - _Capital vol. 1_ (1867)
    - _The Civil War in France_ (1871)
    - _Critique of the Gotha Programme_ (1875)
    - _Notes on Wagner_ (1883)
    - _Capital, vol. 2_ [posthumously, by Engels] (1893)
    - _Capital, vol. 3_ [posthumously, by Engels] (1894)
    - _Letters_ [with Engels; compiled] (1833-95)
- _Ethnological Notebooks_ —  (1879-80)
- "The Reality Behind Commodity Fetishism" (in English) at _Sic et Non_ (in German)
- Libertarian Communist Library Karl Marx Archive
- Karl Marx Biography
- Works by Karl Marx at Zeno.org

## Infobox (philosopher)

- **region**: Western Philosophy
- **era**: 19th-century philosophy
- **color**: red
- **image**: Karl Marx by John Jabez Edwin Mayall 1875 - Restored.png
- **caption**: Karl Marx in 1875
- **name**: Karl Marx
- **birth place**: Trier, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia
- **death place**: London, England,

- **school tradition**: Marxism
- **main interests**: Politics, Economics, class struggle, Alienation
- **influences**: Immanuel Kant, Kant, Epicurus, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Hegel, Ludwig Feuerbach, Feuerbach, Max Stirner, Stirner, Adam Smith, Smith, David Ricardo, Ricardo, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Rousseau, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Goethe, Charles Fourier, Fourier, Auguste Comte, Comte
- **influenced**: Bakunin, Rosa Luxemburg, Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin, Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Stalin, Leon Trotsky, Trotsky, Mao Zedong, Mao, Fidel Castro, Castro, Che Guevara, Guevara, György Lukács, Lukács, Antonio Gramsci, Gramsci, Hannah Arendt, Arendt, Jean-Paul Sartre, Sartre, Guy Debord, Debord, Frankfurt School, Antonio Negri, Negri, Michael Taussig, Taussig, Kim Il-sung, Kim, Manabendra Nath Roy, Roy, Bookchin and <small>List of Marxists, many more...</small>
- **notable ideas**: Co-founder of Marxism (with Friedrich Engels, Engels), Alienation and exploitation of the worker, _The Communist Manifesto_, _Das Kapital_, Historical materialism, Materialist conception of history
- **signature**: Karl Marx Signature.svg