Karl Marx
German philosopher and revolutionary socialist (1818–1883); wrote Das Kapital and, with Engels, The Communist Manifesto.
At a glance
Main ideas
Class struggle, Base and superstructure, Surplus value …
See all 5Books to start with
Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, The German Ideology, The Communist Manifesto …
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Bernard Mandeville, Friedrich Engels and 5 others
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Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Marx was a German philosopher, social and political theorist, journalist and revolutionary socialist.
- He developed the theory of historical materialism, which explains how societies change through class struggle.
- With Friedrich Engels he wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848).
- His main work, Das Kapital, is a critique of classical political economy.
- Expelled from Germany after the revolutions of 1848, he moved to London, where he wrote Das Kapital and died in 1883.
Why it matters
- His ideas, known as Marxism, inspired revolutionary movements in many countries, and he is often cited as one of the principal architects of modern sociology.
Key facts
- Born
- 5 May 1818, Trier, Kingdom of Prussia1
- Died
- 14 Mar 1883, London; buried in Highgate Cemetery1
- Education
- Universities of Bonn and Berlin; doctorate in philosophy from the University of Jena (1841)1
- Married
- Jenny von Westphalen, 19 Jun 1843, in Kreuznach; she died in December 18811
- Journalism
- European correspondent for the New-York Daily Tribune from 1852 to 18621
- First International
- A leading figure of the International Workingmen's Association, where he battled the anarchists led by Mikhail Bakunin1
Main ideas
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Class struggle1
Societies develop through class conflict; under capitalism, between the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production, and the proletariat, who sell their labour.
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Base and superstructure1
The economic base shapes a society's cultural and political superstructure, and a mismatch between them causes conflict.
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Surplus value1
Profit comes from the difference between what it costs to keep workers alive and what they produce.
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Crisis1
He predicted a falling rate of profit and ever more severe crises, and that capitalism's contradictions would destroy it.
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Communism1
A classless, stateless, moneyless society: a free association of producers.
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
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Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 18441
Written in Paris, where his close collaboration with Engels began.
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The German Ideology3
Written with Engels; published only in 1932.
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With Engels: history as class struggle, and a programme for revolution.
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Das Kapital, volume one1
The first volume of his critique of capital.
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Critique of the Gotha Programme1
On the transition to a communist society.
Connections
Related
- Bernard MandevillePersonIn Capital, Marx called him "an honest man with a clear mind"
- Friedrich EngelsPersonLifelong collaborator from 1844; co-author of The Communist Manifesto
- Mikhail BakuninPersonHis rival in the First International over the state and the dictatorship of the proletariat
- The Condition of the Working Class in EnglandBookMarx read it after their second meeting in 1844 and was profoundly impressed
- What Is Property?BookMarx called it "epoch-making" in his 1865 obituary of Proudhon
- William MorrisPersonBecame a revolutionary socialist after reading Marx, Henry George and Alfred Russel Wallace in the 1880s
Links
Sources
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