Karl Marx’s Background

Karl Marx was born May 5, 1818 in Trier, Germany.  His father, Heinrich Marx, was Jewish but converted to Lutheranism after learning he could not be an attorney if he remained a Jew.  Karl was thusly raised as a Lutheran, although, later in life, he became an atheist. Described as a “philosopher, revolutionary economist, and the founder of “modern scientific socialism”, according to Notable Biographies website, Marx devoted his life to the study of the complicated relationship between politics and economics. 

As a teen, he developed interests in studying languages.  Eventually, he became fluent in Latin and French.  Later, he learned to write in several other languages, Russian, Dutch, Spanish, and English, to name a few.

While attending college at Bonn University in Germany, he delved into law. His father hoped that Karl, too, would become an attorney.  Interestingly, Karl soon switched gears and arriving at Bonn, focusing on poetry, and later philosophy in Berlin.  At Bonn, he had the reputation as a drinker who spent a lot of money and partied.

Marx found himself drawn to politics after moving to Berlin.  He began writing articles in a German publication, in which he found fault with the Rhine Province Assembly, the parliament in Prussia (now Germany).  His early writings reflected a developing socialist philosophy. 

Marx got married June 19, 1843 to Jenny von Westphalen.  Later that same year, they travelled to Paris where Marx researched the French Revolution.  He also began writing articles in a German publication, Vorwarts!, in which he found fault with the Rhine Province Assembly and expounded on his liberal political views. 

The Prussian government took great offense to Marx’s writings and insisted that Guizot, the French “leader of the conservative constitutional monarchists,” banish Marx from France (according to the Encyclopedia Britannica website).

So, in 1845, Marx was ordered to leave the country.  He then went to Brussels to continue his studies of the French Revolution.   While there, he met another budding political writer, Friedrich Engels, who also embraced socialist ideology.  They would continue to formulate communist ideas, write about them together, and remain friends for the rest of their lives.

Karl Marx’s Writings

After becoming affiliated with the Communist League, Marx and Engels were invited by the League to compose a paper reflecting their socialist/communist ideology (History Guide website).  Marx’s writing, The Poverty of Philosophy was an early formulation of his sociological theory which he and Friedrich Engels expanded upon in response to the Communist League’s invitation.  That work, The Manifesto of the Communist Party, also known as The Communist Manifesto was completed by the two of them in 1848.

According to the Spartacus Schoolnet website, Marx was told to leave Belgium in 1848 due to his radical political writings.  Ironically, he was asked to return to France around this same time by the Provisional Government of the French Republic (see Encyclopedia Britannica website).  He went back to Paris, continuing his rants about government policies in France and working to round up German citizens there to take part in a revolution in Germany. He left Paris for Cologne, Germany where he was eventually placed under arrest for “inciting” citizens to stop paying taxes and for breaching press laws.  Finally, banished from Cologne, he returned to Paris only to be evicted once more from the country.

Marx reluctantly returned to London.  Avoiding all other pursuits, he delved deeply into the library at the British Museum to study political economy.  He wrote frequently for the New York Tribune during this time.  His protracted study at the Museum resulted in his writing, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Volume I, published in 1859.  He focused on scientific reasoning to support his opinions and theories regarding the workforce and socialism.

Marx painstakingly researched his topic to assure himself that he knew every single fact about it.  He believed that if he conducted thorough research, no one would be able to present a realistic rebuttal to his ideas.  His theory of socialism emerged from his exhaustive culling of facts, revealing for all the injustices of work for all, including the mistreatment of children in the workplace.   

Eight years later, Marx’s Capital, A Critique of Political Economy, Volume I was published.  A sweeping indictment of labor and government, readers were stunned to read Capital’s description of horrible working conditions for men, women, and children in Britain.  Because the information it revealed had never been made public, Marx’s Capital, also known as Das Kapital worldwide, is considered an epic work.  Volumes II and III to Capital were published later with much of the writing completed by Engels after Marx’s death.

Marxism

Known as “Marxism,” Karl Marx’s ideology is the fundamental structure of Communism and Socialism.  The hallmark of these social/political concepts is the discouragement of individual ownership of property and businesses.  Communism and socialism stand for the idea that the citizens of a country own property equally.  Supporters of such theories strive to abolish the lines between the “haves” and “have-nots” in a society.

Considered to be a prolific writer, Marx published numerous written works in the forms of articles, reports, and books.  Knowledge of his ideological political philosophy, Marxism eventually spread around the world. 

Karl Marx Postscript

Although Marx and his wife, Jenny are said to have had seven children, only 3 survived birth and childhood, all girls.  His wife, Jenny, died in 1881 of cancer.  Marx died about 2 years later on March 14, 1883 at the age of 64.  It is reported on Notable Biographies that he had several health problems due to his steady use of alcohol, excessive smoking, and poor nutritional habits.  He was buried in a cemetery in London—the Highgate where his grave is said to be designated by a bust of himself

Resources:

http://www.biography.com/articles/Friedrich-Engels-9287649 

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/249050/Francois-Guizot

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/bio/marx/eng-1869.htm

http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ma-Mo/Marx-Karl.html

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TUmarx.htm