Karl Marx
Human relationships have always been dynamic.
Change and adaptability have gone
hand in hand with the passage of time for
human society. Systems have been
developed to regulate, direct and control
the resources of this society. The
systems are referred to as governments and
the resources as the populace or
inhabitants and forces of production. A
government must be dynamic in its nature
reflecting the change in society. At
times these systems have resisted the
necessity to adapt with its components
(Society) creating a deficit between the
system and those it regulates. As
the deficits develop, they cause instability,
and could lead to revolution.1
Theories have been developed to explain the
systemic phenomenon Karl Marx was
the greatest thinker and philosopher of his
time. His view revolutionized the
way in which people think. He created an
opportunity for the lower class to
rise above the aristocrats and failed due to
the creation of the middle
class. Despite this failure, he was still a great
political leader and set
the basis of Communism in Russia. His life contributed
to the way people
think today, and because of him people are more open to
suggestion and are
quicker to create ideas on political issues. Karl Heinrich
Marx was born
May 5th, 1818 in Trier. Although he had three other siblings, all
sisters, he
was the favorite child to his Father, Heinrich. His mother, a
Dutch
Jewess named Henrietta Pressburg, had no interest in Karl's
intellectual side
during his life. His father was a Jewish lawyer, and before
his death in 1838,
converted his family to Christianity to preserve his job
with the Prussian
state. When Heinrich's mother died, he no longer felt he
had an obligation to
his religion, thus helping him in the decision in
turning to Christianity.
Karl's childhood was a happy and care-free one.
His parents had a good
relationship and it help set Karl in the right
direction." His ‘splendid
natural gifts' awakened in his father the hope that
they would one day be used
in the service of humanity, whilst his mother
declared him everything would go
well. (The story of his life, Mehring, page
2). In High school Karl stood out
among the crowd. When asked to write a
report on "How to choose a
profession" he took a different approach. He took
the angle in which most
interested him, by saying that there was no way to
choose a profession, but
because of circumstances one is placed in an
occupation. A person with a
aristocratic background is more likely to have a
higher role in society as
apposed to someone from a much poorer background.
While at Bonn at the age of
eighteen he got engaged to Jenny von Westphalen,
daughter of the upperclassmen
Ludwig von Westphalen. She was the
childhood friend of Marx's oldest sister,
Sophie. The engagement was a
secret one, meaning they got engaged without asking
permission of Jenny's
parents. Heinrich Marx was uneasy about this but before
long the consent was
given. Karl's school life other than his marks is unknown.
He never spoke
of his friends as a youth, and no one has ever came to speak of
him through
his life. He left high school in August of 1835 to go on to
the
University of Bonn in the fall of the same year to study law. His
father wanted
him to be a lawyer much like himself but when Karl's reckless
university life
was getting in the way after a year Heinrich transferred him
to Berlin. Also, he
did not go to most lectures, and showed little interest
in what was to be
learned. Karl's reckless ways were not tolerated at Berlin,
a more conservative
college without the mischievous ways of the other
universities. While at Berlin,
Marx became part of the group known as the
Yong Hegelians. The group was
organized in part due to the philosophy teacher
Hegel that taught from 1818 to
his death. The teachings of Hegel shaped the
way the school thought towards most
things. Those who studied Hegel and his
ideals were known as the Young
Hegelians. Hegel spoke of the development
and evolution of the mind and of
ideas. Although Karl was younger than most
in the group, he was recognized for
his intellectual ability and became the
focus of the group. While at Berlin
"He came to believe that all the various
sciences and philosophies were
part of one overarching, which, when
completed, which would give a true and
total picture of the universe and
man." (Communist Manifesto, Marx (Francis
B. Randal), page 15) Marx was
an atheist, and believed that science and
philosophy would prove everything.
Thus he had no belief in a god of any type.
Marx believed that Hegel must
have been an atheist as well because of his strong
belief in the mind. Marx's
doctoral thesis was competed in 1841. It carried the
title "The Difference
Between the Philosophies of Nature of Democrtius and
Epicurus."(The
Making of Marx's Critical Theory, Oakley, page 11) It had to
do with the
Greek philosopher Epicurus and how his beliefs related to Marxs' of
that day.
This thesis was an early indication of the thinking behind Karl
Marx.
Much of his later work and ideas are evident in this essay. He
passed his thesis
into the University of Jena because Bonn and Berlin
required an oral part to the
thesis. The quickness was also a matter in this.
He passed it in early April,
and got his degree in history and philosophy in
April 15, 1841. After graduation
he was unable to find work. This caused him
to take a job with the German
newspaper Rheinische Zeitung in early 1842. By
the end of the year, Marx made
editor- in-chief. A few months after that in
1843 because of his radical
writings, and his social views, Marx was forced
to step down as editor, and soon
after that the paper closed altogether. He
married Jenny von Westphalen, and
with a member of the Young Hegelians,
Arnold Ruge went to Paris to publish a
radical journal on his beliefs. It was
evident in his works that he was a
revolutionary that advocated criticism of
everything in existence. This was
especially anticipated by the proletariat.
The proletariat were the working
class of the day. They were the poor and
made up the majority of people. Marx
went on to believe that the proletariat
would rise up against the bourgeoisie.
Then in 1844 Marx met a man that
would change his life forever.When going to
England after doing military
service, he meet Marx in Cologne in the offices of
the Rheinische Zeitung.
Both of them had gone through the German philosophic
school and whilst abroad
they came to the same conclusions but while Marx
arrived at an understanding
of the struggles and the demands of the age basis of
the French Revolution,
Engles did so on the basis of English industry. (The
Story of His life,
Mehring, page 93) Friedrich Engles was born in 1820 in the
Rhine Province
of the Kingdom of Prussia. Like Marx he was brought up with the
German
philosophies of Hegel, and like Marx, Engles began to follow the works
of
Hegel. These parallels between Marx and Engles formed a relationship
that would
last for the rest of each others lives. They both contributed to
each others
works, and co-wrote many things. The similarity in background
between the two
also meant a similarity in ideas. The both believed in the
struggle of the
proletariat and that it would rise up against the
bourgeoisie. Marx is
considerate to be the greater of the two philosophies.
The one contrast was the
way in which one solved problems. Marx would use
historical research to solve a
problem, as apposed Engles who used his
imagination and pure mind to come about
a solution. These differences in
culture and similarities in beliefs
complemented each other well. This
outlook on society and the class war was
ingenious. It was their greatest
work together, the communist manifesto, which
achieved them their most
popularity among the proletariat, and created the most
problems with the
government for the two. Communist Manifesto or Manifest
der
Kommunistischen Partel was a book written by Marx with collaboration
from Engles.
Basically meaning that Marx wrote it but he discussed the
issues in the
manifesto with Engles. It documents the objectives and
principals of the
Communist League, an organization of arand
intellectuals. It was published in
London in 1848, shortly before the
revolution in Paris. The manifesto is divided
into four parts, and the
beginning of the entire document reads "A specter
is haunting Europe". The
first part outlines his ideas on history and a
prediction on what is yet to
come. He predicts a confrontation between the
proletariat and the
bourgeoisie, the working class and the higher class. Because
of the main
logic behind capitalism the bourgeoisie will seek more power and
more wealth.
With them doing this, the living conditions of the proletariat will
decrease.
Numbers of proletariat will increase as well as their political
awareness,
and will revolt against the bourgeoisie and will eventually win. In
the
second part Marx discusses the importance of Communism, and if
private
property is abolished, class distinctions will be as well. The second
part also
stresses the importance of the necessity of the proletariat and
bourgeoisie
being common and the level of class being the same. The third
part critiques
other social ideas of the modern day. The final and fourth
part discussed the
differences between his political issues as apposed to
those of the other
oppositonal parties. This part ends in bold capital
letters "WORKINGMEN OF
ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!" The days of November 1850
fall almost exactly in the
middle of Marx's life and they represent, not only
externally, an important
turning point in his life's work. Marx himself was
keenly aware of this and
Engles perhaps even more so. (The Story of his
life, Mehring, page 208) Living
in political exile his life changed. His
ideas were no longer followed like they
once were. His isolation from the
general public provided a new light in his
life. Then, in 1855, his only son
died. His son showed much potential, and was
the life of the family. When he
died, Jenny became very sick with anxiety, and
Marx himself became very
depressed. He wrote to Engles "The house seems
empty and deserted since the
boy died. He was its life and soul. It is
impossible to describe how much we
miss him all of the time. I have suffered all
sorts of misfortunes but now I
know what real misfortune is...." (The Story
of his Life, Mehring, page 247)
After the Communist League disbanded in 1852
Marx tried to create another
organization much like it. Then, in 1862 the First
International was
established in London. Marx was the leader. He made the
inaugural speech and
governed the work of the governing body of the
International. When the
International declined, Marx recommended moving it to
the United States. The
ending of the International in 1878 took much out of
Marx, and made him
withdraw from his work; much like the ending of the Communist
League had
done. This time, it was for good. The last ten years of his life is
known as
"a slow death". This is because the last eight years many
medical problems
affected his life. In the autumn of 1873 he was inflected by
apoplexy which
effected his brain which made him incapable of work and any
desire to write.
After weeks of treatment in Manchester, he recovered fully. He
controlled the
demise of his health. Instead of relaxing in his old age he went
back to work
on his own studies. His late nights and early mornings decreased
his health
in the last few years of his life. In January of 1883, after the
death of his
daughter Jenny, he suffered from Bronchitis and made it almost
impossible to
swallow.