May 5, 1818 in the city of Trier, belonging to the Rhine Prussia, was born Karl Marx - the future great economist, philosopher, sociologist, as well as a public figure, poet, writer and political journalist. The biography of Karl Marx will be discussed in this article.
His father was a Jewish lawyer. He converted to Protestantism in 1824. Marx's family was quite we althy and cultured, but not revolutionary.
University years
Training at the gymnasium (1830-1835) continues the biography of Karl Marx. A photo of this economist and philosopher is presented below.
After graduating from the gymnasium in Trier, Marx goes first to the university in Bonn, and then in Berlin. He studied jurisprudence, but most of all - philosophy and history. The course ended in 1841. The philosophy of Epicurus was the subject of Marx's university dissertation. In his views he was still at that time a Hegelian-idealist. In Berlin, Marx joined the circle of the so-called Left Hegelians (to which belonged, in particular, Bruno Bauer and others). Its representatives sought from Hegel's philosophy to makerevolutionary and atheistic conclusions.
Move to Bonn
The biography of Karl Marx in his youth is marked by the fact that he moved to Bonn after graduating from the university. He wanted to become a professor. However, the reactionary policy of the government of that time, which deprived L. Feuerbach of his chair in 1832 and refused to let him go back to the university in 1836, and also took away the right of Bruno Bauer, a young professor, to lecture in Bonn in 1841, forced Marx to abandon his career scientist.
Development of Left Hegelianism in Germany
In Germany, the development of the views of the supporters of the left Hegelianism advanced very rapidly at this time. Especially since 1836, Ludwig Feuerbach began to criticize theology, trying to turn it towards materialism, which finally takes over from him in 1841 ("The Essence of Christianity"). The Fundamental Propositions of the Philosophy of the Future came out in 1843. Engels later wrote of these writings that the left Hegelians immediately became "Feuerbachians".
Move to Cologne, "Rhenish Gazette"
Rhenish radical bourgeois, who were in contact with the left Hegelians, founded an opposition publication in Cologne called the "Rhenish newspaper". It has been published since 1842, on January 1st. Bruno Bauer and Marx were invited to its editorial board as principal collaborators. And in the same year, in October, Marx became editor-in-chief. He moved from Bonn to Cologne, where the biography of Karl Marx continued.
Under the editorship of Karl revolutionary-the democratic direction of this publication became more and more definite with time. First, the government subjected the newspaper to triple censorship, and then decided to completely close it (on January 1, 1843). Marx had to leave his editorial activity by this time. However, leaving his newspaper still did not save. In March 1843 it was closed. Engels mentions one of Marx's most important articles in the Rheinische Gazette, for example, an article on the situation in the Moselle Valley of the peasant wine-growers. Newspaper work revealed to Marx that he was not yet familiar enough with political economy. So he began to study it diligently.
Marriage, move to Paris
Karl Marx, whose biography interests us, in 1843 married Jenny von Westafalen in Kreuznach. It was a childhood friend of his, a girl with whom he was engaged while still a student. His wife belonged to a reactionary Prussian noble family.
Her older brother in Prussia was the Minister of the Interior in one of the most reactionary eras (from 1850 to 1858). In 1843, in the autumn, Marx moved to Paris in order to publish abroad, together with the leftist Hegelian Arnold Ruge, a radical journal, the German-French Yearbook. However, only one issue came out. Further work was h alted due to difficulties in secret distribution in Germany, as well as due to disagreements with Arnold Ruge. Marx, in his articles written in this journal, appears as a revolutionary who proclaims a "criticism of everything that exists". In particular,he criticized the use of weapons, appealing to the proletariat and the masses.
Meet Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels arrived in Paris in September 1844 for a few days. Since then, he became the closest friend of Karl Marx. Together they participated in the life of various revolutionary groups in Paris. The teachings of Proudhon were of particular importance in this regard. Marx resolutely settled accounts with him in The Poverty of Philosophy, published by him in 1847. Fighting the teachings of petty-bourgeois socialism, they worked out the tactics and theory of communism (or Marxism) and revolutionary proletarian socialism. A photo of Engels is presented below.
Moving from Paris to Brussels, Union of Communists
At the urging of the Prussian government, in 1845 he was expelled from Paris as a dangerous revolutionary, Karl Marx. His biography lasted in Brussels, where he moved with his family. Marx and Engels in the spring of 1847 joined a society called the Union of Communists. They took an outstanding part in his second congress, held in London in 1847. On behalf of this society, Marx and Engels compiled the "Manifesto of the Communist Party", which was published in 1848, in February. This work outlines consistent materialism - a new worldview that also covers the area of social life. Dialectics, they believed, is the most profound and comprehensive doctrine of development. The theory of the revolutionary role and class struggle of the proletariat, the creator of the new, communistsociety.
Biography of Karl Marx in 1848-1849
In 1848, the February Revolution began. Karl Marx was expelled from Belgium. Brief biography of him in 1848-1849. next. He again went to Paris, and then, after the March Revolution, to Cologne. Here, from June 1848 to May 1849, the New Rhine Gazette was published. Its chief editor was Karl Marx, whose brief biography at that time was marked by several important events. The new theory was brilliantly confirmed by the course of the revolutionary events that took place in 1848-1849. Subsequently, it was confirmed by all the democratic and proletarian countries of the world.
First, the victorious counter-revolution brought Marx to justice (he was acquitted in 1849, February 9), and then expelled him from Germany (in the same year, May 16). Karl first went to Paris, from where he was expelled after the June 13 demonstration, after which he left for London, where he lived until his death.
Life in exile in London
The conditions of emigrant life were extremely difficult. They are seen especially clearly from the correspondence with Engels of Karl Marx, published in 1913. Marx and his family were strangled by want. If not for the financial support of Engels, Karl not only would not have been able to complete his main work, Capital, but would inevitably perish under the yoke of poverty. Marx, avoiding emigrant circles, developed a materialist theory in a number of historical works, mainly devoting his energies to the study of political economy.
IInternational
Beginning in the late 50s and continuing in the 60s, the era of the revival of various democratic movements once again called Karl Marx to practice. He was founded in London on September 28, 1864 by the First International. After the fall of the Paris Commune in 1871, as well as the split of the International in Europe, its existence became impossible. Then Karl Marx, after the congress in The Hague (1872), moved his General Council to New York.
Last years of Karl Marx
Active work in the International, as well as intensified theoretical studies, had completely undermined Marx's he alth. He continued to work on "Capital" and the processing of poetic economy, collecting a lot of materials and studying a number of languages (including Russian). However, illness prevented him from completing Capital.
His wife died in 1881, December 2nd. And after 2 years, on March 14, 1883, Karl fell asleep forever in an armchair. He was buried in London, at Highgate Cemetery, along with his wife.
Several of Marx's children died in London as children at a time when his family was in deep poverty. Three daughters - Jenny Longuet, Laura Lafargue and Eleanor Aveling - married the socialists of France and England. Jenny Longuet's son is a member of the French Socialist Party.
So, we told you about such a great man as Karl Marx. Biography (a brief summary of his life, work and work) gives only a superficialidea about it. We have described the main events in order to encourage the reader to further get to know this interesting person.
Biography of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in Soviet times was included in the compulsory curriculum of many educational institutions. Now historians and economists are mainly engaged in studying the life of these people. However, their ideas are of great interest. It would be very interesting to get to know a man like Karl Marx. Biography, interesting facts about him, works and ideas - all these are pages of history that can be studied for a long time.
