Marx, Engels. Philosophical ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The history of the economy is impossible to imagine without such personalities as Marx, Engels. They made a huge contribution to many areas of scientific knowledge. At the same time, their contribution was quite significant, so many modern ideas and systems come from the original thoughts of these great scientists.

Karl Marx

Karl Marx was born in Germany. He is a philosopher, sociologist, economist, political journalist and active public figure. Marx and Engels were known for their friendship and similar views. Karl Marx was already the third child in the family of a lawyer with Jewish roots. In his youth, the boy studied at the Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium, and at the age of 17 he graduated from it. In one of his writings, he wrote that only a person who works for the benefit of others can become truly great. Since Karl graduated from the gymnasium excellently, he entered the University of Bonn without any problems, and then continued his studies at the Berlin Higher Educational Institution. In 1837, Karl, secretly from his parents, became engaged to a friend of his older sister, Jenny von Westphalen, who soon became his wife. After graduating from university and defending his doctoral dissertation, he moved to Bonn.

In his early years, Karl was fond of the ideas of Hegel and was a realidealist. And having matured, he highly appreciated the works of Hegel, arguing, however, that he too mystified much. Karl wanted to become a professor of philosophy, and also planned to write a work on Christian art, but life decreed otherwise. The reactionary policy of the state forced Marx to become a journalist. Work in this position showed the young man that he was very weak in political economy. It was this event that prompted him to actively take up the study of this issue.

The further fate of Karl Marx was connected with many countries, as the government tried to win him over to their side. Despite all these circumstances, he continued to work hard on what was interesting to him. He wrote his works, but he could not publish everything. Like-minded Friedrich Engels became a great support and support for him.

F. Engels

German philosopher, one of the main founders of Marxism, Friedrich was born in the family of a textile manufacturer. He had 8 brothers and sisters, but he had deep affection only for his sister Mary. The boy attended school until the age of 14, and then continued his studies at the gymnasium. At the insistence of his father, he had to leave the gymnasium in order to start working in the field of trade. Despite this, the guy successfully worked as a correspondent. He also had to devote one year of his life to service in Berlin. It was a breath of fresh air, because the young man could attend lectures on philosophy that interested him. After that, Engels worked in London, at his father's factory. This stage of life served to ensure that the young man deeplyimbued with the life of the workers.

In addition to common works with Karl Marx, Friedrich wrote several works that also expressed the theories of Marxism: "The Dialectic of Nature" and "Anti-Dühring".

First collaborations

The friendship and cooperation between Marx and Engels began gradually, but lasted a lifetime. They managed to create many high-quality works, which to this day do not lose their relevance. Moreover, the ideas of scientists are actively applied in many areas of society.

The first joint work of the two friends was the composition "The Holy Family". In it, two friends symbolically severed their ties with their yesterday's associates, the Young Hegelians. The second joint work was The German Ideology. In it, scientists considered the history of Germany from a materialistic point of view. Unfortunately, this work remained only in manuscript form. It was in the course of writing these and other works that scientists came to the conclusion that they were ready to create a new doctrine - Marxism.

Marxism

The doctrine of Marx and Engels was born in the first half of the 40s of the XIX century. There were several reasons for the development of such ideas: it was the development of the labor movement, and the criticism of Hegel's philosophy, which seemed too ideal, and new scientific discoveries in various fields of knowledge. Marx and Engels drew their arguments and thoughts from English political economy, German classical philosophy, and French utopian socialism. In addition, the role of scientific discoveries should not be underestimated.occurred at the same time: the discovery of the cell, the law of conservation of energy, the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin. Naturally, K. Marx and F. Engels were the most active supporters of Marxism, but they created it on the basis of all the latest ideas of their time, taking only the best and seasoning it with the wisdom of the past.

Communist Manifesto

This work was the peak in which the ideas of Marx and Engels found the most vivid display. The manuscript tells about what goals it sets, what methods it uses and what tasks the Communist Party is pursuing. The authors of the work say that the whole history of past times is built on the class struggle of the population. Scientists also openly declare that capitalism will perish at the hands of the proletariat, which will rise up against injustice in order to create a society without classes and divisions.

A large section in the book is devoted to criticism of opposing and pseudo-scientific theories that have no real justification. The authors also condemn the "rude" communists, who, without delving into the essence of the idea, simply spread ideas about private property. In addition, Marx and Engels emphasize that the Communist Party does not put itself above others, but supports any movement directed against the existing social and political order.

Karl Marx, Capital

Capital is the main work of Karl Marx, which reveals the negative aspects of capitalism and criticizes political economy. This work was written usingdialectical materialist approach, which was developed by Marx and Engels earlier.

In the work, Marx explained in detail that capitalism will come to an end. He also described in detail the reasons that will lead this system to death. The scientist recognized that capitalism is progressive, it stimulates the development of productive forces. In addition, such development occurs much faster under capitalism, which is unusual for other forms of organization of production. At the same time, he points out that such growth is achieved through a terrible plunder of the resources of nature, as well as through the exploitation of the main productive force - human resources. He also notes that capitalism leads to uneven development of all industries, delaying many industries.

Besides this, capitalism comes into conflict with relations built on private property. The work of the individual is becoming increasingly insignificant. After all, the development of capitalism requires a focus on large enterprises. Thus, the proletariat becomes an ordinary dependent force, a labor force that has no other choice but to agree to the conditions of the employer. This state of affairs turns a person into a machine that is used to develop a giant insatiable beast - capitalism.

Karl Marx, whose "Capital" was blatantly audacious at the time, had tremendous power over the minds of thousands of people who became his followers.

Key Ideas

Friedrich Engels, whose works influenced the worldview of Marx, createdtogether with the latter a general theory, according to which society should develop according to certain laws. There is no place for capitalism in this world idea. The main ideas of all philosophical works can be formulated as follows:

• the idea that one should not think about the world, as philosophy does, but change it;
• emphasizing the practical activities of people as a driving force;
• the idea that being determines consciousness;
• the possibility of connecting the proletariat and philosophers as complementary elements;
• idea of human economic alienation;
• zealous idea of a revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist order.

Materialism

Marx, Engels formulated the theory of dialectical materialism, which states that matter is primary and only after that consciousness arises. Also, scientists have identified three laws of dialectics: the unity and struggle of opposites, the transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones, the negation of negation.

Scientists also said that the world is knowable and the measure of its knowability is determined by the level of social life and production. The principle of development lies in the struggle of opposing opinions and ideas, as a result of which the truth appears. Much attention was paid to the connection of philosophy with the inner world of man, on the one hand, and with the social system, on the other. The materialism of Marx and Engels had and continues to have a great influence on modern scientists. The study of the works of these scientists is mandatory in many universities, because to understandhistory and economy of the last century without the ideas of Marx and Engels is impossible.

Results

Summing up some results, it should be said that the theory of Marx and Engels did not assume the dictatorship of the proletariat as the ultimate goal, it should have been only a transitional stage. The ultimate idea was liberation from any form of exploitation of man by man. Marxism has come a long way of development. It helps to anticipate and analyze many historical and economic events even today. Therefore, the value of the ideas of Marx and Engels is invaluable to society.