Karl Marx

Karl Marx

The most influential person pre-1900

“If a fair list were given, …, it would seem reasonable to say that he was bad tempered, caustic, fierce, vain, self-sacrificing, selfish, whining, capable of great love, a good father, a lover of mankind, fatherly to all, honest, scrupulous, tender, brilliant, eminently rational, racist in an off hand manner, irony as an art, a person obsessed with irony, obsessive in general, flexible, a brilliant politician, but a candid one as they go.”(Olson 11)

Hopefully we have all heard the name Karl Marx at some time or another, but what did he do that’s so important? Marx was a great influence from before 1900, but his influences are also felt throughout this century. Marx was the most influential person in world history before 1900 because he developed a new form of government, Marxism influenced several world leaders, and Marxism can be linked to such important events as the Russian Revolution and the Cold War.

The main reason Marx is so important is because of the political philosophy that he developed, appropriately dubbed Marxism and commonly called Communism. Marx’s goal was to spiritually release mankind by freeing him of his economic chains and allowing him to find harmony with his fellow man and with nature (Fromm 3). Marx’s interests in economics started when he wrote two extensive essays on the position of Eifel peasants and Moselle vinegrowers (Leonhard 4). His interests were also engaged by the labor movement, which the effects of were just becoming apparent (Leonhard 4). As talk about communist ideas first began to rise, Marx was reserved about his opinions (Leonhard 4). In spite of his reservations, Marx heavily researched the contemporary French literature on socialism and Communism, and in 1843 moved to Paris, the heart of the revolutionary movement (Leonhard 4). While in Paris, one of the most important events of his stay occurred, his meeting with Friedrich Engels.

“This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship and collaboration of the founders of scientific socialism.” (Leonhard 5)

Marx and Engels emphasized the connection of socialist aims, economic reality, and the struggle of the working class (Leonhard 5-6). In 1847 Marx was invited to join the “League of the Just” which was later renamed the “Communist League”(Leonhard 6). Marx and Engels were instructed to work out a political program form the Communist League (Leonhard 6-7). Engels sketched a draft of questions and answers know as the Principles of Communism, after reworking by Marx this became the Communist manifesto (Leonhard 7).