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The writing of Karl Marx are often maligned in the Western world because of their significant political aspects. The ideas, thoughts, and conclusions about humanity that Marx wrote were not spurious, or random ideas from a frustrated, and underpaid writer; he was a learned man and collaborated with others to become was the principal designers of what is referred to in the 21st Century as social science. As with any other writer and thinker, each person is free to agree, or disagree with Marx’s ideas, what cannot be ignored however, is the impact Marx has had on the world. Coming from a beginning that Marx would use to juxtapose his concepts of class struggle, he would hone is delicate rhetoric and perspectives at the world’s finest colleges.
Karl Marx was not born impoverished; he was in fact, born to an upper-middle class family and was raised to be an intellectual. Although not being a member of any aristocracy, Marx was able to understand the value of literacy in the 19th Century and was extremely privileged to be able to master language and study. Marx studied at both the University of Bonn, and the University of Berlin and his interests ranged from literature and philosophy to politics (Appelbaum). Although there is little record of Marx when young, what is known is that the first half of the 19th Century saw massive changes in the political landscape in Europe and the new United States; all of this undoubtedly has a significant impact on Marx (Appelbaum).
He traveled extensively throughout Europe when young, and absorbed the variety of culture. One aspect that Marx noticed early on, which was also being reinforced through his studies, were the distinct classes, and rigid hierarchy of specific cultures. Although manifesting themselves in different ways, Marx’s general theory of society was that it was propelled through the conflict of said classes (Zinn). There is an immense irony in Marx’s ideas that is separate from any judgment on accuracy, and that irony is that Marx himself is a product of being a member of a higher class, and his educated is a direct privilege of said elevation; Marx knew this, and used it to further insight (Appelbaum).
Not only did Marx come from a comparatively wealthier class, he did marry a member of the Prussian aristocracy (Appelbaum). Karl Marx married Jenny Von Westphalen who was a friend from his youth (Appelbaum). Karl and Jenny had seven children, whom were all raised well-educated by their prolific parents. Both Jenny and Karl were politically active, and used their education to develop harsh critique and insight about the then contemporary social and political climate(s) (Appelbaum).
Marx himself became a political activist while still in college. Arguably radical even then, Marx began to question and critique the successes and failures of the bourgeoning democratic ideologies. A member of several student group and a leader of others, Marx was crafting his parabolic style that would influence people through practical and pragmatic examples that were driven vie historical analysis and analogy (Zinn).
The efficacy of Marx’s writing(s) were that of being about to be manipulated to different circumstances. Marx primarily wrote and focused on economics and the manifestation of economic inequality on class structure and social inequality, but the further development of Marx’s ideas began to be used as a social, and literary lens through which actions and perspectives could be judged (Hechter & Horne). One could see actions of the state, the ruling class, or read material through an increasing ‘Marxist’ lens, even though using his name as such had not yet been coined (Zinn). When combined with the industrial revolution, and the proliferation of civil war throughout Europe, Karl Marx’s perspectives has millions of people in the lower-class supporting his views (Zinn).
Marx was an accomplished writer in several disciplines. Writing in both fiction, non-fiction and politics, Marx was able to parlay his successes into working for several newspapers and larger publications. Marx began his works as a journalist with the Rhineland News and quickly began to lambast politicians throughout Europe (Appelbaum). His work continued to grant him professional success through increasingly far left-wing periodicals; Marx began to edit, and contribute to their publication more directly as his prominence grew (Appelbaum).
Karl Marx began to work on his most successful, and well-known publications after having met Friedrich Engels. Together, he and Engels began to develop the causal dialogue that would eventually manifest itself into the Communist Manifesto (Appelbaum). Marx’s background in academia had provided him with the abilities and wherewithal to study classical economics theorists prior to developing his own perspective. Marx and Engels viewed the enlightenment thinkers as inherently flawed, and defenders of an oppressive, and unnatural economic theory and practice (Zinn).
The essential Marxist view was that class struggle is what made society progress, and that said struggle appeared in all facets of life (Hechter & Horne). The relationship between a person, and the way he, or she makes a living in the world directly contributes to their perspective of the world around them; thus, when a person is disconnected from that means of making a living, he or she is disconnected with controlling their own perspective (Appelbaum). When Marx’s idea reached the lower class, the people felt as though Marx had identified and been communicating the inherent injustices that plagued and dominated the pseudo-democracies and monarchies of Europe (Appelbaum)). The idea that a Lord was to profit and not allocate profit back to the workers who generated the profit was, and is, a popular idea to those who work and struggle to survive.
The communist ideas of Marx and Engels have been popular and resilient well in to the 21st Century (Zinn). There are persistent fallacies that claim Marx’s ideas have failed to be successful, but the reality is that the truths, ideas and solutions proposed by Marx have yet to be fully demonstrated. Much like the plutocracies that Marx and Engels derided, their ideas too have been used by liberators and dictators alike to both benefit and incarcerate segments of humanity. Regardless of one’s political affiliation, Marx and Engels’ contribution to political discourse has been tremendous.
Marx was an educated man. Although the writings and works of Karl Marx are either hated, or love, with hardly anyone in between, the reality is that his efforts to better understand humanity and what propels the individual and society revolutionized how people perceive their relationship to the world. Marx was not an individual who was writing and examining through the lens of a malcontent who was unhappy with his lot in life, he was writing and producing ideas as the end result of a cumulative effort from years of study and work. Despite generating such polarizing views, the truth about Karl Marx and his impact on the world is this: if he had been completely wrong, nobody would have paid attention.
Work Cited
Appelbaum, Richard P. Karl Marx. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1988. Print.
Hechter, Michael, and Christine Horne. Theories of Social Order: A Reader. Stanford, CA: Stanford Social Sciences, 2003. Print.
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States: 1492-2001. Print.
