Karl Marx’s ideas of society, economics and politics formed the theoretical base for modern international communism
Described as one of the most influential figures in human history, Karl Marx is a German revolutionary, sociologist, historian, and economist in the 19th century.
Perhaps best known for his critique on capitalism, Marx’s radical ideas of society, economics and politics have been collectively understood as Marxism.
His ideas formed the theoretical base for modern international communism ideology, which aims for shared ownership of the means of production and the absence of social classes.
Born in 1818, Marx studied law in Bonn and Berlin and received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Jena.
In 1843, after a brief editor role at a liberal newspaper in Cologne, Marx and his wife Jenny von Westphalen moved to Paris, a hotbed of radical thought.
In 1848, Marx published ‘Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei’, commonly known as ‘The Communist Manifesto’ with fellow German thinker Friedrich Engels.
It became the most celebrated pamphlet in the socialist movement, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.
The manifesto introduced Marx and Engels’ concept of socialism as a natural result of the conflicts inherent in the capitalist system.
It states that the whole history of mankind has been a history of class struggles, contests between exploiting and exploited, ruling and oppressed classes.
Marx asserted that these would ultimately disappear with the victory of the proletarians – the industrial working class.
It closed with the words: ‘The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!’
Marx actively pressed for its implementation, arguing that the working class should carry out organised revolutionary action to topple capitalism and bring about socio-economic emancipation.
Revolution subsequently erupted in France, Italy and Austria in the first months of 1848.
In June 1849, Marx moved to London and would remain based in the city for the rest of his life.
Marx also was the author of the movement’s most important book, ‘Das Kapital’, where in the first volume, Marx aimed to reveal the economic patterns underpinning the capitalist mode of production.
Although Marx did not live to publish the second and third parts, they were completed and published by Engels.
Marx died on March 14, 1883 and was buried at Highgate Cemetery in London.
In China and the Soviet Union, Marxism is enshrined as a ‘guiding ideology’ in the constitutions of both the party and the state.
The founding and ruling political party of modern China – the Communist Party – requires members to adopt the reading of Marxist works and the understanding of Marxist theories as a ‘way of life’ and a ‘spiritual pursuit’.
In many Chinese universities, an ‘introduction to the basic principles of Marxism’ is a mandatory course all students must pass to graduate.