Trier was the oldest town in Germany. It was a place where waves of revolution never reached, as the place is lost in the midst of antiquity. The social and political power of the church remained untouched. The place was under French rule for about two decades in the nineteenth century. Trier was awarded to Prussia. Under the rule of Russia, Rhineland Jews had a very good position. With the downfall of Napoleon in 1815, the Rhineland Jews were compelled to leave Trier. Among these was a learned, conscientious and industrious lawyer Hirschel Marx.
Hirschel Marx was married to Henriette Pressburg who was from Holland. They had seven children, namely- Moritz David, Sophie, Karl, Hermann, Eduard, Henriette, Karoline, Louise, and Emilie. The children were all adopted into the Evangelic Church. Their father was baptized about a year before the birth of Karl. Once baptized, he adopted the name Heinrich. Henrietta was a devoted and loving housewife. She was a caring mother, always deeply engrossed in her children’s well being.
Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818. In his childhood, he would make cakes with dirty hand and forcefully make the girls eat them. The girls would fear him and so would obey him without any opposition. At the same time, he was a marvelous storyteller and the girls would adore him for his stories. Karl was sent to school in 1830. Although he was not an excellent student, and he grew up to be unruly young boy, yet he made good overall progress. Records show Karl being a very good poet at a very early age.
Schooling
He was a moderate pupil but had an honorable mention in the school records. From a very early age, Karl’s principal was to renounce own well -being for humanity’s sake. Karl’s head master Wythenbach showed liking and respect for him, years after he left school. But during his term, Wyttenbach was a weak headmaster and hence, disorder prevailed in the institution. Boys possessed forbidden political material for which one of them was even arrested. At school however, Wyttenbach being an inefficient master and Loers was appointed as a joint head master, the year in which Karl left school. While leaving school, it is said Karl and his friend Clemens did not make an obligatory visit to Leers. When Karl was at Bonn University after this, he lied to his father about the non-visit to Loers. Head Master Loers by then was offended by the act. Later, on his father’s insistence, Karl went to call upon Loers as a mark of civility, but Loers had probably gone out then. The incident shows Karl’s obedience and respect of his father. Karl was devoted to his father from a very young age and remained so, for all his life. It is said that he carried his father’s photograph with him wherever he went.
Karl went to Bonn in the middle of October 1835 for further university studies. His father, to whom, he was the dotting son, wanted to achieve through Karl, whatever he had been denied. Among his other siblings, Sophie was the only one who survived and lived for long. Karl kept regular contact with her, in later life too. Most other siblings succumbed to tuberculosis one after another, as it was a hereditary disease. Hermann died at the age of 23. Henriette and Karoline also passed away at a young age. Emilie born in 1822, married an engineer named Conradi and lived in Trier till her death.
Parents, brothers, sisters and friends – all came to see Karl off at “the express yatch” which left Trier for Bonn at four o’clock in the morning. Karl arrived at Bonn on October 17,1835. Life at Bonn was one of the best phases of his life. The University of Bonn could boast of enjoying a lot of freedom in 1820s and 1830s. The Students’ Association carried on its activities openly. Students drank, dueled and sang, yet were held in esteem by the citizens under the eyes of benevolent authorities. The state officials did not wish to disturb them. Before Marx’s arrival, in April 1835, a small group of foolhardy men attempted to break up the federal Diet and Frankfurt and set up a provisional government in its place. The government was now, thoroughly alarmed.
When Karl arrived at Bonn, lectures had not yet begun. He had plenty of time to settle. He took up six courses and worked very hard at academics. Karl had then turned to the habit of drinking at that young age. Once, he got drunk and misbehaved in public, for which he was imprisoned. His extravagant habit led him to heavy debts, even as his father supported him with ample allowances.
Karl had literary tastes while joining the poets’ Club. Here, he participated actively as his father approved his joining the club - ‘a harmless activity’. But soon the club was into “so called objectionable activities”. There was conflict between the club and Korps representing the government. Father warned Karl but he paid no heed to it. Karl too, engaged in a duel during a club brawl and received a blow on his left eye. Soon after the incident, Karl was officially transferred to Berlin his father’s request.
Youth
Meanwhile, Karl was at Trier during the summer and autumn of 1836, where he got secretly engaged to Jenny Von Westphalen. Her grandfather Philipp Westphalen, was adviser and confidential secretary to Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick. Karl met Jenny, when she came to visit her uncle, General Beckwith,commander of the English Hanoverian army, which helped Duke Ferdinand in the struggle against the French. Karl was deeply attached to Jenny’s father, Ludwig Von Westphalen, his ‘paternal friend’. Jenny was a beautiful young lady. At the time of their engagement Karl was eighteen and Jenny was twenty -two. Karl’s father was the only one who knew of this engagement.
Karl was not a good -looking youth. In fact, he was quite ugly. An old inhabitant of Trier refers to Karl as “the ugliest human being whom the sun could ever have shone on”! But he was a man of exceptional talent and force of character. His manners made up for his ugly exteriors. Jenny, on the other hand, is referred to as the “fairy princess”. She was the “prettiest girl in Trier”, now deeply in love with Karl.
Karl was still studying when he got engaged. In order to get married it was necessary for him to complete his studies. Jenny had to wait till Karl finished his studies. All her friends were either married or engaged. Around this time, Karl was away at Berlin. He wrote to her very often, in order to console her. Jenny was pure, utterly childish and truly devoted to Karl. While Karl was away, she shared her anxieties and problems with his family. The two persons particularly close to him were Jenny and his father.
Jenny was in awkward position, as she had not revealed to her parents about her attachment to Karl. She was also worried about their age difference. Finally, Karl wrote to Jenny’s father asking for his consent. By the end of 1837, Jenny’s parents consented. The nineteen – year – old Karl Heinrich Marx, got officially engaged to Jenny. On October 22, 1837, Karl matriculated at the faculty of law. He took a modest room in the Mittelstrasse, not far from the university. He reluctantly proceeded to pay visits on a few of his father’s friends. Then he cut off all social intercourse, saw no one and spoke to none. While at the Berlin University, Karl was introduced to the Hegelian system of ideology. This was a crucial experience in his life. By the mid of 1837, Karl was a Hegelian himself.
While working for the Hegelian activities, he went thorough both internal and external excitement, spending many a sleepless nights. Meanwhile, his doctor sent him to Stralau, a country place near Berlin. Here, plenty of fresh air and walks provided healthy atmosphere to make him robust. It was while staying at this place that he became a member of the “Doctor Klub”. A young Hegelian called Rutenburg introduced him to the club. Soon Karl was a frequent visitor at the club. He met people from literature, science etc., from various professions and backgrounds like young writers, liberals, conservatives, ministers, old generals, Jewish journalists, believers, atheists – people from a variety of background. In 1838-39, he came back to Trier but had very little time to spend with Jenny.
This time, when Karl went back to Berlin University, lectures were not so important to him. He was far more interested in philosophy than any thing else. He keenly read about articles by Aristotle, Bacon, Leibniz, Spinoza and other great philosophers. Attending lectures were necessary as he needed to clear exams, but Karl attended very few lectures all through and for three terms, he attended no lectures at all.
There were several members in the Doctor Klub. Most prominent among them was Rutenberg, who had served long sentences in Prussian Prisons. He then became a lecturer in philosophy and geography at the cadet school but was dismissed as he was said to exercise negative influence on his pupils due to the liberal newspaper correspondence that he carried out. He later became a professional writer who became a very intimate friend of Karl, by November 1837.
Another member in the group was Bruno Bauer, a lecturer in theology. Karl was the youngest member as other members were much elder to him. By now, it was late 1830s and the government started a drive against Hegelianism. This drove the “Doctorklub” into political opposition. It must not be supposed that “Doctorklub” was only involved in bringing together various intellectuals for the purpose of philosophical discussion. Most members were young, exuberant and always ready for some kind of mischief.
With the passage of time, Karl was soon to finish his studies. While he was in his initial years, he had hopes being appointed as a lecturer at the university. But by now, he could not expect to get his doctorate. He had to submit his thesis to Stahl against whom most university students, including Karl had staged a protest, at his filling up Edward Gans position.
On the domestic front too, the scene was not very good. Karl’s lost his father in 1838 and then, the family was not very sound financially. Jenny too was waiting for him. Bruno, on the other side, was pressuring Karl, suggesting him to go to Bonn, where he would take up lectureship as students there would be more interested in philosophy. But Karl was busy in his correspondence with Bruno regarding a new philosophical journal. On March 30, 1841, Karl received his leaving certificate from Berlin University. On April 6, he sent his dissertation to Jena on the topic “The difference between the natural philosophies of Democrites and the Epicureans”. The Jena University was famous for its readiness in giving away doctorates, and Karl received a diploma dated April 15, 1841. With this, his official studentship years ended.
Bruno was dismissed from the University, shortly after this. This was a blow for all Hegelians, and especially so, for Marx. He had dreamt of teaching with Bruno at the University. The two had also wanted to be lecturers of The Archives of Atheism. Bruno’s standing with the ministry had been impaired. But as long as he remained a mere lecturer, confined to classrooms, the government had nothing against him in hand. But, soon the government saw its opportunity. Bruno took part in the demonstrations in honor of Welcker, a professor at Karlsruhe and leader of the opposition, in the Parliament of Baden. Finally, action could be taken against Bruno Bauer. In May, Bruno left the University of Bonn while Marx continued Bruno’s struggle. He staked his own career beside his friends, in the process.
In 1842, Marx wrote his first article for Rheinische Zeitung, which had been appearing in Cologne since January 1, 1842. The Rhine province was economically and politically the most advanced part of Prussia and its center was Cologne. During that period, a number of young writers, philosophers, merchants and industrialists had gathered in Cologne as a loose-knit group. Karl made a tremendous impression on the group when he met them for the first time. The Cologne group conceived the project of having a daily paper of their own. At that time, the old and widely circulated Kolnische Zeitung propagated Catholic cause with great skill. The government tried to counter it with Rheinische Allgemeine Zeitung but could not succeed. So the Cologne group decided to take over the paper.
The newspaper was at first unwelcome to the Government. It was perceived that the paper would be interference over the state in matters of the Church. The paper did not immediate find its political line. The first editor was intended to have been Friedrich List, the famous German Economist, whose “National System of Political Economy” had just appeared. List was the first spokesman on behalf of the middle class people but he happened to be ill and so Dr. Gustav Hofken, one of his disciples, was assigned the job. But due to a dispute, Hofken resigned shortly. Marx already had considerable influence on the management. He could write young Hegelian articles but to run a great political newspaper was not easy. Moses Hess became the editor from the very next month.
Karl was now slowly plunging into reality. The word nihilism took its roots sometime in this period. The word is attributed to the Russian writer, Tungenev. He learned about it in Berlin when he met the members of Bruno Bauer’s circle. He transferred it to the Russian revolutionary, 20 years later. Berlin nihilism, took delight in an occasional absurd ridiculing of philistinism and the so-called “Freien” or “Free”, demonstrated their emancipation by an anti-philistinism, which in practice, tied them to that very world.
After Bruno’s dismissal, Marx wrote a number thought provoking articles for the paper. By mid October, Marx was sent to Cologne. On October 15, he took over the editorship of Rheinische Zeitung. Marx’s concerned regard for constant facts led him to concentrate more on social problems. At that time, the German Press was paying particular attention to the Charist movement in England, the communist aspirations in France and Switzerland. In October 1842, the paper faced a charge of promoting and propagating communism, against which Marx defended the paper. However from the articles Marx wrote, it could be discerned as to how little or poor knowledge he had about the existing social problems of the day.
However, Karl led the paper more purposefully and in a planned manner. Under his direction the paper made immense progress. When Karl joined it, the paper had about 1000 subscribers. On January 1, 1843, the number increased to 3000. Very few German papers could boast such a circulation. Traces of his powerful, single – minded work were perceptible in his paper. His writing had a sharp tone and brought out the hard facts of reality. Day by day, Karl plunged more and more into reality. Meanwhile, the paper circulation grew steadily despite of obstacles coming its way.
A famous poet named Georg Herwegh’s poems were popular by the name Gedichte eines Rebendigen. The poem expressed a vague, sentimental and naïve longing for liberty, which was not permissible in Germany at that time. Herwegh was forced to take refuge abroad.
His return to Germany only in 1842 and progressed triumphantly after that. He was an apolitical person at heart. At Berlin, he went to see the King and during the interview he completely lost all his sense of proportion. Herwegh’s interview with the King went without satisfaction to either party. It was a fiasco. Both parties blamed each other for whatever happened.
Herwegh wrote a letter to the Rheinische Zeitung, quickly skirting the issues over the occasion. Marx was not very pleased to receive the letter but all the same, he supported Herwegh. The ‘Freien’ demanded Marx to print anti- Herwegh articles in his paper but Marx refused. They sent him an ultimatum as Marx declined. As a result, the Berliners broke off relations with Marx and his newspaper. But the paper lost little because of the Freien. Rheinische Zeitung was on its way to becoming one of the leading newspapers of Germany.
On January 4, 1843, the Rheinische Zeitung published a volatile anti-Russian article. The article was read with a lot of indignation in Berlin, just two weeks before the arrival of the Prussian Ambassador’s report from St. Petersberg. One January 21, Prussian ministers concerned with the censorship decided to suspend the Rheinische Zeitung. The government was in a hurry and sent a special mounted messenger to Cologne. The paper was said to be guilty of malicious slander directed against the state authorities
Marriage
While Karl was amidst the professional struggles, he could not keep in touch with his family. After his father’s death, it seemed like Jenny’s relations with his family were all but strained. Karl’s mother complained that her son had become a stranger to the family and had no familial feelings at all. Jenny’s family took no notice of Karl’s mother and in humiliation, they, behaved haughtily and began to maintain a distance. As long as Jenny’s father was alive, he protected his daughter’s engagement with Karl. But after his death, hostilities broke out. One never raised any objection to Karl’s origin, but to Jenny’s family, he seemed strange and hostile because he was a pupil of Hegel, and a follower of Feuerbach, a friend of Bruno Bauer, who in turn was a notorious man and an atheist too. Incidentally, Feuerbach was Jenny’s half brother whom she called the ‘Minister of State’, the ‘Minister of Interior’ and so on. Jenny needed all her courage and determination to overcome the opposition.
Finally on June 13, 1843, Herr Karl Marx, married, Fraulien Bertha Julia Jenny von Westphalen, the then resident of Kreuznach. After their marriage, the couple stayed for the next few months at Frau von Westphalen’s house at Kreuznach, where they had two visitors, the first was Essex, a Revisionrat and a friend of Karl’s father. At the end of 1843, Marx and his wife went to Paris.
Karl and his wife stayed there for fifteen months when he met many communists and members of French ‘underground’ secret societies. Among other good friends he made like, Proudhon, Louis Blanc, Heine, Herwegh, was Friedrich Engel. Marx maintained relations with some of them all trough his life. In July 1844, Marx met Proudhon, with whom he kept in touch till he was in Paris. He had long lasting discussions with Proudhon influencing Proudhon with Hegelianism.
Engels remained his life long companion, in his joy and sorrow, in his trials and tribulations. He was the son Friedrich Engel senior who was a merchant. Engel grew up in a very different environment than Karl. Karl grew up in Trier, which was a beautiful old town. He saw nothing of modern industry while Engels grew up among factories and slums. In his early years, he was surrounded by poverty and was disturbed child, while Engels was an excellent pupil he left school a year early. He learnt things easily and quickly.
Engels-a Comrade
As a young man Engels took up his father’s business instead of studying law. He wrote for the Rheineskhe Zientung and other radical journals. Engels also became a communist, just like Karl. At home life was going to give him a big surprise. His first child, a daughter was born on May 1, 1844
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She was named Jenny. Meanwhile Vorwarts a German newspaper published an article written by Marx titled Critical Marginal Notes on the Article the King of Prussia and Social Reform. By a Prussian.
Time moved on. Marx still had association with Herwegh. On one Marx defended Herwegh against Heine. Heine was an integral member of the Jahrbucher group. He was a new man with new ideas. His arrival was like a blast of fresh air. Heine was lonely and in bad health. So he joined the Jahrhucher group. He would visit Marx everyday reading his verses to Marx and seek his opinion. Marx would go over Heine’s poems countless number of times. It was not only as if Heine only came to Marx to seek help only. By then, Marx’s daughter was a few months old. She was suddenly seized by violent cramps, which seemed to threaten her life. At this time, Marx and his wife, being an inexperienced parent, stood by their baby helplessly. Heine who had then just arrived just, said the baby needed to be given a bath. Heine prepared the bath and put the baby into it, thus saving little Jenny’s life.
Engles -a Comrade
Marx’s family had one more addition in 1847, when their first son Edgar, was born. At the same time, The London Committee of the League of the Just, sent its representative Joseph Moll to Marx and Engels with a proposal to join the League. They were called upon to take part in the League’s reorganization and draw up a new proposal. Marx and Engles accepted the proposal after some consideration. The league was renamed as the Communist League and reorganized on entirely new principles. By early July that year, Karl came out with a new work called Poverty of Philosophy, published in French, which was a grand success. Lenin regarded it as Karl’s first mature work on Communism. The Communist League now held him in high esteem. On his suggestion, a Community and district organization was set up in Brussels. Beginning September, Marx and Engels started writing for Deutsche – Brusseler – Leitung
With Karl in the lead, The Brussels Democratic Association set up between September and November 1847, was now spreading its movement. In November, Marx was elected as President of the Association and activities took place incessantly. It was time now for the second meeting of the Communist League. In December, Karl delivered a series of lectures at the German Workers’ Society, which came to be known as Wage, Labor and Capital.
In the year 1848, Marx and Engels came out with the Manifesto of the Communist Party, the first document of scientific communism. The Belgian government was also viewing Karl as a threat. So he was once again expelled, this time from Belgium, the same year revolution broke out across the entire Europe. Meanwhile, Karl went back to Cologne where he once again conveyed his ideas to the massed by means of Neue Rheinische Zeintung. But the very next year, the Prussian government suppressed the paper. The revolution was all but over, and Karl went to Paris.
At the beginning of July 1849, Marx moved to France again with his wife and three children. But life could not give them any stability. Marx was an eternal optimist and hoped the place would provide him necessary shelter. He rented a flat at Paris and tried to make his family comfortable. But soon the French police was hunting for the “German refugees”. Meanwhile, Jenny was expecting her fourth child as Marx was battling terrible financial crisis. In November, his fourth child, a son, was born. He was named Heinrich Guido. Marx and Engels drew up the Address of the central Authority to the League, March 1850 in the same year. That year, Marx and Engels brought out six issues of the magazine, “Neue Rheinishe Zeitung”. Marx was also deeply involved in the study of political economy.
The domestic scene got more and more pathetic with the passage of time. With four small children, the youngest one, an infant to look after, Jenny had a tough time. The family could not afford a wet nurse for the baby. Jenny fed her baby despite terrible pain in her breasts and back. The three little girls were also not doing well. Jenny had to resort to selling her furniture to make both ends meet. The entire household was on mortgage and the landlords threatened to take everything away. Alternate facility for lodging could not be arranged. Poverty, pain, hunger and despair became integral part of their every day life.
Karl was still actively involved in work with Engels. In the middle of May, Marx and his family moved to Soho. This was the place where most poverty stricken refugees lived. Here, he rented two small rooms for his family. These were perhaps the worst years of his life. The entire area was affected by cholera. The streets were dirty, noisy and the prevalence of the epidemic was at its peak. In 1854, cholera affected Soho where three of his children died there. Those were the most dreadful years. Little Guido was seriously ailing and finally, on November 19,1850, the little child sadly succumbed to his illness.
Engles -a Comrade
Grief clouded the already troubled family of Marx. Amidst all problems, life still went on for the Marx. On March 28, 1851, Jenny gave birth to a daughter. She was named Franziska. But amidst the troublesome, poverty stricken life style, and the baby could not live long. She too died on April 14, 1852, a victim of cholera. Financial crisis was so grave that Marx did not even have money for his daughter’s coffin. He had to borrow some money from the French neighbors.
Marx, as a father and husband, despite his restless and wild character, was a gentle and mild man. He lived in the cheapest possible neighborhood. The atmosphere was always unclean and unhygienic. The house would be bereft of a single piece of good furniture with every item torn and tattered. There lay around in the room, manuscripts, books, newspapers, the children’s toys, cups with broken rims, dirty spoons, knives, forks, an ink-pot, tumblers, day-pipes, tobacco-ask-all piled up on the same table. In such a despicable environment, his son Edgar fell ill.
In face of such adversities, Jenny and Marx remained happy in face of grave financial and emotional crisis, which did not dampen their love and spirits. Shortly after this, Marx’s daughter Eleanor was born in January 16, 1855. The family tried to keep its spirits buoyed, even in the midst of all the misery. Everyone in the house had a nickname. For his dark complexion and black hair, his family and acquaintances called him “The Moor”, or sometimes, “the Devil” or “The Old Nick”. Jenny, his wife was called “Mohme”. The eldest daughter, Jenny, was called “Qui-qui” or “Di” or even “Emperor of China”. The next daughter, Laura, was called “Hottentot”, “Kakadu”, the son, Edgar, was called “Musch” or more respectfully “Colonel Musch” The youngest daughter, who was Eleanor, was at first called “Quo-quo”, then “Dwarf Alberich” and finally “Tussy”.
Edgar’s condition was now turning to worse. On April 6, 1855, the voice of his favorite child, Edgar, finally extinguished. This was a very major blow to him. The house was naturally desolated and forlorn. With the death of the child, the very soul of the house was lost. Karl was a very resilient man. He suffered so much in life but said that he had experienced true sadness only after the death of his favorite child.
In March 1854, Marx covered the Labor Parliament for the “New York Daily Tribune”. But life does not always go smooth as thought. By 1856, the paper accepted fewer and fewer articles from Marx. His articles on the progress of the crisis in Europe and the USA appeared in the American, British and German Press, as his study on economics went on concurrently. He also hastened to finish his study of the political economy, writing for “The New American Cyclopaedia”, during this time. One June 11, 1859, A contribution to the Critique of Political Economy – Part I, was published in Berlin. There was a slanderous attack on the proletariat’s party. This prompted Marx to start collecting material for a pamphlet Helen Vogt. In early 1860s, Marx was working on an economic manuscript.
In January 1860, the New York Tribune asked him to stop writing. By the year 1861, Marx began to contribute to a Viennese liberal newspaper Die Presse, on topics like the US Civil War, economic conditions in Britain, and the foreign policy of Napoleon III. In November 1861, Jenny, his wife, was down with small pox. She had barely recovered, when he himself took to ill. He suffered from carbuncles and boils. They would breakout again as soon as they healed. These would incapacitate him for days together.
Engles -a Comrade
In January 1863, Marx’s close friend Engels, went through a personal tragedy. His wife Mary passed away. Engels was deeply hurt. Marx gave him immense moral support at this trying time for his life. The same year, on November 30, Marx’s mother died at Trier. In the, following year, his close friend, Wilhelm Woolf died in Manchester. By now, between these, Marx had finished two volumes of Capital, which he dedicated to the memory of Woolf.
Marx was a pillar of strength, despite jolts, and ups and downs that came his way, but he managed to keep heading in the right direction, so far as work was concerned. On September 28, 1863, the International Working Men’s Association was founded. Marx was elected as a number of its Provincial Committee, which later became known as the General Council. The first session of the Inter National Working Men’s Association was to the held in 1864. In October 1864, Marx drafted the Provisional Rules and Inaugural Address for the same. The conference was to be held in the coming year at London. In September 1865, the conference was held with Marx taking active interest in it. In the year 1866, while hectic writing and various other jobs were still going on simultaneously, Marx planned to take a break in Margate. All these years too, the domestic scene was not very cheerful or worth reliving. The domestic responsibilities of his family, kept him under constant pressure.
Amidst poverty and illness, was born, the greatest work of Karl Marx that made him famous all over the world in the years to come. Das Capital was a product of the year in which Marx was constantly busy, harassed with cares, agonized by his children’s distress, tormented by the thoughts for the future. In this difficult period, Engels was his one true moral support. From time to time, Engels encouraged him to move ahead and keep working on “Das Capital”, ceaselessly. It was March, 1867, when the first volume was completed. Marx was now proof reading the same and by August 16, 1867, Das Capital was finally completed. Having completed his major work, amidst all such hurdles, he gave the credit for it to Engels, who was inspiring him throughout. On completion of the work, he wrote a letter expressing his gratitude to Engels for his support.
The year 1868, Marx’s see an occasional spell of domestic bliss after years of hard time. His second daughter Laura got married to a French socialist, Paul Lafargue on April 2, 1868.This was a rare moment of joy for Marx and his family, which they spent in relaxed mood. On the whole, Marx’s life was his successful attempt to surmount all odds that came his way. He emerged victorious from the midst of many ordeals. Happiness eluded him many a times, but the greatest lesson one could learn from whatever he went through in his life is that come what it may, the show must go on!
In 1869, the inaugural address of the Social – Democratic Worker’s party of Germany was held at Eisench. The same year Karl and his daughter Jenny visited the Kugelmanns in Hanover. The Social-Democratic Workers Party of Germany started a newspaper called the Der Volkesstaat. The first issue of the paper appeared on October 2, 1869, at Leipzig. Marx and Engels wrote actively for the paper. The general Council of the First International discussed the Irish people’s national liberation movement, which was held in November.
Engles -a Comrade
Jenny, the eldest daughter of Karl Marx, had remained in very close touch with her father, all her life. She too, took the initiative to work on the same lines in the year 1870. Under her father’s able guidance, Jenny wrote eight articles for “La Marseilliaise”, a Paris newspaper, exposing British Polices in Ireland. Marx was now a key figure in the general council and on request of the Russian section of the First International, Marx became the corresponding secretary of the General Council for Russia.
Meanwhile, trouble was already brewing between France and Germany. On July 19, 1870, France finally declared war with Germany. Marx was thoroughly patriotic and supported his country’s stand for being at war. Marx, who by now was public figure, played an important role at wartime. On instructions of the general Council, Marx wrote the first Address of the general council of the International Working Men’s Association, in view of the Franco-Prussian war. The address exposed the true character of the war. It urged the German workers to prevent the war against Bonapartist France from becoming a war against the French people. The same year, Engels was elected to the general Council of the First International. He was also made the corresponding secretary for Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Denmark.
Das Capital, which had been written and completed, was still awaiting publication. There came several hurdles in the process. At first, Elie Reclus, the brother of Elise Reclus, an anarchist who subsequently, became a well-known geographer, undertook translation work in French in 1867. But he soon abandoned it. Two years later, another French man undertook the task but did not get very far. Thus, not until 1871, did Karl find a publisher who was willing to publish his book. But this was not all for problems. The publisher named Lachatre, lived abroad, having been condemned to twenty years of imprisonment for his part in the commune. A legal administrator then managed his business.
Karl was also facing an acute shortage for funds. He invited his cousin, August Philip, from Amsterdam to live with him and help out with the finance, but Philip refused. Thus Das Capital was published only in installments. In the meanwhile, the general council approved the civil war in France. Karl had found the right translator finally. Roy, the translator, did his work well but Karl had still to review his work. The first edition of the book was published on March 27, 1872. It was a Russian translation while the second edition followed in nine installments from June 1872 to July 1873. It was a German edition.
In the year 1872, Marx and Engels took part in the Hague Congress of the First International. The same year Karl’s eldest daughter Jenny married a French socialist named Charles Longest. Karl and his wife Jenny now stayed with their youngest daughter Eleanor. Karl’s health broke down that year. He suffered from insomnia and head aches. The doctor ordered him not to work for more than four hours a day. Since then, his health never quite recovered after that attack.
The time to reap the rich harvest of his years of toil had arrived. Das Capital was written in the midst of acute domestic and financial crisis, was now fetch fame and fortune for the writer. But the sad part of it all was that Karl was not physically fit enough to enjoy it. He suffered from chromic mental depression as the doctor ordered him to take complete rest. In August – October 1874, he visited Karlsburg with his daughter for treatment at a German resort. The visit turned out to be somewhat controversial.
As he was the “chief of the Red International”, the police wanted to keep a close and constant watch on him. Karl applied for British citizenship in 1874, but was refused the same. Even when he went to Karlsbad for the treatment, the police boasted of keeping constant watch on him. On his way back to London, Karl dropped at Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin and Hamburg to discuss the overall situation in the party.
Engles -a Comrade
Work continued despite ill health. In between, he went to Karlsbad the second time, again with his daughter, for the treatment, in the year 1876. He also went to Germany and Scotland the same year for another round of treatment. He was by now, engaged in the study of geology and agro- chemistry. In 1878, the German Reichstag passed a law against “the harmful and dangerous” aspirations of social democrats. The law was termed Anti-Social Law. In 1879 – 80, Marx conduct a special study of the ground rent and Agrarian relations. Meanwhile, work on the second and third volume of Das Capital also continued.
Health was failing constantly, but Karl work went about his work. He had by now, attained a stage of success and prominence after years of painful struggle. His daughter gave birth to a son in April 1881 and that made Karl happy. But little did he know that a personal jolt, a big emotional loss was soon on its way to disturb short live his state of bliss. His wife fell seriously ill as she was wasting in incurable cancer for quite some time. In July – August 1881, Karl and his daughter went over to see her. Shortly after this, Jenny, Karl’s wife and life long companion died on December 2, at London. The death of Jenny was an emotionally trying moment for Karl. He never quite recovered from the shock. His health deteriorated continuously, but for Karl, work was worship. All trial and tribulations that came his way could not stop him from moving ahead, relentlessly. Such was his defying and ceaseless spirit that the next year in 1882, Karl started the study of organic and inorganic chemistry. Karl could be called an iron man in true terms because he worked hard and succeeded in the midst of a lot of personal struggle.
On January 11, 1883, Karl suffered a heavy final blow. Jenny his eldest daughter, died in Argenteuil, near Paris. This was the worst of all that old Karl could take. In his sixty-five years of life, he had seen many highs and lows, more highs than lows, in fact, but from this one, he could never come out. He hurried back to London and for days, he scarcely spoke. He no longer offered any resistance. He soon caught cold and was tortured by cough that barely allowed him to sleep. Laryngitis made it impossible for him to swallow anything. At long last, Karl Marx, the greatest living thinker ceased to think on March 14, 1883, succumbing to pulmonary abscess. The man passed away in his armchair leaving the whole house and the entire world in tears. A great pillar of mental strength and will power had finally fallen. He was buried in the cemetery at High gate, London on March 17, 1883.
This creator of Das Kapital - the doctrine of Communism, can be deemed as a great German Economic and Political Philosopher. His theories on the subjects put forward the humane face of complex issues that created domains lasting even in the 21st century.
Born to a lawyer, his life was a constant struggle against all odds – in personal and professional career. The thinker in him helped propound theories with far reaching implications that he could also be termed nothing short of revolutionary. The world then and later that saw the theories put in practice was indeed short of being called astounding. It was Karl Marx first who sounded the death knell of the Capitalism resorting to ‘merciless criticism of everything existing’.
When all is but lost including your beloved ones, when you are banished from your motherland, when there is no end in sight, read to understand Karl Marx - a man with indefatigable spirit, hope and success.
MAY 5, 1818
Karl Heinrich Marx was born in a comfortable middle-class family in Trier on the river Moselle in Germany.
1824
His family was Jewish, but they were converted to Protestants.
1835
He matriculated from the University of Bonn.
1841
Karl Marx submitted a doctoral thesis on the philosophy of Epicurus. At that time Marx was a Hegelian idealist.
1841
Karl Marx submitted a doctoral thesis on the philosophy of Epicurus. At that time Marx was a Hegelian idealist.
OCTOBER 1842
He became editor-in-chief of Rheinishe Zeitung and moved from Bonn to Cologne.
JANUARY 1, 1843
During his editorship a democratic trend is becoming more and more pronounced, therefore, the government first imposed double and triple censorship on it, and then finally suppressed it.
In June, Marx married Jenny von Westphalen, after their engagement ties lasting seven years.
1844
He wrote Economic and Philosophic Manuscript.
Marx and Engels stayed together for 10 days in Paris and decided to write together about the young Hegelians.
1845
Marx was expelled from France and left for Brussels. Engels followed him.
Marx and Engles visited England to study the latest books on Economy.
1846
Marx and Engels together wrote their pamphlet The German. They set up a Communist Correspondence Committee.
JUNE 1848
Mark joined 'League of the Just' which was later renamed 'Communist League'.
Marx and Engels wrote The Manifesto of the Communist Party, the first program document of scientific communication, which was printed in London.
His wife, Jenny gave birth to his first son, Edgar.
JANUARY 1848
Marx completed a public declaration of policy and aim of Communist Party.
Marx and his family moved to Paris after being expelled from Belgium.
Due to Marx's initiative in Paris, 'A German Workers Club' was set up.
He was elected Chairman of the Central Authority of the Communist League.
Marx and Engels together wrote the Demands of the Communist Party in Germany.
In April, Marx, Engels and a group of their comrade-in-arms went to Germany to take part in German Revolution.
Marx and Engels laid ground for the publication of a political daily newspaper in Cologne. AUGUST 1849
He was once again expelled from Paris and moved to London.
MARCH 1850
An Address of Central Committee to the Communist League was written in association with Engels.
Marx, along with Engels, put forward six issues of Neue Rheinishe Zeitung and also summed up the results of revolution that took place during 1848-49. They continued to develop their revolutionary doctrine.
Karl Marx's son, Heinrich Guido, died in infancy.
1851
Prussian police agents intensified spying on Marx and Engels.
Franziska, daughter of Karl and Jenny, was born.
1852
Marx and Engels wrote a pamphlet, The Great Men of the Exile. It was against the leaders of petit-bourgeoisie, Émigrés, exposing their self-seeking drive for popularity and adventurous plans of an immediate revolution.
Marx and Engels published the statements and articles in number of newspapers in connection with the trial of Prominent Communist League members in Cologne. They exposed the unseemly conduct of the Prussian police in it.
NOVEMBER 17, 1852
London circle of the Communist League dissolves itself on the basis of Marx's proposal. This is because further existence of the Communist League is untimely in view of the growing reaction on the European continent, as well as arrest of many of the League members.
1853
During Crimean War, Marx and Engels followed the course of military operations, analyzed them and published articles on the position of the belligerent countries, the prospects of the war, and the possibility of revolution in Europe.
1859
Marx and Engels contributed to Das Volk, a newspaper of the German Workers Educational Society in London. Their articles dealt with major questions of revolutionary theory and tactics.
Marx's A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy Part I was published in Berlin.
A review on Marx's A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy by Engels was published in Das Volk.
1864
Marx was elected as a member of its Provisional Committee, on September 28, which was later renamed as Central Council and then General Council.
He wrote a letter to Engels informing him of the establishment of the International Working Men's Association and about his work on the program documents of the new proletariat organization. He also tried to bring forth a picture of the state of affairs at the International Working Men's Association.
He sent the inaugural address and the provisional rules of the International Working Men's Association.
For two years, Marx and Engels contributed to Der Social Demokrat, a newspaper of a General Association of German Workers. It was their wish to propagate scientific communism in Germany.
But the newspaper continued to deviate with the Bismarck government, and Marx and Engels notified it. 1865
Marx stayed with Engels in Manchester. The questions relating to International Working Men's Association and the working-class movement in Germany were discussed.
APRIL 2, 1867
Marx informs Engels about his finishing the work on Volume I of Capital and intends to give the manuscript to a Hamburg publisher. Engels in turn congratulates him for the same. Engels writes a number of reviews on Marx's 'Capital' so as to propagate its ideas to public at large. Engels also makes synopsis of Volume I of Capital.
1870
Marx wrote the Second Address of the General Council of the International Working Men's Association on the Franco-Prussian War. He used the material Alsace and Lorraine, which was sent to him by Engels.
MARCH 19, 1871
Marx and Engels learn of the proletariat revolution, which broke out in Paris on March 18. They organize mass workers' demonstrations and a broad campaign to support the Paris commune is proclaimed as a result of the victorious revolution in Paris. Marx also works on The Civil War in France.
1872
Marx and Engels participated in the Hague Congress, which was the First International event of its kind. It confirmed the main resolutions of the London Conference and censored the disruptive activity of the anarchists. This expelled their leaders from the International. The Congress resolved to transfer the seat of General Council of New York. Marx and Engels, also corresponded with leaders of the International in U.S.A., Italy, Spain, Germany and other countries, explaining the resolutions of the Hague Congress.
1873
Marx's Political Indifferentism and Engels's On Authority appeared in the Italian annual "Almanacco Republicano". The articles expressed the harm of anarchist theories to the working-class movement.
1880
In London, Marx and Engels met Jules Guesde and Paul Lafrage, to discuss the program of the French Workers' Party. The program drawn up with the help of Marx and Engels was adopted at the Hague Congress in November.
DECEMBER 2, 1881
Karl Marx's wife, Jenny, dies.
Engels writes an obituary for the Der Sozialdemokrat, which was published on December 8.
JANUARY 21, 1882
Marx and Engels write a preface to the Russian edition of the Manifesto of the Communist Party, which was prepared by Georgi Plekhanov. Their conclusion was, "Russia forms the vanguard of revolutionary action in Europe."
March 14, 1883
Marx dies in London due to lung abscess.
"I am not a Marxist."
"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world; the thing, however, is to change it."
"The capitalist system carried within itself the seeds of its own destruction."
"The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write for the purpose of making money."
"A commodity appears at first sight an extremely obvious, trivial thing. But its analysis brings out that it is a very strange thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties."
"Capital is money, capital is commodities. By virtue of it being value, it has acquired the occult ability to add value to itself. It brings forth living offspring, or at the least, lays golden eggs."
"On a level plane, simple mounds look like hills; and the insipid flatness of our present bourgeoisie is to be measured by the altitude of its "great intellects".
"The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain."
"The writer may very well serve a movement of history as its mouthpiece, but he cannot of course create it."
"Mankind always sets itself only such tasks as it can solve; since, looking at the matter more closely, we will always find that the task itself arises only when the material conditions necessary for its solution already exist or are at least in the process of formation."
On Revolution
"Both for the production on a mass scale of this communist consciousness, and ... the alteration of men on a mass scale is, necessary, ... a revolution; this revolution is necessary, therefore, not only because the ruling class cannot be overthrown in any other way, but also because the class overthrowing it can only in a revolution succeed in ridding itself of all the muck of ages and become fitted to found society anew."
Marx "On the Choice of a Profession", 1837
"If we have chosen the position in life in which we can most of all work for mankind, no burdens can bow us down, because they are sacrifices for the benefit of all; then we shall experience no petty, limited, selfish joy, but our happiness will belong to millions, our deeds will live on quietly but perpetually at work, and over our ashes will be shed the hot tears of noble people."
Marx on Hegel, 1843
"This is a kind of mutual reconciliation society... Actual extremes cannot be mediated with each other precisely because they are actual extremes. But neither are they in need of mediation, because they are opposed in essence."
"The weapon of criticism cannot, of course, replace criticism of the weapon, material force must be overthrown by material force; but theory also becomes a material force as soon as it has gripped the masses. Theory is capable of gripping the masses as soon as it demonstrates ad hominem, and it demonstrates ad hominem as soon as it becomes radical. To be radical is to grasp the root of the matter. But, for man, the root is man himself. "
"When communist artisans associate with one another, theory, propaganda, etc., is their first end. But at the same time, as a result of this association, they acquire a new need - the need for society - and what appears as a means becomes an end. ... the brotherhood of man is no mere phrase with them, but a fact of life, and the nobility of man shines upon us from their work-hardened bodies. "
"Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."
"The only intelligible language in which we converse with one another consists of our objects in their relation to each other. We would not understand a human language and it would remain without effect. By one side it would be recognized and felt as being a request, an entreaty, and therefore a humiliation"
"Our mutual value is for us the value of our mutual objects. Hence for us man himself is mutually of no value."
"Political Economy regards the proletarian ... like a horse, he must receive enough to enable him to work. It does not consider him, during the time when he is not working, as a human being. It leaves this to criminal law, doctors, religion, statistical tables, politics, and the beadle. "
"The entire movement of history, as simply communism's actual act of genesis - the birth act of its empirical existence - is, therefore, for its thinking consciousness the comprehended and known process of it's becoming."
"Man is directly a natural being. As a natural being and as a living natural being he is on the one hand endowed with natural powers, vital powers - he is an active natural being. These forces exist in him as tendencies and abilities - as instincts. On the other hand, as a natural, corporeal, sensuous objective being he is a suffering, conditioned and limited creature, like animals and plants."
"Communism is for us not a state of affairs which is to be established, an ideal to which reality have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement, which abolishes the present state of things. The conditions of this movement result from the premises now in existence."
"In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic."
"For each new class which puts itself in the place of one ruling before it, is compelled, merely in order to carry through its aim, to represent its interest as the common interest of all the members of society, that is, expressed in ideal form: it has to give its ideas the form of universality, and represent them as the only rational, universally valid ones. "
"The first premise of all human history is, of course, the existence of living human individuals. Thus the first fact to be established is the physical organization of these individuals and their consequent relation to the rest of nature....Men can be distinguished from animals by consciousness, by religion or anything else you like. They themselves begin to distinguish themselves from animals as soon as they begin to produce their means of subsistence, a step that is conditioned by their physical organization. By producing their means of subsistence men are indirectly producing their actual material life"
"The materialist doctrine concerning the changing of circumstances and upbringing forgets that circumstances are changed by men and that it is essential to educate the educator himself. This doctrine must, therefore, divide society into two parts, one of which is superior to society."
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it."
Poverty of Philosophy, 1847
"The hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill society with the industrial capitalist."
"Economists explain how production takes place in the above-mentioned relations, but what they do not explain is how these relations themselves are produced, that is, the historical movement which gave them birth. M. Proudhon, taking these relations for principles, categories, has merely to put into order these thoughts."
"The working class, in the course of its development, will substitute for the old civil society an association which will exclude classes and their antagonism, and there will be no more political power properly so-called, since political power is precisely the official expression of antagonism in civil society."
Marx on Wage Labor, 1847
"And this life activity sells to another person in order to secure the necessary means of life. ... He works that he may keep alive. He does not count the labor itself as a part of his life; it is rather a sacrifice of his life. It is a commodity that he has auctioned off to another."
"What is a Negro slave? A man of the black race. ... A Negro is a Negro. Only under certain conditions does he become a slave. A cotton-spinning machine is a machine for spinning cotton. Only under certain conditions does it become capital. Torn away from these conditions, it is as little capital as gold is itself money, or sugar is the price of sugar"
Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
"Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. "
"Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. "
Speech at Anniversary of The People's Paper
"History is the judge - its executioner, the proletarian. "
The Grundrisse
"The human being is in the most literal sense a political animal not merely a gregarious animal, but an animal which can individuate itself only in the midst of society. Production by an isolated individual outside society ... is as much of an absurdity as is the development of language without individuals living together and talking to each other."
"Relations of personal dependence are the first social forms in which human productive capacity develops only to a slight extent and at isolated points. Personal independence founded on objective dependence is the second great form, in which a system of general social metabolism, of universal relations, of all-round needs and universal capacities is formed for the first time. Free individuality, based on the universal development of individuals and on their subordination of their communal, social productivity as their social wealth, is the third stage."
Preface to the Critique of Political Economy
"The mode of production of material life conditions the social, political and intellectual life process in general. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness."
"No social order is ever destroyed before all the productive forces for which it is sufficient have been developed, and new superior relations of production never replace older ones before the material conditions for their existence have matured within the framework of the old society. Mankind thus inevitably sets itself only such tasks as it is able to solve, since closer examination will always show that the problem itself arises only when the material conditions for its solution are already present or at least in the course of formation."
Theories of Surplus Value 1861
"All economists share the error of examining surplus-value not as such, in its pure form, but in the particular forms of profit and rent."
On Capital
"The secret of the expression of value, namely, that all kinds of labor are equal and equivalent, because, and so far as they are human labor in general, cannot be deciphered, until the notion of human equality has already acquired the fixity of a popular prejudice. This, however, is possible only in a society in which the great mass of the produce of labor takes the form of commodities, in which, consequently, the dominant relation between man and man, is that of owners of commodities."
"The categories of bourgeois economy consist of such like forms. They are forms of thought expressing with social validity the conditions and relations of a definite, historically determined mode of production, viz., the production of commodities. The whole mystery of commodities, all the magic and necromancy that surrounds the products of labor as long as they take the form of commodities, vanishes therefore, so soon as we come to other forms of production."
"Political Economy has indeed analyzed, however incompletely, value and its magnitude, and has discovered what lies beneath these forms. But it has never once asked the question why labor is represented by the value of its product and time-time by the magnitude of that value. These formulae, which bear it stamped upon them in unmistakable letters that they belong to a state of society, in which the process of production has the mastery over man, instead of being controlled by him, such formulae appear to the bourgeois intellect to be as much a self-evident necessity imposed by Nature as productive time itself. "
"The price or money-form of commodities is, like their form of value generally, a form quite distinct from their palpable bodily form; it is, therefore, a purely ideal or mental form"
"A rise in the price of time, as a consequence of accumulation of capital, only means, in fact, that the length and weight of the golden chain the wage-worker has already forged for himself, allow of a relaxation of the tension of it."
"Centralization of the means of production and socialization of labor at last reach a point where they become incompatible with their capitalist integument. Thus integument is burst asunder. The knell of capitalist private property sounds. The expropriators are expropriated."
Civil War in France
"But the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes."
"It is generally the fate of completely new historical creations to be mistaken for the counterparts of older, and even defunct, forms of social life, to which they may bear a certain likeness."
Afterword to the Second German Edition of Capital
"My dialectic method is not only different from the Hegelian, but is its direct opposite. .... With him it is standing on its head. It must be turned right side up again, if you would discover the rational kernel within the mystical shell."
"Between capitalist and communist society there lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat. "
The Part Played by Time in the Transition from Ape to Man
"Time is the source of all wealth, the political economists assert. And it really is the source - next to nature, which supplies it with the material that it converts into wealth. But it is even infinitely more than this. It is the prime basic condition for all human existence, and this to such an extent that, in a sense, we have to say that time created man himself."
