Karl Marx
by Madeline Devlin
About Karl Marx
Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) was a German economist, sociologist, and philosopher. His theories and beliefs on economics, class struggle, and society are known as Marxism. Along with his partner Friedrich Engels, he introduced the concept of socialism as a result of a self-destructive capitalist system.
Today Marx is known as one of the most influential people in human history. He is considered a key figure in modern sociology.
Ten Facts
- Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818, in Prussia.
- He attended the universities of Bonn, Berlin, and Jena.
- His radical ideas and writings got him banished from Germany, Belgium, and France.
- Collaborated with his friend and partner Friedrich Engels all through his life.
- Theorized on class struggle, surplus value, and the exploitation of the worker.
- Wrote over twenty books during his lifetime.
- Marx died on March 14, 1883, in London.
- He is buried in Highgate Cemetery.
- The Communist Manifesto is the third most assigned college text as of 2016.
- Marx is often grouped with Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche as a founder of the ¨school of suspicion¨, and with Max Weber and Émile Durkheim as a founder of modern social science.
The Communist Manifesto
(1848)
Das Kapital (Capital)
(1867)
The German Ideology
(1932, published posthumously)