May 5, 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the father of political economy, Karl Marx. Quotes of the German philosopher, as never before, are relevant and topical today. For young people, this is an occasion to think, for representatives of the older generation, this is a meaningful look into the recent past, in which some of these quotes were slogans in life.
Who is K. Marx
The greatest German philosopher, economist, political journalist, sociologist, social activist Karl Heinrich Marx is the founder of many areas, trends in the sciences. He proved himself to a greater degree as an outstanding thinker, the founder of dialectical and historical materialism in philosophy.
Thanks to his labors, the concept of surplus value appears in economics, and class antagonism in political science. A quote from Karl Marx from Capital that the more the ruling class is able to accept prominent people from the oppressed classes, the stronger and more dangerous its domination indicates that his work is relevant in our time.
From the moment of his creative activity to our time, he has no equal as a thinker, who has been able to reliably describe the essence of human and social relations, as a scientist who discovered the laws of development of human society. Therefore, it is not surprising that quotes from Karl Marx are still popular.
Childhood
Karl Heinrich Marx was born on 05/05/1818 in the ancient German city of Trier. His parents, Heinrich and Henrietta Marx, came from Jewish families of rabbis. Before the birth of little Karl, his father accepted Lutheranism, the reason was the position of judicial adviser, which he could not occupy, professing Judaism. At the age of 6, Karl, his mother and other children were baptized.
At the age of 12, Karl entered the Trier Gymnasium of Friedrich Wilhelm, which he graduated at 17 years old. In these years, he has already shown himself to be a thinking person, writing in his graduation essay that, working only for himself, a person can become outstanding in the chosen profession, but cannot become a perfect and great person. This excerpt from his work was included in the famous quotes of Marx.
Student years
In 1835 he entered the University of Bonn, where he studied for the first two semesters, after which he studied law, philosophy and history at the University of Berlin. His ability to analyze, research, created his own view of many events that go against the opinion of recognized authorities of that time. This also applies to the jurisprudence that he studied. Marx’s famous quote refers to this period that punishment should not be more disgusting than the crime itself. Indeed, in our time, the imperfection of the judicial system, the venality of the court, the injustice of punishment put society on the side of the offender. He could make an excellent lawyer, but by nature he was a thinker.
Philosophy Works
During the years of study in Berlin, the remarkable abilities of Marx were fully revealed. Already in 1838 he was writing a work called “Notebooks on the History of Epicurean, Stoic and Skeptical Philosophy”. It consisted of seven notebooks. It touched on the relationship of philosophical science and the world, man and the world, the eternal themes of philosophy and religion. This, in fact, was not a student, but a scientific work of a mature scientist.
He continued this topic in his doctoral dissertation, which he defended already at Jena University, where he was forced to transfer because of material problems that had plagued the great scientist until the end of his days. He saw the light of his work "The difference between the natural philosophy of Democritus and the natural philosophy of Epicurus." In it, he explores the relationships between people, man and society. Many famous quotes from Marx are taken from the works of this period. For example, the one that says why great people seem so to us - because we ourselves are on our knees.
It was in Berlin that he met and secretly became engaged to a woman with whom he subsequently lived for 40 years and whom he loved. His chosen one was a friend of his older sister, Jenny von Westfalen, belonging to the famous aristocratic family.
Work in the Rhine newspaper
Marx dreamed of scientific work and hoped to get the post of professor at Bonn University, which was not destined to come true. But known in scientific circles as an outstanding scientist, he aroused caution among the authorities with his connections with the Young Hegelians, known for revolutionary views. He, under the influence of his relatives and friends, becomes the editor of the newly created Rhine Newspaper, published in Cologne.
In the process, he engaged in social research activities, during which his articles were published, published in 1842-1843. They were called "Justification of the Moselle correspondent." In them he openly opposed the Prussian monarchy. This did not go unnoticed by the reactionary government, and he was forced to resign as editor.
In the summer of 1843, K. Marx married Jenny. He writes his article “On the Critique of the Hegelian Philosophy of Law”. An interesting fact: the government tried to openly buy Marx, making him an offer to go to public service, threatening him with arrest if he refused. Therefore, the family in 1843 was forced to move to Paris.
Paris. Acquaintance with Friedrich Engels
In Paris, Marx met with F. Engels, friendship and collaboration with which continued until the end of his life. It was Engels who made him take a fresh look at the working class — as the driving force of the revolutionary movement. He comes into direct contact with representatives of the working class of France and Germany.
His acquaintance with prominent thinkers of that time occurs: the Frenchman P. Proudhon, the Russian Bakunin and V. Botkin. In 1845 he was expelled from Paris.
Emigration
Marx moved to Brussels, where he created the "Union of the Just", in 1848, together with Engels, wrote the "Manifesto of the Communist Party." The Union subsequently becomes the First International, it was expelled from this country in 1848. After the start of the revolutionary events in Germany 1848-1849. returns to his homeland. After the defeat of the uprising in Saxony in May 1849, he was expelled from Germany and moved to France, from where he was again deported.
Together with his family he goes to London, where he lives until the end of his life. It was in the London period of life, the most difficult, that he wrote the main work of his life - Capital. Marx's quotes from this book, as never before, are relevant today. The first volume is published in 1867, the next is published after his death, in 1885, the third - in 1894. Karl Marx, a stateless person, dies in London on March 14, 1883.
K. Marx and the Russian people
Today we can read that K. Marx spoke negatively about Russians. This is largely due to his work, “Exposing the Diplomatic History of the 18th Century,” from which Marx’s quotes about Russia and Russians are mainly quoted. Although the last chapter is devoted to them. Those who have actually read this work of the philosopher will not have such thoughts. Yes, for the layman, these pieces taken out of work will be a shock. But for those who simply read it carefully, they will be a logical explanation of the events of the era in which Marx lived - a fierce opponent of tsarism. He expresses concern that "... she (Russia) is threatening the world with the restoration of a global monarchy."
In his work, he writes about the Slavic race as a great one. Marx’s quotes about Russians express his bewilderment at how such a backward country like Russia was able to grow territorially and its army, reaching Paris, could become the "gendarme of Europe." Indeed, Russia was a country of slaves. What is another name for the state in which people were trafficked? The nobles, who considered themselves enlightened, sold and bought serfs, applied corporal punishment to them at a time when black slaves were given freedom in the United States. It is not so easy to judge the opinion of Marx about Russia, quotation statements do not give a complete picture of his analysis of the appearance of the Russian nation.
Afterword
About the works of K. Marx can not be judged only by quotes. Although many of them can be a motto for an entire nation. Indeed, the truly centuries-old Tatar-Mongol yoke made the Russian rulers Ivan Kalita and Ivan III cunning and prudent, able to assemble the Russian state and preserve the identity of the nation. The trouble is that Marx did not work with a reliable source. But one thing is clear that even his genius did not allow him to comprehend the mystery of the Russian nation. It is difficult to suspect Marx of hatred of the Russians. He is a stateless person, a citizen of the world, a great analyst who spoke unflatteringly about all the oppressors, regardless of nationality.