Karl Marx facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Karl Marx
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Karl Marx in 1875
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| Born | 5 May 1818 |
| Died | 14 March 1883 (aged 64) |
| Resting place | Tomb of Karl Marx, Highgate Cemetery, London, England, United Kingdom |
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 7, including Jenny, Laura, and Eleanor |
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Philosophy career |
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| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
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Main interests
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Philosophy, economics, history, politics |
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Notable ideas
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Marxist terminology, surplus value, contributions to the labour theory of value, class struggle, alienation and exploitation of the worker, materialist conception of history |
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Karl Marx (5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary.
Biography
Born in Trier, Germany, Marx studied law and philosophy at university. He married Jenny von Westphalen in 1843. Due to his political publications, Marx became stateless and lived in exile with his wife and children in London for decades, where he continued to develop his thought in collaboration with German thinker Friedrich Engels and publish his writings, researching in the reading room of the British Museum.
His best-known titles are the 1848 pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto, and the three-volume Das Kapital. His political and philosophical thought had enormous influence on future intellectual, economic and political history and his name has been used as an adjective, a noun and a school of social theory.
Marx's theories about society, economics and politics – collectively understood as Marxism – hold that human societies develop through class struggle. In capitalism, this manifests itself in the conflict between the ruling classes (known as the bourgeoisie) that control the means of production and the working classes (known as the proletariat) that enable these means by selling their labour power in return for wages.
Employing a critical approach known as historical materialism, Marx predicted that, like previous economic systems, capitalism produced internal tensions which would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system: socialism. Marx actively argued that the working class should carry out organised revolutionary action to topple capitalism.
Marx's ideas have had a profound impact on world politics and intellectual thought. Followers of Marx have often debated amongst themselves over how to interpret Marx's writings and apply his concepts to the modern world.
Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and his work has been both highly praised and criticised. Many intellectuals, labour unions, artists and political parties worldwide have been influenced by Marx's work, with many modifying or adapting his ideas. Marx is typically cited as one of the principal architects of modern social science.
Personal life
Marx and von Westphalen had seven children together, but partly owing to the poor conditions in which they lived whilst in London, only three survived to adulthood. Their children were: Jenny Caroline (m. Longuet; 1844–1883); Jenny Laura (m. Lafargue; 1845–1911); Edgar (1847–1855); Henry Edward Guy ("Guido"; 1849–1850); Jenny Eveline Frances ("Franziska"; 1851–1852); Jenny Julia Eleanor (1855–1898) and one more who died before being named (July 1857). According to his son-in-law, Paul Lafargue, Marx was a loving father.
Marx frequently used pseudonyms, often when renting a house or flat, apparently to make it harder for the authorities to track him down. While in Paris, he used that of "Monsieur Ramboz", whilst in London, he signed off his letters as "A. Williams". His friends referred to him as "Moor", owing to his dark complexion and black curly hair, while he encouraged his children to call him "Old Nick" and "Charley". He also bestowed nicknames and pseudonyms on his friends and family as well.
Death
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Marx developed a catarrh that kept him in ill health for the last 15 months of his life. It eventually brought on the bronchitis and pleurisy that killed him in London on 14 March 1883 (age 64), dying a stateless person. Family and friends in London buried his body in Highgate Cemetery (East), London, on 17 March 1883 in an area reserved for agnostics and atheists. Marx and his family were reburied on a new site nearby in November 1954. The tomb at the new site, unveiled on 14 March 1956, bears the carved message: "Workers of All Lands Unite".
Other pages
Images for kids
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Marx's birthplace, now Brückenstraße 10, in Trier. The family occupied two rooms on the ground floor and three on the first floor. Purchased by the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1928, it now houses a museum devoted to him.
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Jenny von Westphalen in the 1830s
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Friedrich Engels, whom Marx met in 1844; the two became lifelong friends and collaborators.
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The first edition of The Manifesto of the Communist Party, published in German in 1848
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Marx with his daughters and Engels
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Marx and Engels in the printing house of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung. E. Capiro, 1895.
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The first volume of Das Kapital
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Marx photographed by John Mayall, 1875
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Marx in 1882
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Jenny Carolina and Jenny Laura Marx (1869): all the Marx daughters were named Jenny in honour of their mother, Jenny von Westphalen.
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Tomb of Karl Marx, East Highgate Cemetery, London
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A monument dedicated to Marx and Engels in Shanghai, China
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Karl Marx Monument in Chemnitz (known as Karl-Marx-Stadt from 1953 to 1990)
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Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels monument in Marx-Engels Forum, Berlin-Mitte, Germany
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Karl Marx statue in Trier, Germany
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See also
In Spanish: Karl Marx para niños
