Marx, Karl lived between 1818-1883. This German political philosopher and revolutionist, with the aid of Friedrich Engels cofounded scientific socialism or modern communism, and is said to be one of the most influential thinkers of all times.
Marx was born in Trier, Germany and was educated at the universities of Bonn, Berlin, and Jena. In 1842, shortly after contributing his first article to the Cologne newspaper Rheinische Zeitung, Marx became editor of the paper. Karl Marx's articles in the Rheinische Zeitung criticized contemporary political and social conditions. This entangled him in controversy with the authorities, and in 1843 Marx had no choice but to resign his editorial post. Consequencely, the Rheinische Zeitung was forced to discontinue publication. Karl Marx later moved to Paris, where he further studied philosophy, history, and political science, and adopted his communist beliefs. In 1844, a man by the name of Fredrick Engels visited Karl Marx in Paris.
A portrait of Karl Marx.
Engels in 1868
Karl Marx (1818-1883)These two men had the same views on the nature of revolutionary problems, and set to correct them. They began a collaboration to elucidate systematically the theoretical principles of communism and to organize an international working-class movement dedicated to those principles. These collaborations continued until Marx's death in 1883
In 1845, Karl Marx was ordered to leave Paris, because the authorities fear the uprising of his revolutionary activities. He then settled in Brussels and began organizing and directing a network of revolutionary groups, called Communist Correspondence Committees, in a number of European cities. In 1847 these committees were consolidated to form the Communist League, and Marx and Engels were commissioned to formulate a statement of principles. The program they submitted, known throughout the world as the Communist Manifesto, was the first systematic statement of modern socialist doctrine and was written by Marx, partly on the basis of a...