Douglas Stones

Karl Marx - Class Struggles Douglas Stones

Karl Marx was born in Trier, Germany, on May 5, 1818. Of Jewish descent, his paternal grandfather, Meier Halevi Marx, was the rabbi of Trier, and his mother, Henrietta Presburg, was also Jewish. However, his father, Heinrich Marx, converted to Christianity, not because he believed in religion, but to continue to practice his profession, since at that time Jews were not free to practice all professions and conduct business transactions. It is interesting to think that the main author of the working class cause was born into a middle-class Jewish family. The region of Germany where Marx was born and the historical context are fundamental to understand his biography and thought. The fact that his father had to convert to Christianity, the difficulties that Jews experienced just for being Jews, the pre-revolution political context, and the philosophical issues of his time are crucial aspects to understand his work. In October 1835, Marx entered the University of Bonn to study law at the age of 17. In 1836 Marx's father transferred him to the University of Berlin. That same year Marx and Jenny became engaged to be married. Both Jenny's and Marx's families were not enthusiastic about the couple, which caused the two to take 7 years to finally get married. Their lives were marked by partnership, as Jenny transcribed and translated her husband's works. The two had 7 children, two of whom died of diseases related to the poverty in which they lived. Karl Marx's major work, entitled "The Capital" (Das Kapital), took 16 years to complete. During this period he and his family lived through periods of great need and was almost always supported by his main friend and collaborator, Friedrich Engels. His wife, although the daughter of a baron, could not support the large family for long. And despite the recognition the author received after his death, his books did not make much of a stir during publication. Marx is known as the founder of an area of knowledge within the human sciences. His works deal with history, philosophy, economics, and sociology. Marx's contribution to economics is undeniable, especially regarding the theory of economic value and the development of concepts such as surplus value and the commodity fetish. For history, the materialist conception is considered a watershed. To think a way out of capitalism, seeking new forms of production and economic distribution that would equalize men in their material and social conditions, freeing them from alienation, was one of the greatest efforts of Marx's theory. Marx's work is almost always analyzed from his intellectual influences, such as Hegel, Fauerbach, Ricardo, and Adam Smith. The scope of his works is immeasurable, but we can cite the Russian Revolution as one of the events related to the impact of his work. His name is invariably associated with theories on communism, socialism, and revolution. Karl Marx died on March 14, 1883 in London.