Karl Marx: Biography Of This Philosopher And Sociologist
Surely Karl Marx He is remembered, not so much for his socialist and revolutionary ideas, but rather for the direct influence that his theories exerted on governments around the world. This philosopher, economist and sociologist created a current of thought that inspired revolutions in favor of equality in much of the planet.
Without a doubt, as a historical figure he leaves no one indifferent: political scientists, scientists, humanists, politicians, academics. Political movements such as those linked to collectivist feminism, anti-racism and environmentalism, as well as communists and part of anarchists in general, have been based on his works. Next we will give a brief review of the legacy and life of Karl Marx
Karl Marx was a philosopher, thinker and economist influenced by authors such as Hegel, Feuerbach, Proudhon and Engels, the latter being his main colleague when developing his work. He was a scholar who broke all the standards of political-economic doctrines, whose hegemony was held by industrial and pseudo-feudal capitalism, due to the exploitation suffered by workers.
Marx made a strong criticism of the capitalist system, which he understood as a dynamic of relationships and appropriations that had the effect of concentrating power and wealth in a few hands across generations, and denounced the irregularities of this system. From their point of view, under a false sense of freedom to choose, the poorest populations are forced to sell their labor power in exchange for a small part of what they generate, which means that they can never negotiate on equal terms with who gives them work, since the latter is always in a situation of superiority by owning land, factories and machinery.
Its ideology is based on common interest, solidarity among the working class (which does not have means of production (such as the so-called factories, machines, etc.) and thus put an end to the plundering of a few in their desire to control the wealth and resources of an entire country. This way of understanding social relations is first captured in the Communist Party Manifestoin other books of his authorship later, and especially in his work Capital.
Father of modern communism
Marxist-rooted communism was the culmination of Marx’s thoughts and demands that, according to some experts, were misinterpreted by his sympathizers. In fact, Karl Marx himself would later say that he himself was not a “Marxist.”
The fact that this thinker encouraged the workers’ revolution against the owners of factories and machines in a context of severe poverty in Europe meant that he was highly persecuted and was prohibited from entering many countries.
Exiled in London in the mid-19th century, and having serious difficulties in earning money due to political pressure against him, Karl Marx met with workers with the same desires for revolution, founding what would be known as “The League of the Just”. Already in 1948, together with Friedrich Engels, he would publish what would be the founding letter of the organization: The Communist Manifesto.
Basically, the communist movement is governed by three pillars: class struggle, the socialization of the means of production and, above all, the objective of ending the State, which he conceived as an apparatus created to subjugate the working class through laws that favor the rich. Contrary to what some people believe, Marx did not defend the elimination of private property in general, only that of the means of production, that is, that of the objects used to generate profits.
Furthermore, this thinker pointed out that communism is opposed to nationalism, being considered by Marx a mental framework in which people are arbitrarily divided without real justifications beyond feelings of identity and belonging to a group. Thus, Marx defends a political struggle of a transnational nature, expressing the famous phrase “Proletarians of the whole world, unite!”
His legacy in politics
Marx died poor, since it was impossible for him to work due to the pressures of politicians and businessmen who controlled the (few) areas to which he could go, and He was financially dependent on his colleague Friedrich Engels However, in the intellectual field he was very successful, and his influences continue to this day.
On the other hand, we have some examples of the establishment of communism in half of the countries of Eastern Europe, as well as Southeast Asia, Latin America and some countries in the Middle East.
Some examples of countries whose founding was influenced by the work of Karl Marx:
Regarding social movements the fight for the limitation of working hours, the right to strike, the creation of a minimum wage and public education and health systems are also political and social elements in whose appearance the work of Karl Marx plays a role.
