Karl Marx was a journalist, revolutionary, sociologist, historian, and economist. He made various contributions and published ‘The Communist Manifesto’. These writings form the basis of the belief known as Marxism. The Marxist theory is followed by people worldwide.
Life of Karl Marx
Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Trier, Germany. In the young age, Karl was influenced less by religion and more with the critical and radical social policies of the enlightenment, which Jewish background exposed him to. Thus, prejudice and discrimination have led him to question the role of religion in society and gave him a reason to go for social change.
Education of Karl Marx
Marx did schooling from 1830 to 1835 at the high school in Trier. In October 1835 he matriculated at the University of Bonn in subjects of the Humanities.
Then he left Bonn University after a year. In October 1836 enrolled at the University of Berlin to study law and philosophy.
Out of the major contributions made by Karl Marx in the subjects of humanities, these are some of his quotes which can be shared on Marx’s birthday.
Facts About Him
1. Marx was born into a family of orthodox jews and was the grandchild of rabbis both from his maternal and paternal side. However, at the time under Prussian rule, the political environment began to have second thoughts about Jewish emancipation and Marx’s father converted to Christianity a year before Karl was born. Karl was baptized when he was six years old, but as he grew up, religion did not play a major role in shaping his ideology.
2. Marx’s notorious side was at its height when he was a student of humanities at University of Bonn. A student of Greek and Roman mythology and the history of art, Marx actively participated in customary student activities, fought a duel, and even spent a day in jail for being drunk and disorderly.
3. His socialistic side was already taking form when he was at the University. Marx presided at the Tavern Club, which was at odds with the more aristocratic student associations, and joined a poets’ club that included some political activists. At the time, the culture of politically rebellious students was part of life at Bonn.
4. Marx also advocated for freedom of press and was critical of censorship at a time when the political rule was quite hostile. Ironically, the newspaper Marx worked for, Rheinische Zeitung, was the liberal democratic branch of a group of young merchants, bankers, and industrialists. The newspaper was based in Cologne, which was the centre of the most industrially advanced section of Prussia.
5. In 1849 Marx’s newly founded newspaper Neue Rheinische Zeitung urged a constitutional democracy and war with Russia. Marx even called for arms and men to help the resistance when the king of Prussia dissolved the Prussian Assembly in Berlin. For this and several other charges, Marx was banished from his home country and spent later years of his life in London.
