My July With Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Why did I start reading Marx and Engels?

Marx and Engels are often misunderstood figures. Their legacy is understandably mired by the various governments who sprang up in their wake. However, although Marx and Engels were political actors in themselves, it is undeniable that their highest contributions came from their thought. If anyone were to deserve the title of the most influential thinker of the 19th century, it would be this German duo.

I initially came to Marx and Engels as a politically minded person who considered themself a leftist. I had long been troubled with the state of the world but I had always been confused by the incoherence of politics in general. I wondered how the so-called leader of the “free world” consistently refused to adopt policies that I cared about, such as climate change policy, an end to militarism and better infrastracture, despite these policies being a clear net positive for society. I had internalized the reason as being the shadowy dark figures such as “the lobbyists” and “donours” without any coherent theory on why things happen. However, I always had an inkling of a doubt that this liberal explanation was insufficient to explain the totality of the system. Therefore, Marx and Engels represented a “reaching out” to look for better explanations.

Initially, it was difficult for me to understand. Marx and Engels presented a type of thought that was a radical departure from all the philosophy that I had known. They were not like people such as Kierkegaard or Plato, who presented their thought as an ahistorical inquiry to the very nature of existence.

However, as I read more and more, I found myself rethinking a lot of the previous conceptions I had of the world.

What makes the duo brilliant?

After making my way through Das Kapital Volumes one and two, plus many of their other texts, here are the main things I appreciate about Marx and Engels.

Marxism, as described by Marx and Engels, is a science. Not in the positivist sense, where someone one brings forth hypotheses and creates an experiment, it is rather the more traditional sense of the pursuit of systemized information. Where one can analyze the world and name the societal and historical tendencies that underline it. It follows, then, that Marxism is a historical and materialist (in the philosophical sense) line of thought as opposed to ideology, which presents itself as ahistorical and idealist. In this sense, Marxism is a science in the same way Darwinism is a science, as Engels stated in Marx’s graveside speech: “As Marx had discovered the law of development in human history so Darwin had discovered the law of development in organic nature, delivering the death-blow to teleology and mechanical determinism.” ¹

For example, a Marxist would not see the current unequal distribution of wealth between the billionaires and workers as a product of some ill-defined “greed” or “moral bankrupcy of neoliberalism”. Instead, they would name historical development of wage labour and demonstrate how that system hitherto neccessarily creates an adversial relationship between the proletariat (the workers) and the bourgeosie (the owners) whose natural conclusion is the deepening gap between the two classes. ²

Another thing I appreciate about Marx and Engels is their refusal to center their analysis of society on moralism. Their criticism was not that Capitalism was bad because it led to bad conclusions, rather it was more on the observation that Capitalism’s tendency to create its own destruction would inevitably lead to the devasation of both the workers and the Earth.

If you want a radically different view of the world, not one of ideology but of how the world actually exists, I heavily suggest you read Marx and Engels. Even if you don’t agree with it, Marxism is in my opinion essential for understanding the world today. (A collection of Marxist texts are hosted on marxists.org for free)

The future

Humanity is pointed to an uncomfortable future. The climate crisis is worsening, disconnected worker movements rise up one after another, the forces of imperialism ravage regions such as Palestine without any signs of waning, and the cost of living continues to climb towards unbearable levels. The idea that the pendulum will swing back to “normality” is not a foregone conclusion. One thing is clear, however: the world will completely change.

The colossal scale of change cannot be understated. It is hard enough for humans to change in our day to day lives. All humans have struggled to work harder at our jobs, to become better friends, siblings, parents and children… but to end capitalism, is to destroy the bourgeois class and bring forth the self-abolition of the proletariat. The end of class society.

At the end of the day, reading alone won’t change anything. However, I believe that it is important for those that care to understand the world as it is, and not as it should be. As capitalism cries out: Hic Rhodus, Hic salta! [Show us what you got!], how will the rest of humanity respond?