German-born philosopher (1818–1883) - Karl Marx was a German-born [[Political philosophy | philosopher]], political theorist, [[Economist | economist]], historian, [[Sociology | sociologist]], journalist, and [[Revolutionary socialism | revolutionary socialist]]. His best-known works are the 1848 pamphlet [[The Communist Manifesto]] (with [[Friedrich Engels]]) and his three-volume (1867–1894); the latter employs his critical approach of [[Historical materialism | historical materialism]] in an analysis of [[Capitalism | capitalism]], in the culmination of his intellectual endeavours. Marx's ideas and their subsequent development, collectively known as [[Marxism]], have had enormous influence on modern intellectual, economic and political history. - Born in [[Trier]] in the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], Marx studied at the universities of [[University of Bonn | Bonn]], [[Humboldt University of Berlin | Berlin]], and [[University of Jena | Jena]], and received a [[Doctorate | doctorate]] in philosophy from the latter in 1841. A [[Young Hegelians | Young Hegelian]], he was influenced by the philosophy of [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]], and both critiqued and developed Hegel's ideas in works such as [[The German Ideology]] (written 1846) and the [[Grundrisse]] (written 1857–1858). While in Paris in 1844, Marx wrote his [[Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 | Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts]] and met Engels, who became his closest friend and collaborator. After moving to Brussels in 1845, they were active in the [[Communist League]], and in 1848 wrote The Communist Manifesto, which expresses Marx's ideas and lays out a programme for revolution. Marx was expelled from Belgium and Germany, and in 1849 moved to London, where he wrote [[The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte]] (1852) and . From 1864, Marx was involved in the [[International Workingmen's Association]] (First International), in which he fought the influence of [[Anarchism | anarchists]] led by [[Mikhail Bakunin]]. In his [[Critique of the Gotha Programme]] (1875), Marx wrote on revolution, the state and the transition to communism. He died [[Statelessness | stateless]] in 1883 and was buried in [[Highgate Cemetery]]. - Marx's critiques of history, society and political economy hold that human societies develop through [[Class conflict | class conflict]]. In the [[Capitalist mode of production (Marxist theory) | capitalist mode of production]], this manifests itself in the conflict between the [[Ruling class | ruling classes]] (known as the [[Bourgeoisie | bourgeoisie]]) that control the [[Means of production | means of production]] and the [[Working class | working classes]] (known as the [[Proletariat | proletariat]]) that enable these means by selling their [[Labour power | labour power]] in return for wages. Employing his historical materialist approach, Marx predicted that capitalism produced [[Internal contradictions of capital accumulation | internal tensions]] like previous socioeconomic systems and that these tensions would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system known as the [[Socialist mode of production | socialist mode of production]]. For Marx, class antagonisms under capitalism—owing in part to its instability and crisis-prone nature—would eventuate the working class's development of [[Class consciousness | class consciousness]], leading to their conquest of political power and eventually the establishment of a [[Classless society | classless]], [[Communist society | communist society]] constituted by a [[Free association of producers | free association of producers]]. Marx actively pressed for its implementation, arguing that the working class should carry out organised [[Proletarian revolution | proletarian revolutionary]] action to topple capitalism and bring about socio-economic [[Emancipation | emancipation]]. - Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in [[Modern era]], and his work has been both lauded and [[Criticism of Marxism | criticised]]. Marxism has exerted major influence on socialist thought and political movements, and during the 20th century revolutionary governments identifying as Marxist took power in many countries and established [[Socialist state | socialist states]] including the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[China | People's Republic of China]]. Theoretical variants such as [[Leninism]], [[Marxism–Leninism]], [[Trotskyism]], and [[Maoism]] have been developed. Marx's work in economics has had a strong influence on modern [[Heterodox economics | heterodox]] theories of labour and [[Capital (economics) | capital]], and he is often cited as one of the principal architects of modern [[Social science | social science]]. ## Sources - [wikipedia_page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx)