Karl Marx: Philosopher and Revolutionary (pt. 2)

                  The work of Karl Marx, as both a philosopher and revolutionary, provides a notable analysis of modernity on multiple aspects. He is most famous for his fiery attacks on capitalism, however, Marx is also known for his sincere cultural and philosophic reasoning. The main question which should be considered about Marx’s work, is whether or not his works can be read in a different way than his expressed revolutionary purpose? The work of Marx can be classified into two periods: the young idealist, philosophical Marx; and the mature, materialist, and scientific Marx. Regardless of the two periods, all of Marx’s work fluctuates between a focus on the transformation of consciousness, and an insistence on the greater importance of material conditions for the formation of consciousness. A treatment for this tension is crucial to the interpretation of Marxism or Marx himself. Philosophy is based on its practical and revolutionary character, or “praxis,” claimed Marx, considering the cognizable direction of history. On the subject matter of practical politics, there was much debate among Marx and his followers on the proper scope and nature of the intellectual leadership of workers’ parties, the uncertainty of the transformation from capitalism to socialism, and the requirement that would involve a revolutionary transformation of state structures. These issues can be seen communicated in a number of forms from his treatments of Hegel, to his doctrine of historical materialism, and even his teachings in economics.

            When considering Marx’s early writings, there are four which tend to stand out the most. “Contribution to a Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, Introduction,” and “On the Jewish Question,” were written in 1843 and were later published in the Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher. However, some of Marx’s work would remain unpublished in his lifetime such as “The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,” which was written in Paris 1844, and “Theses on Feuerbach’ in 1845.

            Shortly after “The German Ideology” was unpublished, which was written with Engels in 1845, we can see that Marx was in the early stages of expanding his theory of history. Soon after, Marx and Engels jointly co-wrote “The Communist Manifesto,” which is considered Marx’s most renowned work, and insight to his thought. After it was published Marx returned to Germany from exile excited to participate in the revolution of 1848. When the revolution failed, Marx moved to London where he concentrated on the study of economics and would produce his “Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy” in 1859. This is most notable for its preface, in which Marx provides a description of ‘the guiding principles’ of his thought, which a vast number of interpretations on historical materialism are based. Marx’s main work in the field of economics is without a doubt, “Capital” -  the first volume being published in 1867, and volume three later in 1894. He also wrote the late pamphlet “Critique of the Gotha Programme” in 1875 and is seen as a key insight for his opinions on the organization and nature of communist society.

Link to part 1:

http://cophilosophy.blogspot.com/2017/12/karl-marx-philosopher-and-revolutionary.html#comments

Sources:

http://thegreatthinkers.org/marx/introduction/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/#1

http://www.history.com/topics/karl-marx

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