Introducing Marx

A Graphic Guide

Rius Rius, Rius

• Publisher: Icon Books
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781848319813
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Philosopher Biographies
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Compact INTRODUCING guide to the influential philosopher, sociologist and economist. INTRODUCING MARX - A GRAPHIC GUIDE explores the life of the most famous Socialist figure, from his early years to meeting Engels in1842. It provides a readable, understandable biography of Karl Marx as well as a fundamental account of his original philosophy, its roots in 19th century European ideology, his radical economic and social criticism of capitalism that inspired vast 20th century revolutions.

London in Karl Marx’s day …

First things first – the readers would like to know who this character Marx was!!

Wasn’t he one of the Marx Brothers?

Karl Marx

Hmm… well … not exactly …

Charles Marx (‘Karl’ as he’s called in German) was a Jewish-German Philosopher who lived and struggled from 1818 to 1883. Everywhere in the world he’s blamed for having invented

Holy jesus! The Anti-Christ!

Based on his writings and ideas, one third of humanity practices communism, while the other two thirds keep arguing about them …

marxist! copper!

Anywhere you go, words like Bolshevik, Marxist, Socialism, Leninism, Red, Fidelists, Maoist, Materialist, communist and so on rub lots of people up the wrong way…

Capital, class-struggle, labour-power, proletariat…

Actually, Marxism today divides the world into two camps: those who hate him and those who place all their hopes in him…

And I’d mention a third group: those who don’t know him…

Because Charlie Marx is just like the Bible or the Koran: many quote him, but very few know him, and even fewer understand him… (or better… make him out…)

Boy! He sure had lots of interests, the hairy old guy!

Marx has something to say to everybody: there’s not a major change in the last hundred years which doesn’t owe something to comrade Charlie’s Influence…

Economy, Literature, Space, Travel, The Arts, History, Human Relations, The Vatican, The Unions, Revolutions, Social Changes, Education, Medicine, Industry, Agriculture, Journalism… everywhere you’ll find a hair or two of Charlie’s!!

And he wasn’t short of hair…!

Knowledge – and practise – of his ideas now makes possible what was impossible for twenty centuries: freedom from the exploitation of man by man…

In short: If in every sense we’re better off today, we owe that to Marx especially…

That’s not true!… I owe it to my Boss!

(Social Security, Pensions, Paid Holidays, Unions, Scholarships, and many other Victories are indirectly due to Marx!)

All revolutions, even those which claim to be spontaneous and without “putative” fathers, have a Marxist Origin…

Not to mention some constitutions…

You hear talk of that **** Marx even in the Vatican Council!!!

Worker Priests are accused of being Marxists, South American Generals talk about him. He’s studied in Jesuit Schools. Others have fled Cuba when it declared itself the first Marxist country in Latin America… but still you hear it said there’s no interest in Marx…

His father was a well-to-do lawyer, which allowed the young Marx to study what was in fashion then:

LAW.

(Do what Daddy tells you to – some fashion!)
What kind of ideas did they teach then?
All kinds – but we’ll go into details later…

Briefly: Marx went to Bonn University to study Law. But he worked harder at raising hell ANC (so his teachers say) pursuing wine, women and song… to such a point that he ended up fighting a duel for a lady’s favours, which earned him a wound on the Eyebrow! You can’t really say that he kept his nose to the Grindstone…

Well, what do you expect of a 19-year-old?

From Bonn he went to Berlin where he finished his studies. Then he returned to Bonn to try teaching, but his bad name didn’t open any doors: in Berlin he’d turned Atheist AND subversive…

What? Both at once?

That was too much! His society Barely tolerated artists, so just imagine what they made of Subversives!!!

It is important at this point to clear up a detail about Marx’s life: although his origins were Jewish, he didn’t consider himself Jewish, or ever practise that Religion. His father had become a Lutheran and Marx himself was one, but only in his youth…

How true! Youngsters today don’t believe a damn thing! Blame the ideologies, you lordship, the ideologies…

The University of Berlin was in a terrific Turmoil of new ideas. Religious explanations of man and the universe had been challenged and thinkers were looking round for other answers to the eternal questions of mankind …

The same old eternal questions
Who is God?
Life is a Riddle
What is man?
Why do we live?
What is life?

What’s to be done?

The young Marx didn’t ask himself “what to do?” in the sense of “how can I earn a living?” But “w...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Editor’s Introduction
• Preface
• Karl Marx
• Little Dictionary
• Recommended further reading
• About the author
• Index