Karl Marx

Biography

Karl Marx (1818–1883) was a German philosopher, economist, and revolutionary whose ideas transformed political thought, economics, and social theory. Born in Trier, Prussia, Marx studied law and philosophy at the universities of Bonn and Berlin before becoming a journalist and political activist. Exiled from Germany and France for his radical writings, he settled in London, where he spent decades researching and writing Das Kapital, his monumental critique of capitalism. With Friedrich Engels, he co-authored The Communist Manifesto (1848), one of the most influential political documents in history, which called for the working class to overthrow capitalist society. Marx’s theories of historical materialism, class struggle, surplus value, and the inevitable collapse of capitalism shaped the ideologies of socialist and communist movements worldwide. His influence on the twentieth century was immeasurable—inspiring revolutions, shaping academic disciplines, and provoking continuing debate about the nature of capitalism, inequality, and social change.