Marx, Engels. Philosophical ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

The history of the economy can not be imagined without such personalities as Marx and Engels. They have brought a huge contribution to many areas of scientific knowledge. At the same time their contribution was quite weighty, so many modern ideas and systems are based on the original thoughts of these great scientists.

Karl Marx

Karl Marx was born in Germany. He is a philosopher, sociologist, economist, political journalist and an active public figure. Marx and Engels were known for their friendship and similar views. Karl Marx was already the third child in a family of a lawyer with Jewish roots. In his youth the boy studied at the gymnasium of Friedrich-Wilhelm, and at the age of 17 he graduated from it. In one of his works he wrote that only a person who works for the good of others can become really great. As Karl graduated from high school, he entered the University of Bonn without any problems, and then continued his studies at the Berlin Higher Educational Institution. In 1837 Charles secretly from his parents became engaged to a friend of his elder sister - Jenny von Westfalen, who soon became his wife. After graduating from university and defending his doctoral thesis, he moved to Bonn.

In the early years, Karl was fond of Hegel's ideas and was a real idealist. And after growing up, he highly appreciated the works of Hegel, arguing, however, that much he too mystified. Charles wanted to become a professor of philosophy, and also planned to write a work on Christian art, but life was ordered differently. The reactionary policy of the state forced Marx to become a journalist. Work in this position showed the young man that he is very weak in political economy. It was this event that prompted him to take up actively the study of this issue.

The further fate of Karl Marx was connected with many countries, as the government tried to lure him to his side. Despite all these circumstances, he continued to work hard on what was interesting to him. He wrote his works, but not everything could be published. Great support and support for him was like-minded Friedrich Engels.

F. Engels

The German philosopher, one of the most important founders of Marxism, Friedrich was born in the family of a textile manufacturer. He had 8 brothers and sisters, but he had deep affection only for his sister Maria. The boy attended school until the age of 14, and then continued his studies at the gymnasium. At the insistence of his father, he had to leave the gymnasium to start working in the sphere of commerce. Despite this, the guy successfully worked as a correspondent. He also had to dedicate one year of his life to service in Berlin. It was a breath of fresh air, because a young man could attend his lectures on philosophy. After that, Engels worked in London, at his father's factory. This stage of life served to the fact that the young man deeply felt the life of the workers.

In addition to his general works with Karl Marx, Friedrich wrote several works that also expressed theories of Marxism: "Dialectics of Nature" and "Anti-Duhring."

The first joint work

The friendship and cooperation of Marx and Engels began gradually, but lasted a lifetime. They managed to create a lot of high-quality works, which to this day do not lose their relevance. Moreover, the ideas of scientists are actively used in many spheres of society.

The first common work of two friends was the work "Holy Family". In it, two friends symbolically broke off their connection with their like-minded young people-the Young Hegelians. The second joint effort was "German ideology". In it, scientists viewed the history of Germany from a materialistic point of view. To my great regret, this work remained only in the handwritten version. It was during the writing of these and other works that scientists came to the conclusion that they were ready to create a new doctrine - Marxism.

Marxism

The teaching of Marx and Engels is born in the first half of the 40s of the XIX century. There were several reasons for the development of such ideas: it was the unfolding of the labor movement, and criticism of Hegel's philosophy, which seemed too ideal, and new scientific discoveries in various fields of knowledge. Marx and Engels drew their arguments and thoughts from English political economy, German classical philosophy, French socialism-utopianism. In addition, the role of scientific discoveries that occurred at the same time should not be underestimated: the discovery of the cell, the law of conservation of energy, the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin. Naturally, Marx and Engels were the most active supporters of Marxism, but they created it on a concentrate of all the latest ideas of their time, taking only the best and adding it up with the wisdom of the past.

"Manifesto of the Communist Party"

This work became the peak in which the ideas of Marx and Engels found the most vivid display. The manuscript describes what goals he sets, what methods he uses, and what tasks the Communist Party pursues. The authors of the work say that the whole history of past times is built on the class struggle of the population. Also, scientists openly declare that capitalism will perish at the hands of the proletariat, which will rise up against injustice to create a society outside classes and divisions.

A large section in the book is devoted to criticism of opposing and pseudo-scientific theories, which have no real justification. Also, the authors condemn the "gross" Communists, who, without going into the essence of the idea, simply spread ideas about private property. In addition, Marx and Engels emphasize that the Communist Party does not put itself above others, but supports any movement directed against the existing social and political system.

Karl Marx, "Capital"

"Capital" is the main work of Karl Marx, which reveals the negative aspects of capitalism and criticizes political economy. This work was written using a dialectical-materialistic approach, which was developed by Marx and Engels earlier.

In his work Marx explained in detail that capitalism would come to an end. He also described in detail the reasons that will lead this system to destruction. The scientist admitted that capitalism is progressive, it stimulates the development of productive forces. In addition, such development occurs much faster precisely under capitalism, which is unusual for other forms of organization of production. At the same time, he points out that such growth is achieved through the terrible plundering of the resources of nature, and also through exploitation of the most important productive force - human resources. He also notes that capitalism leads to uneven development of all industries, detaining many industries.

In addition, capitalism comes into conflict with relations built on private property. The work of an individual becomes increasingly insignificant. After all, the development of capitalism requires concentration in large enterprises. Thus, the proletariat becomes an ordinary dependent force, a labor that has no other choice but to agree to the conditions of the employer. This state of affairs turns a person into a machine that is used to develop a giant insatiable beast - capitalism.

Karl Marx, whose "Capital" was blatantly insolent at the time, had enormous power over the minds of thousands of people who became his followers.

Basic Ideas

Friedrich Engels, whose works influenced the world view of Marx, created, together with the latter, a general theory that society must develop according to certain laws. In this world idea, there is no place for capitalism. The basic ideas of all philosophical works can be formulated as follows:

• The idea that one should not think about the world, as philosophy does, but change it;
• Focus on the practical activities of people as a driving force;
• The idea that being determines consciousness ;
• The possibility of uniting the proletariat and philosophers as complementary elements;
• The idea of economic alienation rights;
• A zealous idea of the revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist order.

Materialism

Marx and Engels formulated the theory of dialectical materialism, which states that matter is primary and only after that consciousness arises. Also, scientists identified three laws of dialectics: the unity and struggle of opposites, the transition of quantitative shifts into qualitative shifts, denial of negation.

Also, scientists said that the world is cognizable and the measure of its cognizability is determined by the level of social life and production. The principle of development lies in the struggle of opposing opinions and ideas, as a result of which truth appears. Much attention was paid to the connection of philosophy with the inner world of man, on the one hand, and with the social system on the other. The materialism of Marx and Engels has and continues to exert a great influence on contemporary scholars. The study of the works of these scientists is compulsory in many universities, because it is impossible to understand the history and economy of the past century without the ideas of Marx and Engels.

Results

Summing up some results, it should be said that the theory of Marx and Engels did not imply the dictatorship of the proletariat the ultimate goal, it should have been only a transitional stage. The ultimate idea was the liberation from any form of exploitation of man by man. Marxism has gone a long way of development. It helps to anticipate and analyze many historical and economic events even today. Therefore, the value of the ideas of Marx and Engels is invaluable to society.