Philosopher Friedrich Engels: biography and activities

Friedrich Engels, whose biography is of great interest to many researchers, came from a family of textile manufacturer, quite successful at the time. His mother was intelligent, kind, had a good sense of humor, loved art and literature. Frederick had 8 sisters and brothers. Most of all, he was attached to Mary. Let's consider further, than Friedrich Engels is known. Biography, creativity, ideas will also be described in the article.

Youth

Friedrich Engels (years of life 1820-1895) was born in Barmen. In this city, he went to school until the age of 14, and then Elberfeld's gymnasium. At the insistence of his father, he left school in 1837 and began to work in a trading company owned by the family. In August 1838, before April 1841, Friedrich Engels, whose photo is presented in the article, continued to study in the trade profession. This education he received in Bremen. In the same place, he worked as a correspondent. At the age of 18 Friedrich Engels (his birthday on November 28) wrote his first article. From September 1841 he served in Berlin. There he also had the opportunity to attend university lectures and get acquainted with the Young Hegelians.

Friedrich Engels: biography (a brief summary of his stay in England from 1842 to 1844).

In November 1842 he traveled to Cologne. In this city, his first meeting with Marx took place. It occurred in the editorial office of the "Rhine newspaper." It should be said that the new acquaintance took it quite coldly. This was due to the fact that Marx considered him a Young Hegelian. And their ideas were not supported by them. After that, Friedrich Engels went to Manchester. There he was going to complete his education at his father's cotton-spinning factory. In England, he spent almost two years. Here he met with Irish Lydia and Mary Burns. With both of them until the end of his days, a warm relationship has been preserved. At the same time Mary was the first, and Lydia - the second wife. He lived with them both in civil relations. But from the first and from the second, having crossed the principles, before the death of each, Engels concluded an official marriage.

Revolutionary steps

Friedrich Engels, whose biography and activities are inseparably linked with the events taking place in the working environment, in England was able to get acquainted with the life and life of the working people, which subsequently had a significant impact on his worldview. Here began his interaction with the "Union of the Just" (the revolutionary organization of the time), as well as the Chartists in Leeds. In England began to publish his articles for the publication of Owenisten, which were published in the "Northern Star". In addition, correspondence was also conducted with the "Rhine newspaper." In November 1843 Friedrich Engels wrote articles on the communist regime on the European continent. In February, from 1844, letters appeared in German-French annual publications. During his stay in England, an acquaintance with the poet and trade manager Werth took place. Later, he will become the head of the column of feuilletons in revolutionary time in the "New Rheinische Zeitung".

Friedrich Engels: biography from 1844 to 1845.

The first significant result of the study of political economy was the article of 1844. In it, Friedrich Engels tried to illustrate the contradictoriness of capitalist society. He accused bourgeois science of apologetics of the real state of affairs. In a sense, it was this article that led Marx to take up textbooks on economics. In 1844 the first articles appeared in the German-French Yearbook. It was published by Marx and Ruge in Paris. New articles became the occasion for long correspondence. On the way to Germany, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx met for the second time. This time the atmosphere was more friendly. They both came to the conclusion that their views are absolutely the same. From this moment Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx began close cooperation.

New stage

In 1845, returning to Germany, Friedrich Engels wrote an extensive work on the situation of workers in England. By the time he began to have problems in his relationship with his father. In addition, there were difficulties with the police (he was followed by observation). Marx also experienced some difficulties with French law. All this forced friends to move to Belgium. This country was considered at that time the most free in Europe. In July 1845 the friends went to England. There they met with representatives of the "Union of the Just" and many Chartists. After returning to Brussels in 1846, they created the Communist Committee. It was a virtual organ that carried out postal communication between the socialists of all European states. Before the summer of 1846, they developed dialectical-materialistic views, which later appeared in their general work, "German Ideology." In this work, their views were opposed to Feuerbach's materialism, as well as to the idealism of the Young Hegelians. At the end of the summer of 1846 Friedrich Engels began writing for the French edition La Réforme, and from 1847 for the German-Brussels newspaper. In the same year, the Union of the Just received a proposal to join it. Engels and Marx accepted it. Subsequently, they contributed to the renaming of the organization in the Union of Communists. The First Congress instructed Marx to develop the text of the project "Communist Symbol of Faith". Later, he formed the basis of the Manifesto of the Communist Party.

The Revolution of 1948-1949.

By that time, many people knew who Frederick Engels was. During the revolution, he, together with his companion, wrote materials for the newly created Rhine newspaper. In their work expressing the demands of the Communist Party in Germany, they opposed the export of revolutionary events to the country. In 1848, as part of a group of activists, Engels moved to Cologne. Here he wrote several articles on the June Paris uprising. He called this event the first war between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. In September 1848 he had to leave Germany. This time he stopped in Lausanne (the Swiss city). From there, continued active correspondence with the "New Rhine newspaper." In Lausanne, Engels took part in the labor movement. In January 1949 he returned to Cologne. There he wrote a series of articles on the national-liberation struggle of the Italian and Hungarian populations.

Civil War

It began in the southwest and western German territory in May 1849. In June of this year, Engels joined the People's Army of the Palatinate and Baden. He took part in the battles against Prussia and the Elbertfeld uprising. At the same time, he met Becker. The latter led the Baden people's resistance. After a while, they will have strong friendships. After the revolutionary army was defeated, Engels leaves first to Switzerland, and then to England.

Work in the Union of Communists

In November 1849 Engels arrived in London. There he continued his work in the Union. Over the next years he writes many different articles. In particular, one of the first was the outcome of revolutionary events. Acting as a member of the Central Committee of the Union, Engels prepared an article-appeal to the members of the organization. At the same time, there was a struggle with Schaper and Willich, who were in the Union. They called for an immediate revolution. Engels also spoke about the adventurousness of these statements, feared the split of the Union. The division of the organization did happen in the autumn of 1850.

Journalistic work

In 1850, Engels arrived in Manchester. There he worked in the trading firm of his father, who left his son a share in the enterprise. After a while, Engels sold his part. His income, including from writing, was sufficient to not deny himself anything. In addition, from his funds, he provided financial assistance to Marx. The latter at that time was in an extremely difficult situation. Engels wrote for the New York newspaper "Daily Tribune." Part of the articles was devoted to the revolution in Germany. The questions of the tactics of the leadership of the armed struggle are consecrated in them. From this time Friedrich Engels is the founder of Marxism.

Military subjects

Engels had a rather rich experience of service. This helped him become an expert on the army. He wrote many articles on military topics. Among them were notes on the situation in China and India, in the United States. The articles were also devoted to the Italo-Franco-Austrian and Franco-Prussian war. Notes in the American Encyclopedia "Fleet" and "Army". During the Italian war, Engels published an anonymous pamphlet entitled "Po and the Rhine." After the war, an article was written about Savoy, Nice and the Rhine. In 1865, a brochure was published on the Prussian military question and the German workers' party. Many of his articles were read by readers for works written by a Prussian general. The government of Prussia herself several times unsuccessfully tried to obtain the extradition of Marx and Engels.

International

From the end of September 1864 Engels is one of its leaders. He began active cooperation with Liebknecht and Bebel. Together they fought against the formation of SDLP in Germany and Lassalleanism. In October 1870, Engels moved to London. Since 1871 he worked as a member of the General Council of the International, the correspondent secretary for Spain and Belgium, and then for Italy. At a conference in London, Engels calls for the formation of a revolutionary party of workers in every state. They also put forward the thesis of the need to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat.

Own work

Since 1873 he began to write as a German philosopher. Friedrich Engels embarked on the work "Dialectics of Nature." In this work it was supposed to give a dialectical-materialistic generalization of all achievements of the natural sciences. The writing of the manuscript continued for 10 years. But Engels did not finish this work. In the years 1872-73. He described the housing issue, authority, emigrant literature. In 1875, he began working with Marx on criticizing the Lassallean proposals for the program of the German Workers' Party. In the years 1877-78. Several materials were published against Dühring. Subsequently they came out in one edition. This work is considered the most integral of all, created by him ever. In March 1883, Marx died. From that moment a rather difficult period began.

Further work

After the death of Marx, all responsibility for completing and preparing for the publication of the second and third volumes of "Capital" fell on Engels. This, in fact, he did until his death. Together with this, however, they also published their own works. In 1884, the work completed, which became one of the key in the understanding of Marxism, was completed. It described the origin of the state, private property and family. In 1886, another important work was devoted to Feuerbach. In 1894 the work on the peasant question in Germany and France was published. In it, problems of mass pauperization of the population were touched upon.

Interaction with Russian revolutionaries

Engels watched with special interest the situation in the country. He managed to establish links with Lopatin, Lavrov, Volkhovsky and other front lines. They were highly appreciated the works of Dobrolyubov, Chernyshevsky. Engels noted the firmness of their character, endurance, selflessness. Together with this, his populist illusions were subjected to criticism. Systematically, he corresponded with Zasulich and Plekhanov. With great joy, the news was received of the formation of the association "Emancipation of Labor" in Russian social circles. Engels hoped that he could live to the point when tsarism was overthrown in Russia, and the socialist revolution would win.

A special role in the movement

Engels rightfully considered the founder of a materialistic understanding of the historical process. He, together with his comrade-in-arms, carried out the processing of bourgeois political economy. Together with Marx, he created dialectical materialism, scientific communism. In a series of his works he outlined a new worldview in a strict, systematized form, highlighted its key elements, theoretical sources. All this contributed to a great extent to the victory of the ideas of Marxism in the international labor movement at the end of the 19th century. During the development of the doctrine of socio-economic formations, several specific patterns of the development of the primitive communal system, the ancient and feudal era, were revealed. It was explained the emergence of private property, the formation of classes, the creation of the state. During the last years of his life, Engels paid much attention to the problems of the interrelations of the economic basis, ideological and political superstructures. Especially in his works, the need to specify the large impact on public life of the political concepts of certain classes, their struggle for domination, as well as ideology and legal relations is emphasized. Engels played an enormous role in the development of the Marxist theory of art and literature. Some areas of science have become more the result of his own contribution to teaching. Among them is the theory of dialectical regularities in natural science and nature, military affairs and the army.

Contribution to the labor movement

Engels and Marx insisted on the unity of the theoretical and practical aspects. They jointly developed a scientific program, tactics and strategy for the proletariat. They were able to substantiate the role of the working class as the creator of a new society, the need for the formation of a revolutionary party, the holding of a socialist revolution to establish the dictatorship of the working people. Engels and Marx became propagandists of internationalism. They organized the first international associations of workers.

Work before death

In recent years, the merits of Engels are particularly great. During this time he was able to develop Marxist science, enrich tactics and strategy with fresh theoretical generalizations. In addition, he launched a struggle against left-wing sectarianism and opportunism, dogmatism within the socialist parties. In recent years, he worked on the third volume of "Capital." In his additions, he pointed to certain features characteristic of imperialism - a new stage in the development of capitalism. Throughout his work Engels, together with his colleague and co-author, considered violent anti-capitalist transformations as the final stage of the struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. But after the events of 1848-49. They began to more soberly assess the daily confrontation of workers for their rights. In 1894, the health of Engels significantly worsened. The doctors diagnosed him with cancer in the esophagus. In 1895, on August 5, he died. At his last will the body was cremated. The urn was laid with ashes in the sea at Eastbourne.