The Top 10 inspirational quotes of Karl Marx
In the early
1990s I lived in a very posh part of London called Highgate. Just down the road
from my flat was one of the most famous cemeteries in the world, which contains
the graves of some very important people, including perhaps the most
influential philosopher of the last 150 years – Karl Marx.
Karl Marx
(1818 -1883) was a German-born philosopher, political theorist, economist,
historian, sociologist, and journalist, best-known for the 1848 pamphlet The
Communist Manifesto (written with Friedrich Engels) and the three-volume Das Kapital.
Marx’s ideas and their subsequent development, have had massive influence on
modern economic and political history.
I remember
as a child avidly reading The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, and some of
these works still influence my political views today.
Am I a
Communist? OF COURSE NOT!! The overall concept of Marxism is completely
discredited by most sensible people. BUT despite this, I believe that some of
what Marx wrote was extremely important to modern day philosophy and politics. SOME of what he said was absolutely right!!
With someone
like Karl Marx, you have to choose the good bits, and discard the rest. And
surprisingly, there are a lot of good bits within the works of Marx – even for
people who reject Marxism and do not have left wing politics.
Here are my
10 favourite quotes by Karl Marx.
“Reason has
always existed, but not always in a reasonable form.”
“History
repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”
“From each
according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”
“The
philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point,
however, is to change it.”
“Workers of
the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains.”
“Social
progress can be measured by the social position of the female sex.”
“Necessity
is blind until it becomes conscious. Freedom is the consciousness of
necessity.”
“The
oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular
representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.”
“Follow your
own path, no matter what people say.”
And my
favourite quote by Karl Marx:
“Surround
yourself with people who make you happy. People who make you laugh, who help
you when you’re in need. People who genuinely care. They are the ones worth
keeping in your life. Everyone else is just passing through.”
© 2024 Darren
Bugg
To see hundreds more articles click here to visit our archive