MARX. ~~ ~~~&t!;n~~;up ROUTLEDGE HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES. Vincent Barnett

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2 MARX 'Vincent Barnett's Marx is a refreshing and original interpretation of Karl Marx's work and life. It is clearly written and well educated, and will be sure to become a standard text for any serious student of history and politics.' Matthew Worley, University of Reading Karl Marx has been portrayed in equal measure both as a political prophet who foresaw the end of capitalist exploitation, and as a populist Antichrist whose totalitarian legacy has cost millions of lives worldwide. This new biography looks beyond these caricatures in order to understand more about the real Karl Marx: about his everyday life and personal circumstances, as well as his political ideology. The book tells the life story of a man of ideas, showing how his political and economic thought developed alongside his life and practical work. Vincent Barnett seeks to paint Karl Marx not as a static, unwavering character, but as a man whose beliefs developed dynamically over time. The book explores his personal background, and problems of personal income and family health. It also examines the influence of Hegel's method on Marx's work, and Marx's relationship with Engels. This lively, up-to-date guide to the life of Karl Marx provides an excellent starting point for students in history, politics and philosophy, and for all those with an interest in Marxism and political ideas. Vincent Barnett has been a research fellow on a wide variety of History, Russian Studies and Eco nomics projects at various UK universities. His publications include A History of Russian Economic Thought (2005), The Revolutionary Russian Economy, (2004) and Kondratiev and the Dynamics of Economic Development (1998).

3 ROUTLEDGE HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES SERIES EDITOR: RoBERT PEARCE Routledge Historical Biographies provide engaging, readable and academically credible biographies written from an explicitly historical perspective. These concise and accessible accounts will bring important historical figures to life for students and general readers alike. MARX In the same series: Bismarck by Edgar Feuchtwanger Edward IV by Hannes Kleineke Emmeline Pankhurst by Paula Bartley Gladstone by Michael Partridge Henry VII by Sean Cunningham Henry VIII by Lucy Wooding Hitler by Martyn Housden Lenin by Christopher Read Louis XIV by Richard Wilkinson Mao by Michael Lynch Martin Luther by Michael Mullet Martin Luther Kingjr by Peter J. Ling Mary ~u~en ofscots b~ R~th~~?Ln~~?-t'-" Mussohm by Peter Nev1l81~>/:<;: r...-._j_.,~, Nehru by Ben Zacharia~<:::.~. '; : ::"- i Oliver Cromwell by Martxffi Bennett I(' y. Trotsky by I an Thatcher. ( "'~' V ~"' _,: 1 "' ~ I f ;-At,-/./: - fllij'/.-_,/ >('/.; :;. 'f (!, <+ --< "{_,, Forthcoming: ' ~- ~l.;:-.,. - "'~. -,.,.:~: Neville Chamberlain by ~ick' Srnart Vincent Barnett ~~ ~~~&t!;n~~;up LONDON AND NEW YORK

4 CONTENTS LIST OF PlATES PREFACE CHRONOLOGY vii ix xi First published 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY Routledge is an imprint ofthe Taylor(l( Francis Group, an informa business 2009 Vincent Barnett Typeset in Garamond by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby Printed and bound in Great Britain by T) International, Padstow, Cornwall All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Barnett, Vincent, Marx f Vincent Barnett. p. em... (Routledge historical biographies) ISBN (hardback)-- ISBN (pbk.) 1. Marx, Karl, Communists--Biography. 3 Communism--History. 4 Philosop hy, Marxist. I. Title. HX39.5.A53B dczz [B] lll8 ISBN1o: o (hbk) lsbn10: (pbk) ISBN13: (hbk) lsbn13: (pbk) Introduction 1 Ruled by a demon 2 Early writings 3 The spectre of communism 4 Political writings, The whole economic muck 6 'Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy' 7 An immense accumulation of research 8 Volume one of Capital 9 The tantalising model of Paris 10 The circulation of Capital 11 And now Russia! 12 Very late Marx Conclusion NOTES FuRTHER READING NAME INDEX SUBJECT INDEX

5 LIST OF PLATES PLATES (BETWEEN PAGES 146 AND 147) 1 Marx as a student in The proponent of dialectical logic, G.W.F. Hegel 3 Marx's wife jenny von Westphalen 4 Marx with Engels and his three daughters 5 The title page of the first edition of volume one of Capital 6 Marx at the height of this intellectual powers in Marx's sometime co-author and life-long friend, Friedrich Engels 8 The last known photograph of Marx in An imposing statue of Marx symbolising his status as a heroic visionary

6 PREFACE The inspiring yet daunting task of writing a historical biography of Karl Marx for the early twenty-first century has fallen to someone who has been engaging with Marx's writings and legacy since the mid-1980s. Two particularly important intellectual debts that have been accumulated since this time require explicit acknowledgement. My initial study of Marx was facilitated by valuable time spent as an MA student with Professor David McLellan at the University of Kent at Canterbury. Immediately after this I was privileged enough to become a PhD student of Professor James White at the University of Glasgow. Aspects of both of their original and pioneering interpretations of Marx can be found employed in this book, as the references clearly attest. I have, however, added various new elements and some conceptual twists, which mean that neither of the above-mentioned authorities should be held in any way responsible for the account of the subject that is presented here. It also requires acknowledgement that my previously published work in Russian and Soviet history has been particularly concerned to highlight neglected historical alternatives, and that this has proved (surprisingly) to be a rather controversial approach. Even after the collapse of the USSR at the end of the 1980s, the pernicious but decaying influence of Stalinism was found to be alive and well in certain areas of academia. The Cambridge economist J. M. Keynes famously remarked that political leaders were often only regurgitating the ideas of obscure academic scribblers of the past, but to find that academic scribblers were regurgitating the ideas of past political tyrants has been a chastening experience. I therefore welcomed the opportunity of return to the original source that was employed in Stalin's political distortions, and thanks are due to Professor Robert Pearce for his encouragement in this regard. He also provided very relevant comments on the chapters as they were being composed. I' l

7 f I. (HRONOLOGY 1 t Year Life Writings 1818 Birth 1835 University of Bonn f 1836 University of Berlin; Engagement to jenny von Westphalen 1837 Studies Hegel's philosophy_ 1838 Death of Heinrich Marx 1839 Begins Doctorate 1841 Achieves Doctorate 'Doctoral Thesis' 1842 Moves to Cologne; Becomes editor of the Rheinische Zeitung; First meets Friedrich Engels 1843 Marries Jenny von Westphalen 'Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right' 1844 Birth of daughter Jenny; 'Economic and Philosophical Becomes close to Engels Manuscripts' 1845 Moves to Brussels; 'Theses on Feuerbach'; Birth of daughter Laura; The Holy Family (with Condition of the Working Class in Engels) England by Engels; Marx and Engels visit the UK; Marx relinquishes Prussian citizenship 1846 Birth of son Edgar 'The German Ideology' (with Engels) 1847 joins the Communist League The Poverty of Philosophy

8 ~' ~ ~ Year Lifo Writings l i ' I t Year Lifo Writings 1848 Moves to Paris and then Cologne; The Manifesto of the t 1862 Application to become a clerk is Follows revolutionary outbreaks Communist Party (with ~ rejected across Europe closely; Engels) 1863 Death of Henrietta Marx; Skin 'Theories of Surplus Value' Becomes editor of the Neue t condition worsens 1849 Rheinische Zeitung I l Trial for incitement; Wage Labour and Capital Moves to London; 1864 Birth of son Guido Death of Guido; The Class Struggles in France Works on a proposed 'Critique of Political Economy' sporadically throughout the 1850s 1868 Marriage of Laura Founding of the First International; Death ofwilhelm Wolff The first volume of the 'Critique Capital (vol.1) of Political Economy' is finished; Travels to Germany to deliver the manuscript to the publisher 1851 Birth of daughter Franziska; 186g Starts to learn Russian Birth of illegitimate son Frederick I 1870 Engels moves from Manchester to Demuth.. London 1852 Death of Franziska; The Eighteenth Brumaire of ' 1871 Hails the Paris Commune The Civil War in France Dissolves the Communist League Louis Bonaparte 1872 Marriage of Jenny; Russian 1853 Story of the Life of Lord translation of Capital (vol.1); Palmerston Second German edition of Capital 1855 Birth of daughter Eleanor; (vol.1) Death of Edgar 1874 Criticises M. Bakunin's anarchism; 1856 Moves to a superior house Revelations of the Diplomatic Failed attempt at British History of the Eighteenth citizenship Century 1875 French translation of Capital Critique of the Gotha 'Outlines of a Critique of (vol.1) is completed Programme Political Economy' Anti-Duhring by Engels 1859 First published results of his A Contribution to a Critique of 1881 Death of jenny Marx; Various 'Letter to Vera Zasulich' prolonged study of economics Political Economy illnesses worsen 186o Continues work on the 'Critique Herr Vogt of Political Economy' in the 186os; Falsely accused offorgery 1861 Analyses the American Civil War 1882 Travels across Europe as convalescence 1883 Death of daughter Jenny; Death of Marx 1885 Capital (vol.2)

9 Year Lifo 1887 English translation of Capital (vol.1) Writings 1894 Capital (vol.3) 1895 Death of Engels Theories of Surplus Value Notes Writings given in italics were published in the years that are indicated, but other writings were not issued in print until a later time. INTRODUCTION The philosophers have only interpreted the world in different ways; the point is to change it.' Karl Marx is probably the most influential philosopher, historian and social theorist of modern times. Within forty years of his death, a small but significant minority of the world's population were living within a socio-economic system that claimed to be constructed using his ideas as their main inspiration. Within seventy years of his death, very important and sizeable parts of the world's population were living under such systems. No writer before or after Marx can claim anything like as much impact upon world affairs. The coni:ent ofwestern philosophy has been conceived as extended footnotes to Plato, but Plato never exerted as much influence on the ordinary lives of as many citizens on planet Earth as Marx so rapidly achieved. Comparison to figures such as Jesus Christ would be most appropriate in order to indicate the sheer scale of Marx's influence on human life. Indeed some have even analysed Marxist doctrine as a secular form of religion. And yet, one hundred and thirty years after his death in 1883, the societies that claimed to be based on his ideas have collapsed in spectacular fashion, and Marx's sworn enemy- private capital- has trampled over his crumbling legacy with almost unbelievable ease and audacity. If the twentieth century was defined as the century ofmarx's phenomenal success, the twenty-first century has begun with Marx's abject failure. Nothing less than the total rout of revolutionary socialism on an international scale was observed in the 1990s, at a pace that most commentators