Karl Marx (1818-83) and Friedrich Engels (1820-95) are, undoubtedly, the most important intellectual figures in the development of socialist thought. Marx was a German social scientist, historian and revolutionary who founded Marxism. He was born into a professional middle class family, educated at the universities of Bonn and Berlin, and initially worked as a radical journalist. Expelled from Prussia in 1849, he settled in London for the rest of his lifeand helped to found (with Engels) the International Working Men’s Association in 1864.Friedrich Engels (1820-95) was the son of a wealthy German textile manufacturer but he became appalled at the factory conditions he witnessed. A friend, collaborator and financial supporter of Marx from 1844, he widened the appeal of Marxism, notably for women. After Marx’s death, Engels continued to write and promote his partner’s ideas and, in later life,came to consider the possibility of socialism through the ballot box. Their work, which has been massively influential, offers a radical reinterpretation of human history based on the primacy of economic factors, an analysis of the workings, inequalities and internal contradictions of capitalism, and a revolutionary model for a utopian classless society. As the junior partner in this working relationship, Engels stated he was happy to play second fiddle to ‘such a wonderful first violin as Marx.’ To promote the Marxist perspective, the two men wrote a number of important works, including The German Ideology (Marx and Engels 1846), The Communist Manifesto (Marx and Engels 1848), Capital (Marx 3 vols – 1867, 1885, 1894), The Condition of the Working Class in England (Engels 1845), Anti-Dühring(Engels 1878) and The Origins of the Family, Private Property and the State (Engels 1884).

Marx and Engels’s key ideas

Marx and Engels’s conception of socialism is based on two fundamental assertions (1) social class is central to socialism and is linked to the ideas of historical materialism, dialectical change and revolutionary class consciousness (2) humans are social beings, nature is socially determined and true common humanity can be expressed only under communism.

1. Social class is central to socialism and is linked to the ideas of historical materialism, dialectical change and revolutionary class consciousness​

For Marx and Engels, social class was central to socialism and underpinned three key elements of Marxism – historical materialism, dialectical change and revolutionary class consciousness. Marxism was based on what Engels referred to as ‘the materialist conception of history’ – the idea that economic conditions govern all forms of historical and social development. According to this view, how the means of subsistence are produced (that is how humans produce vital things such as food, water and shelter) inevitably shapes all other areas of life. Following on from this, Marx argued that the economic base, including the mode of production and the class system, conditions social consciousness and the legal and political superstructure. Thus, for Marx and Engels, the economic base or system (such as feudalism or capitalism) powerfully influences all other aspects of society, including its political structure, legal system, culture and religious life. Historical materialism, in short, maintains that historical and social development can be explained in terms of economic and class factors.

Influenced by the German philosopher Friedrich Hegel, Marx and Engels also believed that historical change was driven by a process known as the dialectic. In their view, dialectical change involved the interaction of competing forces that led to a higher stage of development. Within the materialistic interpretation of Marxism, the dialectic is linked to the internal contradictions (based on the existence of private property) within each mode of production or economic system. Capitalism, for example, is characterised by competition/conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and this struggle produces a higher form of development by creating a socialist, and ultimately, a communist society. Marx and Engels argued that human history passed through a series of stages each with its own economic system and class structure. Within each stage, dialectical change was propelled by the struggle between the exploiters and the exploited, such as masters and slaves (classical society), landowners and serfs (feudalism), and capitalists and workers (capitalism). This process would come to an end only with the establishment of a communist society since the latter was not based on internal contradictions, private property and class conflict.

According to Marx and Engels, in order to overthrow their oppressors, the exploited class had to acquire a revolutionary class consciousness. Under capitalism, for example, this meant that, before a socialist revolution could take place, the proletariat would have to become a ‘class for itself’ – in other words, a class with an accurate awareness of its own genuine interests and a determination to pursue them. Marx was confident that the proletariat would develop a revolutionary class consciousness for five reasons, namely (1) the interests of the working class were identical and this would encourage a growing sense of solidarity (2) since the workers were concentrated in factories and cities, they could see, and discuss, their shared experience (3) under capitalism, the drive for profit would erode wage differentials between more and less skilled workers (4) the inherent instability of capitalism would produce ever-deepening crises resulting in the progressive immiseration of the proletariat (5) the working class would form an increasingly large majority of the population.

Marx and Engels therefore expected that the proletariat’s revolutionary class consciousness would inevitably develop as class conflict between the workers and the bourgeoisie intensified. Nevertheless, Marx was aware that the working class did not always act with such solidarity. Lenin went further and maintained that the proletariat was incapable of reaching this level of class consciousness without the assistance and guidance of a revolutionary intelligentsia or vanguard Marxist party.

2. Humans are social beings, nature is socially determined and true common humanity can be expressed only under communism

Like most socialists, Marx and Engels viewed humans as essentially social beings, meaning that their behaviour and potential were influenced more by nurture than nature. The founders of communism thought this was particularly the case with creative labour. Humans, in their view, are sociable, rational and cooperative, giving people the capacity for significant personal and social development. For Marx, the social nature of humans is self-evident: ‘Almost everything a person does presupposes the existence of other people … what kinds of things one does are affected by one’s interactions in the society one lives in. What seems ‘instinctive’ in one society or epoch—for example, a certain role for women—may be very different in another.’ Furthermore, Marx viewed humans as active, productive beings. Unlike the rest of the animal kingdom, people can make conscious decisions about how they want to work for a living, and lead satisfying lives based on fulfilling work, where the conditions for free creative production exist.

Marx argued that these conditions do not exist under capitalism. Instead, capitalism leads to human alienation by separating or estranging people from their true selves. This process of alienation, Marx contended, takes place in four interrelated ways:

1. The worker is estranged from the product of his labour: by having to sell his labour power, the worker does not own what is produced and so the product becomes ‘alien’

2. The worker does not recognise his labour as representing his human power of creative transformation: the worker becomes estranged from the production process itself – from the activity of labouring

3. The worker is estranged from his human capabilities and potential: the worker is separated from freely creating and enjoying beautiful things

4. The worker is estranged from work colleagues: the competitive ethos and division of labour inherent in the capitalist system of production isolates workers

As a result, the worker is turned into a ‘deformed’ person, living a fragmented, distorted life, and unable to realise his or her true human potential. The solution, Marx maintained, is the revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist system and the creation of a communist society. Under developed or ‘higher’ communism (Marx also called it ‘true socialism’), a classless society is formed. Here, private property, class differences, the state apparatus and the division between mental and physical labour are abolished. Freed from such constraints, the individual can become a fully developed person, engaging in many activities rather than being simply a worker in one particular type of employment. This self-development will be encouraged by the greater leisure time available to people due to capitalist production processes being harnessed for the benefit of all, rather than for profit. Similarly, capitalist innovations now designed to meet human needs will help to reorganise society on the principle of ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’. In these circumstances, an individual will experience the genuine freedom only a cooperative communist society, based on a common humanity, has to offer. Each person achieves his or her potential through creative work in cooperation with others. Moreover, as labour is socially necessary and valuable in satisfying the needs of others, a meaningful worker-product relationship is re-established and alienation disappears. Since Marx viewed human nature as determined by society, he anticipated that, over time, communist social organisation would create a ‘common humanity’ or ‘cooperative’ man.

Impact of Marx and Engels’s ideas

It is difficult to overstate the impact of Marx and Engel’s socialist thought both in the realm of ideas (including economics, political theory, history, philosophy and cultural studies) and practical politics. A key part of the Marxist appeal is based on the message of liberation and transformation, encapsulated in the argument that capitalism would inevitably succumb to socialist revolution and the establishment of a communist society. Marx and Engel’s ideas profoundly influenced the politics of the 20th century with regimes claiming adherence to Marxism emerging, for example, in Russia, China and North Korea and many revolutionary movements taking inspiration from their work. An important consideration in assessing the legacy of Marxism is to distinguish between what Marx and Engels intended and what was carried out in their name, particularly since communist ideology was used to justify totalitarian rule and political oppression. In the late 20th century, Marxist ideas lost some of their influence due to the collapse of the Soviet communist bloc and the continued strength of Western capitalist states. Nevertheless, there was renewed interest in the work of Marx and Engels in the early 21st century as the global economic crisis at that time was viewed by many as evidence of the inherent contradictions within the capitalist system.