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Strife has raged about Karl Marx for decades, and never had it been
so embittered as at the time of this book's first publication,
1936. Marx had impressed his image on the time as not other had
done. To some he was - and still is - a fiend, the arch-enemy of
human civilisation, and the prince of chaos, while to others he is
a far-seeing and beloved leader, guiding the human race towards a
brighter future. The arena in which Marx was fought about in 1936
was in the factories, in the parliaments and at the barricades. In
both camps, the bourgeois and the socialist, Marx was first of all,
if not exclusively, the revolutionary. This book sets out to
describe the life of Marx the fighter.
Strife has raged about Karl Marx for decades, and never had it been
so embittered as at the time of this book's first publication,
1936. Marx had impressed his image on the time as not other had
done. To some he was - and still is - a fiend, the arch-enemy of
human civilisation, and the prince of chaos, while to others he is
a far-seeing and beloved leader, guiding the human race towards a
brighter future. The arena in which Marx was fought about in 1936
was in the factories, in the parliaments and at the barricades. In
both camps, the bourgeois and the socialist, Marx was first of all,
if not exclusively, the revolutionary. This book sets out to
describe the life of Marx the fighter.
KARL MARX MAN AND FIGHTER by BORIS NICOLAIEVSKY and OTTO
MAENCHEN-HELFEN Translated by Gwenda David and Eric Mosbacher
METHUEN CO. LTD. LONDON 36 Essex Street W. C. 2 First published in
any language in 1936 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN FOREWORD STRIFE has
raged about Karl Marx for decades, and never has it been so
embittered as at the present day. . He has impressed his image on
the time as no other man has done To some he is afiend, the
arch-enemy of human civilisation, and the prince of chaos, while to
others he is a far-seeing and beloved leader, guiding the human
race towards a brighter future. In Russia his teachings are the
official doctrines of the state, while Fascist countries wish them
exterminated. In the areas under the sway of the Chinese Soviets
Marxs portrait appears upon the bank-notes, while in Germany they
have burned his books. Practically all the parties of the Socialist
Workers International, and the Communist parties in all countries,
acknowledge Marxism, the eradication of which is the sole purpose
of innumerable political leagues, associations and coalitions. The
French Proudhonists of the sixties, the followers of Lassalle in
Germany of the seventies, the Fabians in England before the War
produced their own brand of Socialism which they opposed to that of
Marx. The anti-Marxism of to-day has nothing in common with those
movements. He who opposes Marxism to-day does not do so because,
for instance, he denies the validity of Marxs theory of the
tendency of the rate of profit to fall. Similarly there are
millions to-day who acknowledge Marx as their leader, but not
because he solved the riddle of capitalist society. Perhaps one
Socialist Jn a th9u and ha. s ever readany of JMarx s ecpnpinic
vyrritingsrand of a thousand anti-Marxists notjrvtffl one. The
strife no longer rages round the truth or Talsehood of the doctrine
of historical materialism or the validity of the labour theory of
valfce or the theory of marginal utility. These things are
discussed and also not discussed. The arena in which Marx is fought
about to-day is in the factories, in the parliaments and at the
barricades. In both camps, the bourgeois and the Socialist, Marx is
first of all, if not exclusively, the vi KARL MARX MAN AND FIGHTER
the leader of the proletariat in its struggle to overthrow
Capitalism. This book is intended to describe the life of Marx the
fighter. We make no attempt to disguise the difficulties of such an
undertaking. Marxism to use the word in its proper sense, embracing
the whole of Marxs work is a whole. To divide theory from practice
was completely alien to Marxs nature. How then, can his life
bejmderstood cxcegt as a unity j f thought and action The man of
science was not even half the man Engels said in his speech at the
grave-side of his dead friend. For Marx science was an historically
moving, revolutionary force. Marx was above all a revolutionary. To
co-operate in one way or another in the work of bringing about the
downfall of capitalist society and the state institutions which
were its creations, to co-operate in the liberation of the modern
proletariat, to make it conscious of its situation and its needs,
and conscious of the conditions for its own emancipation that was
his real life-work. 3 Marx was a Socialist before he reached real
and complete understanding of the laws of development underlying
bourgeois society. When he wrote the CommunistManifesto at the age
of thirty he did not yet appreciate the many different forms which
surplus value could assume, but the Communist Mani festo contained
the whole doctrine of the class-war and showed the proletariat the
historical task that itiiad to fulfil. We have written the
biography of Marx as the strategist of the class struggle. The
discoveries made by Marx in the course of his explorations of the
anatomy of bourgeois society will only be mentioned in so far as
they directly concern our subject. But the word directly need not
be taken too literally...
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