A compelling, wide-ranging collection of Karl Marx's journalism-available only from Penguin Classics
Karl Marx is arguably the most famous political philosopher of all time, but he was also one of the great foreign correspondents of the nineteenth century. Drawing on his eleven- year tenure at the New York Tribune (which began in 1852), this completely new collection presents Marx's writings on an abundance of topics, from issues of class and state to world affairs. Particularly moving pieces highlight social inequality and starvation in Britain, while others explore his groundbreaking views on the slave and opium trades. Throughout, Marx's fresh perspective on nineteenth-century events reveals a social consciousness that remains inspiring to this day.
With the help of Friedrich Engels, German philosopher and revolutionary Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Kapital (1867-1894), works, which explain historical development in terms of the interaction of contradictory economic forces, form many regimes, and profoundly influenced the social sciences.
German social theorist Friedrich Engels collaborated with Karl Marx on The Communist Manifesto in 1848 and on numerous other works.
The Prussian kingdom introduced a prohibition on Jews, practicing law; in response, a man converted to Protestantism and shortly afterward fathered Karl Marx.
Marx began co-operating with Bruno Bauer on editing Philosophy of Religion of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (see Democritus and Epicurus), doctoral thesis, also engaged Marx, who completed it in 1841. People described the controversial essay as "a daring and original piece... in which Marx set out to show that theology must yield to the superior wisdom." Marx decided to submit his thesis not to the particularly conservative professors at the University of Berlin but instead to the more liberal faculty of University of Jena, which for his contributed key theory awarded his Philosophiae Doctor in April 1841. Marx and Bauer, both atheists, in March 1841 began plans for a journal, entitled Archiv des Atheismus (Atheistic Archives), which never came to fruition.
Marx edited the newspaper Vorwärts! in 1844 in Paris. The urging of the Prussian government from France banished and expelled Marx in absentia; he then studied in Brussels. He joined the league in 1847 and published.
Marx participated the failure of 1848 and afterward eventually wound in London. Marx, a foreigner, corresponded for several publications of United States. He came in three volumes. Marx organized the International and the social democratic party.
People describe Marx, who most figured among humans. They typically cite Marx with Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, the principal modern architects.
Bertrand Russell later remarked of non-religious Marx, "His belief that there is a cosmic ... called dialectical materialism, which governs ... independently of human volitions, is mere mythology" (Portraits from Memory, 1956).
Foreword Chronology Introduction A Note on the Text
China
--Revolution in China and in Europe --[The Anglo-Chinese Conflict] --[Russian Trade with China] --[English Atrocities in China] --History of the Opium Trade [I] --History of the Opium Trade [II] --[The Anglo-Chinese Treaty] --The British and Chinese Treaty --Trade with China
War, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Europe
--The Greek Insurrection --Declaration of War.---On the History of the Eastern Question --[Revolution in Spain.---Bomarsund] --Prussia --[Revolution in Spain] [I] --[Revolution in Spain] [II] --[On Italian Unity] --A Historic Parallel --What Has Italy Gained?
British Politics and Society
--The Elections in England.---Tories and Whigs --Corruption at Elections --[Case of Starvation] --[Starvation] --The Duchess of Sutherland and Slavery --[Capital Punishment] --[Irish Tenant Right] --[Chartism] --[Prince Albert] --The War Debate in Parliament --[Clearing of Estates in Scotland] --The English Middle Class --Fall of the Aberdeen Ministry --[The Increase of Lunacy in Great Britain]
Economics and Finance
--Pauperism and Free Trade.---The Approaching Commercial Crisis --The Labor Question --The Commercial Crisis in Britain --The French Crédit Mobilier [I] --The French Crédit Mobilier [II] --The French Crédit Mobilier [III] --Condition of Factory Laborers --[The Bank Act of 1844 and the Monetary Crisis in England] --[The Crisis in Europe] --British Commerce and Finance --[Project for the Regulation of the Price of Bread in France]
India and Imperialism
--The British Rule in India --The Future Results of British Rule in India --The Revolt in the Indian Army --The Indian Question --The Indian Revolt --[Investigation of Tortures in India] --The Approaching Indian Loan --The Indian Bill --Great Trouble in Indian Finances
America and Slavery
--The British Government and the Slave-Trade --The American Question in England --The British Cotton Trade --The North American Civil War --The London Times on the Orleans Princes in America --The News and Its Effect in London --Progress of Feeling in England --English Public Opinion
Why is Marx always exactly as great as his reputation? With each career-shift, each time he tried his hand at new intellectual territory, he excelled. He was a brilliant writer at 25 years old when he wrote his Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, and he only appears more mature, learned, and thoughtful in his later journalism. This selection of writings is yet another reason Marx earns my appreciation as one of my favourite authors and social scientists.
As always with a selection like this, there are stronger and weaker pieces, but in this case the former far outweigh the latter. Standout articles for me were “Capital Punishment,” “Irish Tenant right,” “The English Middle Class,” and his often under-appreciated abolitionist writings during the American Civil War. In fact, Marx’s insight at a time of such contentious debate was incredibly grounded. He anticipated and put down the myths that would later become “Lost Cause Mythology” about the Civil War. At the same time, he articulates the nuances of the arguments in support and opposition to the slave trade; such as the hypocrisy of the British landlords (of wage-slavery) to oppose the slave trade, or the economic interdependence of these many exploitative processes.
Marx is constantly mapping space for solidarity between working classes, the middle classes, and enslaved/colonized people. He engages with the novelists of his day, with rival journals, with contemporary political economists, etc. I have to quote one of my favourite bits from “The English Middle Class,” because of the way it weaves together so many of Marx’s theorizations about history and antagonism:
“Whatever other shapes this social struggle may hereafter assume, we have seen only the beginning of it. It seems destined to nationalize itself and present phases never before seen in history; for it must be borne in mind that though temporary defeat may await the working classes, great social and economical laws are in operation which must eventually insure their triumph. The same industrial wave which has borne the middle class up against the aristocracy, is now assisted as it is and will be by emigration bearing the working classes up against the middle classes. Just as the middle class inflict blows upon the aristocracy, so will they receive them from the working classes. It is the instinctive perception of this fact that already fetters the action of that class against the aristocracy. The recent political agitations of the working classes have taught the middle class to hate and fear overt political movements. In their cant, “respectable men don't join them, Sir,” the higher middle classes ape the aristocracy in their modes of life, and endeavor to connect themselves with it. The consequence is that the feudalism of England will not perish beneath the scarcely perceptible dissolving processes of the middle class; the honor of such a victory is reserved for the working classes. When the time shall be ripe for their recognized entry upon the stage of political action, there will be within the lists three powerful classes confronting each other—the first representing the land; the second, money; the third, labor. And as the second is triumphing over the first, so, in its turn, it must yield before its successor in the field of political and social conflict.” (pp. 144–145).
In my opinion, these writings are an indispensable part of Marx’s canon. They’re more readable and more historically topical than his more economic writings, but just as important.
I've heard Marx did some journalism, and here is the proof! He was a foreign correspondent to the New York Tribune for ten years from 1852, writing from London. That is from before he published Capital, all of which I finally finished very recently. So this book helped me more firmly establish a 19th-century chronology.
A nice collection of Marx's journalistic writings. I would, however, have liked it if it had included some of Marx's writings from when he was a young journalist in Germany -- I know that this book specifically limited its scope to his time at the New York Tribune -- because he wrote some of his best writings on the freedom of the press in Prussia when he was young.
In my opinion, this book should be a part of the Marxist canon alongside the Manifesto, the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts, and Capital. Marx’s journalistic writings don’t just bridge the ideas in his earlier and later works; rather, Marx applies his ideas to develop an analysis of real-world political events.
The book covers topics like Marx’s analysis of European politics, European economics and finance, and revolution in Europe. All of these are insightful pieces that provide a unique view not only of the historical period but also of Marx’s understanding of that period and his scathing, unique criticism.
The three sections that I found most valuable, however, were the sections on China, India, and the slavery and the cotton trade in the Southern United States. Here, Marx writes about colonialism and imperialism and gives them a thorough and profound treatment.
In the section on China, Marx is deeply critical of the English. He provides a history of the opium trade in Asia and shows the relationship between the English Empire and drug peddling. In the section on American cotton and the Southern U.S., Marx highlights the relationship between cotton production and the Industrial Revolution. He notes that much of the cotton that keeps workers enslaved in England is produced by actual slave labor in the U.S. South.
But the most interesting section has to be the one on India. Here, Marx is perhaps at his most naive. He presents an argument in favor of English colonization and imperialism in India, as he believes it will modernize the subcontinent and pave the way for communism. Marx refers to India as a stagnant and backwards country, denouncing the caste system and arguing that India was unable to escape the fate of being conquered.
Here, Marx lays out an early analysis of primitive accumulation. He describes how the English broke up the cotton trade in India and “inundated the mother of all cottons with cotton.” Though Marx is undoubtedly orientalist in his analysis, in this same section we see him reject his initial stance. As British rule in India continues, he realizes the British have no desire to modernize or improve India. Instead, Marx realizes that colonialism and imperialism are purely malignant forces.
This section alone makes the book mandatory reading for anyone interested in political theory, decolonial theory, or Marxism in general. If you have not read this, you simply must.
I've commented before that the easiest way into Marx is through his political writing. At the time I meant the more substantial essays such as the 18th Brumaire of Louis Napoleon or the Civil War in France (of for that matter the Communist Manifesto). These are much easier reading than his heavier theoretical work such as Capital Volume 1 - never mind the various drafts and notes that he didn't prepare for publication, such as the remaining volumes of Capital, the Grundrisse, or the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts from 1844.
This book fits into the same category. It's a collection of articles written by Marx mostly in the 1850's (the last is from 1862) for the New York Tribune, at the time the highest circulation daily paper in the world. At the time Marx was living in London in abject poverty while completing the research into political economy that would eventually become Capital. Writing articles as the "London correspondent" for the Tribune helped provide at least some income.
Grouped by theme this is Marx as he's not often read, even by those who are familiar with him, tackling the political issues of the day in short form. They also show Marx displaying the sort of analysis using statistics that would become such a prominent part of Capital volume 1. This is an easy route into reading Marx.
Karl Marx'ın dünyanın en iyi gazete yazarlarından biri olduğunu bilmeyenler, Sel Yayınları'nın yayınladığı "Gazete Yazıları"nı mutlaka okumalı, Karl Marx, Amerikan gazetecilik geleneğinde New York gazetelerinde yazdığı yazılarla ünlenmiş bir yazar! Karl Marx, 1. İşçi Enternasyonali Derneği'ni dünya çapında örgütlerken, bir yandan da, bir çok ülkede gazetelerde yazılar yazıyordu, Amerika'daki "İç Savaş" öncesi tartışmaları izlerken, Amerikalı okurlarına gazete yazıları ile katılıyordu. Karl Marx'ın "dünya kapitalizmi"nin küresel gelişmesini her gün izlediğini hatırlayınca, Amerika'da New York gazetelerindeki yazılarının değerini de anlayabiliriz. Karl Marx'ın bakışıyla dünyayı okuyoruz yazılarında, 19. Yüzyıl'ın çatışmalarla, savaşlarla, çelişkilerle dolu değişimlerini Karl Marx'ın izlenimleri ile görme şansını "Gazete Yazıları"nda buluyoruz! Karl Marx'ı, Filozof Marx olarak okuyorduk, Tarihçi Marx olarak okuyorduk, İktisatçı Marx olarak okuyorduk, Hukukçu Marx olarak okuyorduk, Politikacı Marx olarak okuyorduk, Şair Marx olarak okuyorduk, Matematikçi Marx olarak okuyorduk, "Gazete Yazıları" ile Gazeteci Marx'ı da okuyalım, anlayalım!
Karl Marx's journal writings "Dispatches for the New York Tribune: Selected Journalism" is one of best journalism books of 19. Century. Karl Marx published his journal articles in New York Tribune between 1852 and 1861. When Karl Marx was organizing 1. Worker International in the different countries of the world, his journal articles which reflect his observations on the world were published in the different newspapers. Karl Marx's journalism teachs a lot of things about the world of his age. We read Philosopher Marx, Historian Marx, Economist Marx, Politician Marx, Mathematician Marx, Law Philosopher Marx, Poet Marx, with "Dispatches for the New York Tribune: Selected Journalism", we read Journalist Marx! Karl Marx's contribution to American journalism, American politics, American working class with his journalism was very important for the spread of socialism in the world.
Criminal . The anti russian propaganda creator ... This paid MSM idiot not just managed to mislead the western society , but is showing his real face here - nasty , selfish , manipulative person ... The Greatest Lier ever , your delusions and utopian writings was proved not only anti humanic but real evil ... The crowd managment and social engenering , asshole... who was blind for the struggle of milions christians under ottoman slavery and painted the only one who actualy help them as invader and aggressor . while your beloved sponsors was coalition with the islamists .... He was lier as Soros now .. Thank you Russia for saving us while this motherfucker was writing shit for the western MSM .... Burn in hell you piece of shit