The co-author of The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx, is often touted as the father of communism. His ideologies, first formulated in 1848, are still a hot topic of discourse among intellectuals, experts, and learners alike.
In this article, let us take a glimpse of his life through some facts about one of the most mainstream figures ever born.
Reckless Lifestyle
Karl Marx was known for a pretty reckless lifestyle where his conscience was sub-merged in smoking, drinking, and a bad diet. As a result, he developed a ‘weak chest,’ which also allowed him to slack off from the military conscription at the age of 18. At the University of Bonn, Karl Marx spent most of his years of youth being drunk and disorderly.
During this time, he also got into a duel, which resulted in him getting a cut over his left eye. He even went to jail for his involvement in a radical drinking poets’ club that antagonised the on-campus aristocratic organisations. This one time, he and his friend Bruno Bauer got very drunk and rode through the town on donkeys.
A Man With No Home
A trend that started with Prussia in the 1840s, Marx kept changing nations due to his controversial and bigger-than-life ideologies. He first flew from Prussia when, with the influence of Tsar Nicholas I, his newspaper was banned for being radically left. After this, he flew to France but was forced to fly out in 1845. He then went to Belgium, then back in France, then Prussia again, and then France for the third time, before finally breathing his last in London, with no land to his name.
A House For Multiple Ailments
His lifestyle grappling for healthier choices resulted in Marx grappling with an array of ailments. He suffered from headaches, joint pain, insomnia, and live & gallbladder problems. Despite his problems, he kept working to revolutionise the political space with his thoughts that he dispersed into the masses as a journalist. He died at the age of 64, suffering from an inflammatory disease of the lungs and thorax called Pleurisy.
Marx’s Language of Love
Apart from the impact of his thoughts pertaining to politics and economics, he also penned down some beautiful works of fiction, including multiple love poems for his wife, Jenny. He also wrote a fictional and satirical novel, Scorpion and Felix, which he wrote when he was just 19 years old.
Unfortunately, however, none of his works could come out and get published during his lifetime. Posthumously, these fictional works of his were published in the 50-volume large set called Collected Works of Marx and Engels.
Marriage Of Contradicting Standards
Karl Marx’s marriage was challenging the norms as fiercely as his ideas did. He married his childhood friend, Jenny von Westphalen, who belonged to the Bourgeoise class. Jenny broke an engagement with an aristocrat to be with Marx, even though Marx belonged to the Proletariats. In addition, at that time, men marrying older women was frowned upon in Prussia.
