Karl Marx

            
             Karl Marx was the founder of marxism. He wrote many books and pamphlets on Marxism and the government. Marxism consists of three inter -related ideas: a philosophical view of man, a theory of history, and an economic and political program.
             Karl Marx was born on may 5, 1818, in the city of Trier in the Rhine province of Prussia, now in West Germany. He was born into a rich family. That is kind of ironic because he fights against capitalism. He was the oldest surviving boy of nine. His father Heinrich was a successful lawyer, devoted to his work. His mother was born Henrietta Pressburg in Holland. Both of his parents were Jewish and came from a long line of rabbis. In 1819 his father gave up the jewish faith and was baptized in the Evangelical Established Church. Karl was baptized when he was six. As he was growing up he experienced alot of prejudice and discrimination because of his Jewish background. This was probably a contributing factor in why the church did not play a big role in his life and his disire for political and social change. When he was growing up he cared more for politics then for religion. .
             He chose to start writing because he was sick of the capitalist society that he lived in, and he thought he could make a difference. He wrote 2 books numerous phamplets and editid several newspapers. His writings consisted of social and political philosophy. The first book, which he wrote with Fredrich Engels, was called Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei also known as The Communist Manifesto, (1848) which is the most important and celabrated book for the socialist movement. The next book he wrote was called Das Kapital, This book along with The Communist Manifesto were the basis of Marxism. The pamphlets he wrote, especally Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, were important because they showed the humanist background to Marx's historical and economic theories.