How Young Karl Marx Got Radicalized
Karl Marx started out in a liberal milieu where the primary concern was abolishing religious authoritarianism. In time, he came to believe that abolishing capitalism was necessary for true freedom — and that only the working class could do it.
A young demonstrator in Hong Kong holds up a photo of Karl Marx on August 4, 2019. (Billy H.C. Kwok / Getty Images)
No one is born a Marxist — not even Karl Marx.
Before he formulated his famous ideas about the centrality of class struggle to social change, young Marx surrounded himself with liberals who sought to abolish the religious authoritarianism of the old regime and bring about a new state that guaranteed greater liberty. His political evolution occurred in two stages: the first took him beyond liberalism to social democracy, and the second gave him faith in the self-emancipation of the working class.
Today, many young people are marching leftward in his footsteps, from a passion for freedom to a critique of capitalism. But unlike Marx, they have the whole tradition of Marxism to guide them.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.