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First Post
4 hours ago
- First Post
Marx unmasked: How Karl Marx's personal failings shaped a brutal, violent ideology
Understanding communism requires looking squarely at Marx himself. In him, we find the violent, exploitative, self-centred tendencies that would, under Lenin, Stalin, and Mao, erupt into horrors on a global scale read more Advertisement Marx wasn't the philosopher-saint he has been made out to be. Representational image: REUTERS An ideology often mirrors its chief architect. Communism is a prime example. While many try to lay its atrocities at Joseph Stalin's feet, the seeds of violence, exploitation, and ruthlessness lie deep in the character of Karl Marx himself. Marx is often venerated as one of the greatest thinkers of modern times, the author of Das Kapital and co-author of The Communist Manifesto, whose ideas shaped the destinies of nations and ignited revolutions. Yet underneath this carefully curated myth lies the brutal reality of Marx—a life marked by personal violence, manipulative opportunism, moral inconsistency, reckless financial irresponsibility, and a shocking disregard for the welfare of even those closest to him. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A Taste for Violence and Domination Marx's private letters and political tactics reveal not just a theoretical acceptance of violence, but a genuine appetite for it. His wife Jenny pleaded early on: 'Please do not write with so much rancour and irritation.' It was a lifelong pattern. If author Paul Johnson is to be believed, Marx's editorial meetings were so loud with shouting they had to shut the windows to avoid alarming passersby. Johnson writes in Intellectuals, '…the rows were perpetual except in Brussels. In Paris his editorial meetings in the Rue des Moulins had to be held behind closed windows so that people outside could not hear the endless shouting.' Marx's quarrels were not random; they were often deliberate instruments of domination. From his days as a young radical, he sought to browbeat anyone who disagreed with him, starting with German philosopher Bruno Bauer and extending through nearly every political associate. The brother of Bauer once mocked Marx's volcanic rages in verse: 'Dark fellow from Trier in fury raging, / His evil fist is clenched, he roars interminably, / As though ten thousand devils had him by the hair.' More troubling still, Marx's political strategy consistently embraced violence and terror. In 1850, he distributed a 'Plan of Action' in Germany explicitly endorsing mob violence and 'popular vengeance against hated individuals or public buildings', urging revolutionaries not merely to condone but to lend such acts 'a helping hand'. Marx could even approve of assassination if it served the cause. When a failed attempt was made on Kaiser Wilhelm I's life in 1878, his fury was directed not at the crime but at the incompetence of the would-be assassin, heaping curses on the man for failing to carry out the deed. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A Deeply Amoral Man Though Marx cloaked himself in moral earnestness, he dismissed morality itself as 'unscientific' and an obstacle to revolution. Russian anarchist Michael Bakunin insightfully remarked that Marx's zeal for the proletariat was tainted by personal vanity, observing, 'Marx does not believe in God, but he believes much in himself… His heart is not full of love but of bitterness.' This bitterness often played out through exploitation. It began early. His dying father lamented in 1838 that Marx, only four months into his law course, had already spent more than his father had earned all winter: 'You are now in the fourth month of your law course, and you have already spent 280 thalers.' Marx did not even attend his father's funeral. Instead, he turned his sights on his mother, pressuring her for more funds, justifying it on the grounds that the family was 'quite rich' and owed it to him to sustain his 'important work'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He neither pursued regular employment nor made any serious attempt to support his family. From the mid-1840s until Marx's death, Engels shouldered most of his financial burden. Yet when Engels' beloved companion Mary Burns died in 1863, Marx responded with a letter that offered the briefest acknowledgement of Engels' grief before briskly moving on to his real concern: requesting more money. If Marx's exploitation of Engels is legendary, equally telling is the way he treated his wife and daughters. The life of his wife was full of misery, largely the result of Marx's own making. 'Every day,' Marx himself conceded, 'my wife tells me she wishes she were lying in her grave.' Ironically, Marx, for all his egalitarian claims, took pride in his wife's aristocratic lineage. Johnson writes, 'Marx was proud of his wife's noble Scottish descent (he exaggerated it) and her position as the daughter of a baron and senior official in the Prussian government. Printed invitations to a ball which he issued in London in the 1860s refer to her as 'née von Westphalen'.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD His treatment of his three daughters further underscores his hypocrisy. For all his radicalism, Marx denied them meaningful education and forbade them from pursuing careers. Instead, they were kept at home to play piano and paint watercolours—like any bourgeois daughters—ensuring they were unprepared to make independent lives. He even disapproved of their life partners, referring to one of them disparagingly as 'Negrillo' and 'The Gorilla' simply because he had some African ancestry. Squalor and Endless Debt Despite Engels' generous subsidies and both his own and his wife's family fortunes, Marx lived a life of poverty. His annual income never fell below £200—a more than decent sum at that time—yet his family's silverware, clothes, and even furniture frequently ended up in pawnshops. At one point, Marx was so impoverished he had only one pair of trousers and could alone leave the house. A Prussian police spy in 1850 reported in detail the Marx household's squalor: 'There is not one clean and solid piece of furniture. Everything is broken, tattered, and torn, with half an inch of dust over everything and the greatest disorder everywhere.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The report described the living room table piled with manuscripts, children's toys, dirty cups, pipes, tobacco, and rags. 'When you enter Marx's room smoke and tobacco fumes make your eyes water… Everything is dirty and covered with dust, so that to sit down becomes a hazardous business.' It was a scene of almost grotesque Bohemian decay. Johnson believes Marx's 'angry egoism' had physical as well as psychological roots. 'He led a peculiarly unhealthy life, took very little exercise, ate highly spiced food, often in large quantities, smoked heavily, [and] drank a lot, especially strong ale, and as a result had constant trouble with his liver. He rarely took baths or washed much at all. This, plus his unsuitable diet, may explain the veritable plague of boils from which he suffered for a quarter of a century. They increased his natural irritability and seem to have been at their worst while he was writing Capital.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It was at that time he bitterly joked to Engels, 'Whatever happens, I hope the bourgeoisie, as long as they exist, will have cause to remember my carbuncles.' Conclusion Marx's personal life, thus, was a microcosm of the ideology he birthed: violent rhetoric, personal manipulation, moral inconsistency, and relentless exploitation. He drained family and friends, lived in squalor while railing against bourgeois hypocrisy, and kept his own daughters under the very constraints he claimed to despise. Understanding communism requires looking squarely at Marx himself. In him, we find the violent, exploitative, self-centred tendencies that would, under Lenin, Stalin, and Mao, erupt into horrors on a global scale. The real Marx wasn't the philosopher-saint he has been made out to be. He was everything but saintly and philosophical. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Senior German politician expects more talks in EU tariff dispute with Trump
A senior German politician said on Sunday (July 13, 2025) that the European Union and Washington could negotiate further and postpone higher import duties after U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up the trade war by threatening a hike in tariffs on the bloc. "The negotiating poker game between the EU and the U.S. is entering its decisive phase," Juergen Hardt, deputy leader of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, told Reuters. Also Read | India revises proposed retaliatory duties against U.S. over steel, aluminium tariffs: WTO "I'm betting that at least a partial agreement and a further postponement will be reached before August 1. After all, high tariffs have to be paid by American citizens and companies and lead to higher prices and inflation in the U.S.," he said. Mr. Trump on Saturday (July 12) threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the EU from August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. He originally imposed a duty of 20% on EU goods in April, but this later was suspended for 90 days and replaced with a baseline tariff of 10%. Last week he pushed back the deadline for negotiations to August 1. This was separate from sector tariffs covering steel, aluminium and car imports from the EU to the U.S. Europe has to dissuade Trump from his "mistaken belief" that the U.S. trade deficit is caused by protectionist measures by the EU, Hardt said. The U.S. has a surplus in services due to the dominance of its IT sector, he said, which helped offset the trade deficit to large extent. "Americans are so much wealthier than other nations that they can afford to make the rest of the world work for them in an economic sense," Hardt said. "Fewer imports mean that the USA would have to work more and harder to maintain its prosperity. Whether this is the fervent wish of the American people remains questionable."
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Indian Express
Birkenstock lawsuit: craft and commerce of India's knockoff market
At Agra's bustling Sardar Bazaar or Delhi's Palika Bazaar, it's not unusual to find a pair of open-toe leather sandals selling for Rs 1,000. They look strikingly similar to the signature sandals made by Birkenstock, the German footwear brand, whose retail price in India is in the Rs 5,000-Rs20,000 range. This everyday sight recently became central to a high-profile intellectual property dispute when Birkenstock took legal action against some Indian manufacturers for allegedly producing and selling counterfeit versions of their signature sandals. What happened? In May, Birkenstock filed a civil lawsuit in Delhi High Court against four traders, four factories, and two individuals based in Agra and Delhi, accusing them of manufacturing and distributing footwear that closely resembled Birkenstock's registered designs. Following the complaint, the court appointed local commissioners to conduct raids at the identified premises, during which large consignments of counterfeit sandals were seized. The court also issued temporary injunctions restraining the accused parties from producing or selling footwear bearing Birkenstock's trademarks or design likeness. The case is scheduled for its next hearing on October 6. Birkenstock sandals are known for their cork footbeds and minimalist design, providing comfort and durability. They gained more pop culture currency after actor Margot Robbie wore a pair in the pupular 2023 movie Barbie. The 'first copy' business in India India's role as both a manufacturing hub and consumer market for counterfeit fashion goods has long posed challenges for global brands. From luxury handbags to sportswear and footwear, 'first copies' or 'dupes' are readily available across informal markets and increasingly on online platforms. A significant portion of India's population harbours a strong desire to emulate global fashion trends and own branded goods. However, India is also a highly price-sensitive market, and when a 'first copy' offers a nearly identical aesthetic of a luxury product for a fraction of the price, there is a ready demand for it. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in a 2022 report prepared in collaboration with the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), identified India as a key origin country for counterfeit goods traded globally, alongside China, Turkey, and the UAE. According to a 2022 study by CRISIL and the Authentication Solution Providers' Association (ASPA), as many as 31% of Indian consumers admitted to knowingly purchasing counterfeit products, with apparel and footwear being the most common categories. The same report has also estimated that counterfeit goods make up about 25-30 per cent of India's retail market. The country's informal retail sector, characterised by busy street markets and small shops, provides a highly effective and widespread distribution network for these goods. The digital age has added a new dimension, with e-commerce platforms and social media (especially Instagram and Whatsapp) becoming major channels for selling counterfeits. Terms like 'AAA' quality or 'first copy' are used to market these items, leveraging influencers to promote them without explicitly using copyrighted terms. The artisan and the market Seen along with another footwear controversy in India recently — Prada using Kolhapuri sandals' design, initially without credit — the trend points to a unique problem facing India's artisans. India's traditional centers, like Agra for leather goods or various textile hubs, have a long history of craftsmanship. Their infrastructure and skilled labour are often leveraged by market forces to produce lookalike products, sometimes for local consumption and sometimes for export. Also, while big brands like Birkenstock have the resources to pursue legal remedies, small artisan communities like those involved in the Kolhapuri chappal trade have historically struggled to protect their work on international platforms. The law, and the limits of protection Under Indian law, brands can protect their products through the Trademarks Act, 1999, and the Designs Act, 2000. These allow the right for legal action, court injunctions, and the seizure of counterfeit stock.
