Karl Marx: A short biography

W. Cleon Skousen, in his book, “The Naked Communist”, paints a picture of a chilly, foggy day in 1853, when a British official stood in the rain before a hovel in London's slums. After knocking, he entered a smoke-filled room that made him cough and his eyes water. He was greeted by a barrel-chested man with dishevelled hair and a bushy beard, who spoke in a strong German accent, offered a clay pipe, and motioned him to a broken chair.

This man, Dr. Karl Marx, was a political fugitive, expelled from Germany, France, and Belgium. Now residing in England, Marx had found a base for his revolutionary work. Despite his surroundings, Marx was a university graduate with a Ph.D., and his wife was the daughter of a German aristocrat.

The officer's visit was routine, part of the British government's checks on political exiles. He found the Marxes strange but engaging, their lively conversations contrasting with the chaotic, untidy environment. In his report, the officer noted Marx's home in one of London’s worst neighbourhoods, where everything was broken and covered in dust. Yet, Marx and his wife were unembarrassed, offering warm hospitality and thoughtful conversation that compensated for their domestic disarray.

Thus, we meet one of the most dramatic figures of the nineteenth century, whose influence would grow even greater after his death. Biographers would struggle with the contradictions in Marx’s personality, calling him both a genius and a contentious, combative man, driven by turbulent forces that shaped his revolutionary life.