Karl Marx

Karl Marx, 1818-1883

Karl Marx can be considered a great philosopher, social scientist, historian or revolutionary. Born in Germany, he later became stateless and spent much of his life in London in the United Kingdom. His father was a lawyer who came from a long line of Rabbis, but had changed his faith to Protestantism in order to keep his job. Karl Marx went to the University of Bonn to study law when he was 17 years old. Here he became engaged to Jenny von Westphalen, whose father, Baron von Westphalen, influenced Marx to read Romantic literature and Saint-Simonian politics.

Marx proposed what is known as the conflict theory.  The conflict theory looks at how certain social interactions occur through conflict. People engage in conflict everyday to gain more power than others in society. Karl Marx is known for studying the conflicts that occur between different classes. Karl Marx has introduced some radical ideas and theories to society through his writings.