
		The Communist Manifesto The Civil War in France Quotations	Introduction Glossary

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About ... Marx & Marxism

Introduction by

For half a century, Karl Marx has been blamed for every atrocity and stupidity enacted in the name of "communism". If you think about it, that is no different to blaming Jesus Christ for the Spanish Inquisition; after all, the Inquisition claimed total unquestioning Christianity, as have many tyrants, war mongers and fools for some 2000 years. No intelligent person would let them influence our view of Christianity; why let such dregs of humanity dictate our view of Karl Marx - or anyone else?

It is time to look at what Marx actually did say, rather than the ramblings of second rate journalists and third rate academics. Just as seeing Groucho Marx in those wonderful films beats any second hand account, so reading Karl Marx beats reading the 'Readers Digest' type of rewriting.

The text is not easy to read; it was written over 100 years ago, and Marx was an academic himself; not a worker and certainly not a Marxist.

The Manifesto

Marx and Engels wrote The Manifesto for ordinary people - for that reason, I have not included the various prefaces and introductions. Read the basic text first. This page has been designed to be readable; the Manifesto has been divided into its four parts, with a page for each, to ease downloading.
The add-ons are important; Marx and Engels 'fine tuned' their writings in prefaces and later editions. These texts are available on many websites.

The Paris Commune

The Paris Commune was a significant event in history, and a key event for Marx and Marxism. Marx saw the Commune as an attempt to put his theories into practice; the fact that it failed did not prevent him from learning from their experience. Marx's commentary on the Commune was published as The Civil War in France, and was Marx's third address to the General Council of the International Working Men's Association on the Franco-Prussian War. It was delivered on 30 May 1871, immediately after the fall of the commune.

Marx Now! is not for academics, it's for real people.
Marx Now! aims for accuracy, clear presentation and simplicity.
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