10 Little-Known Facts of Karl Marx No One Talks About

How much do you really know about Karl Marx? Although he is a famous character of which we all have certain knowledge, there are also many details of his life that you probably don’t know.

He’s one of the most controversial figures in history. His ideas have been proven wrong time and time again – but people still can’t seem to stop talking about him. Indeed, Marxism became a religion for millions of people who died for their beliefs in this ideology. 

However, we know very little about his personal life. So, we will explore 10 little-known facts about Karl Marx that no one talks about… And that you probably didn’t know either!

Karl Marx had an illegitimate child with his maid

Marx was a complex and flawed individual, as evidenced by his relationship with his maid, Helena Demuth. The couple had an affair that resulted in the birth of an illegitimate child, Frederick Demuth. The problem is that Marx was married to Jenny von Westphalen (a German aristocrat) since 1843. They had seven children together (but only three of whom survived to adulthood).

Since this affair with Helena could bring serious repercussions to Marx’s reputation, he refused to acknowledge his illegitimate son – and gave him to his friend, Engels, to take him as his own. It was only after Marx died that this story became known in one of his letters where he acknowledged the fact.

He was described as a filthy man

_{Karl Marx (Colored). Public domain}

Marx was known for his personal hygiene… or lack thereof. He was described by his friends as a filthy man due to his unkempt appearance, poor personal hygiene, and wearing the same clothes for days – and he even thought that bathing was a bourgeois habit.

Although his hygiene habits didn’t really hurt his career as a writer and philosopher, they did remain an anecdote for history.

Karl Marx had a rather negative opinion of Jews

In his university days, he developed an overly critical way of thinking and he became highly critical of Judaism. He believed that Jews were responsible for many of the problems associated with capitalism. 

In Marx’s view, Jews were greedy and exploitative and their religion was an obstacle to social progress. He was a fierce critic of capitalism, and he believed that the working class deserved to overthrow the rich and powerful… And the Jews represented what he hated the most: capitalism and religion!

Marx was too racist by today’s standards

Karl Marx was a man of his time and his views on race were very much in line with the prevailing attitudes of the Victorian era.

Marx held some deeply harmful views about Jewish and black people. Actually, he thought black people were an inferior race – and his thoughts on Mexicans weren’t that different. He assumed that Mexicans were lazy by nature and incapable of managing land, and that black people had a different skull that made them less skilled and that they belong to the animal kingdom.

His grave is a place of pilgrimage

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His grave in London’s Highgate Cemetery is a place of pilgrimage for admirers from all over the world. Today, visitors to Marx’s grave can see his statue, which was erected in 1956, and pay their respects at his final resting place. For many, it is a moving experience to stand at the Grave of Karl Marx and reflect on his legacy.

Marx lived in London for the last years of his life escaping from persecution in his Prussian homeland where he had been militating in extremist movements to overthrow the state. He was a member of a number of extremist groups, and this militancy brought him many problems throughout his life.

_{Photo by Leon Huang}

The biggest irony is that the working class must pay to see their hero – and it is a tourist attraction rather than a site to be honored.

He consumed more alcohol than he should have

Marx was known for his unconventional habits – and he used to consume more alcohol than was probably wise!

In his college years, he was notorious for frequenting taverns and drinking far too much, squandering his father’s fortune on gambling and drinking. In fact, Marx’s alcoholism probably didn’t help to look after his fragile health which led to his premature death at the age of 64. 

He was also a heavy smoker and a skin disease troubled him, decreasing his overall well-being. All these factors caused his health to deteriorate more and more until his death in 1883.

While Marx’s personal life was far from perfect with a little more care about his health, he could have had a much longer life and happier life. 

Marx depended on Engels for his livelihood – and he was really poor!

Despite his importance as a thinker, Marx was not a particularly successful man during his lifetime. He depended on his friend and collaborator Friedrich Engels for financial support – and he died in poverty!

Marx’s ideas about capitalism and class conflict were developed in collaboration with his lifelong friend, Friedrich Engels… But, Engels was a successful businessman while Marx was only a thinker.

_{Photo by wal_172619 from Pixabay}

So, it was Engels who actually had the financial means to support Marx and his family. Without Engels’ help, Marx would have been unable to continue his work on The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital… And no doubt that the 50 pounds a year Engels provided to Marx made a big difference.

He was in very poor health

As many of Karl Marx’s biographers have noted, his health was always poor. He suffered from a chronic skin disease, and this condition caused him a great deal of pain throughout his life. In addition, Marx was prone to respiratory problems and he suffered from chest infections. 

In the later years of his life, Marx’s health deteriorated further and became increasingly frail.  He often spent long periods recuperating in bed and it had a significant impact on his productivity as he was often unable to work on his writing projects for extended periods of time. 

By the time of his death in 1883, Marx was barely able to walk and was plagued by a host of ailments, including a severe depression that completely destroyed his physical and mental well-being.

Given the state of his health, it is perhaps not surprising that Marx only lived to the age of 64 and then died of bronchitis, although because of his fragile state any other disease would have killed him anyway.

Karl Marx was always unemployed

Marx was employed for much of his life. He worked as a journalist, a professor – and even as a government official. But, Marx’s employment was often unstable and he often found himself out of work. 

This is not surprising given Marx’s radical views. It is believed that he did not look favorably on his exploitative employers and that this caused him difficulties in his jobs. His vision of a communist society was diametrically opposed to the capitalist status quo and his writing was often critical of those in power. 

As a result, Marx struggled to find steady work and without Engels’ support, he would have died much earlier.

Marx died as a stateless man

Very few people know that Marx was a man without a state and that he was persecuted throughout Prussia. He was a militant in various movements that sought to change the government and establish a communist regime. Marx, in protest, gave up his Prussian nationality in December 1845. From this moment on, Marx would live most of his life in exile. 

In his later years, he didn’t hold citizenship in any country. This may seem like a minor detail, but it points to a larger truth about Marx: he was not interested in allegiance to any particular state. Instead, he saw himself as a cosmopolitan thinker, more concerned with the ideals of internationalism than with nationalism. 

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_{Featured image: Image par Armin Forster de Pixabay}