Engels, Frederick
Engels, Frederick
Co-founder of the doctrines of Marxism (see Dialectical materialism) Engels was the life-long friend and collaborator of Karl Marx (q.v.). He was born at Barmen, Germanv, in 1820, the son of a manufacturer. Like Marx, he became interested in communism early in life, developing and applying its doctrines until his death, August 5, 1895. Beside his collaboration with Marx on Die Heilige Familie, Die Deutsche Ideologie, Manifesto of the Communist Party, Anti-Dhring and articles for the “New York Tribune” (a selection from which constitutes “Germanyrevolution and counter-revolution”), and his editing of Volumes II and III of Capital, published after Marx’s death, Engels wrote extensively on various subjects, from “Condition of the Working Class in England (1844)” to military problems, in which field he had received technical training. On the philosophical side of Marxism, Engels speculated on fundamental questions of scientific methodology and dialectical logic in such books as Dialectics of Nature and Anti-Dhring. Works like Ludwig Feuerbach and the Outcome of Classical German Philosophy and Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State are likewise regarded as basic texts. The most extensive collection of Engels’ works will be found in Marx-Engels “Gesamtausgabe”, to which there is still much unpublished material to be added. — J.M.S.