The Life, Work and Legacy of Friedrich Engels: Emerging from Marxs Shadow

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As the author of The Condition of the Working Class in England and, along with Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto, Friedrich Engels is a seminal 19th-century figure; the co-founder of Marxism, he left an indelible impression as a philosopher, political theorist, economist, historian and revolutionary socialist. The Life, Work and Legacy of Friedrich Engels is nevertheless the first book to comprehensively explore Engels contributions in all of these spheres. The book sees 13 experts from a range of scholarly backgrounds examine Engels and his writing in relation to topics including the United States and the future of capitalism, European social democracy and the nature of the political economy, with technology, capital, and labor acting as fundamental cross-cutting themes throughout. The volume analyses the intriguing relationship between Engels and Karl Marx, the towering historical figure whose long shadow has obscured the achievements of Engels for so long, and reassesses Engels significance in this context. There are 66 images to be found throughout the text, 30 of these in colour, as well as a conclusion which successfully views Engels in the context of the age. As a journalist, author and communist figurehead, Engels dealt succinctly and with strong opinions with the core questions of the developments changing the globe in the 19th century and The Life, Work and Legacy of Friedrich Engels finally shines a light on this in a compelling call for revisionism.

Reviews

An engaging work that will alter your perception of the nature of Marxism, and one of its founding fathers. * Roger Spalding, Senior Lecturer in History, Edge Hill University, UK *
Long understood as a friend and disciple of Karl Marx, this collection of essays on Friedrich Engels presents him as a thinker in his own right. Whether considering his views on economics, technology, and the labor process, his ideas about naval warfare or politics in Austria or the United States, the book portrays Engels in the context of 19th century developments and considers the significance of his life and thought for contemporary conditions. * Jonathan Sperber, Emeritus Curators' Distinguished Professor of History, University of Missouri, USA *
This volume is an indispensable compendium of the latest research on the life and thought of Friedrich Engels and reinforces the new scholarly consensus on his vital importance to Marxs work and to 19th century socialism. Every student of capitalism needs to know these essays. * Kenneth Ledford, Associate Professor of History and Law, Case Western Reserve University, USA *

Author Bio

Eberhard Illner is a historian and archivist who worked at the Federal Archives Koblenz, Germany. He was Director of the Engels-Haus Museum in Wuppertal, Germany from 2008 until his retirement in 2018. Hans A. Frambach is Professor of Economics at the University of Wuppertal, Germany. Norbert Koubek is Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Economic Sciences and the Schumpeter School of Business and Economics at the University of Wuppertal, Germany.