My readings on the life of Karl Marx have yielded both examples
of and contrasts to a surprising number of recent class themes:
PARTICIPATION>CONTENT
CREATION
The manner in which Marx discovered, refined, and
subsequently disseminated his opinions and ideas reflects several primary mediums
for the flow of ideas during the 19th century.
Marx was a prolific writer. His longer treatises (such as Capital and The Communist Manifesto) were many years in the works, and he
was known to ignore publishers’ deadlines. He also wrote shorter articles for French
and German periodicals, in addition to contributing material to the New York Tribune.
Newspapers could perhaps be called the “blogs” of the period. Editors heavily influenced a paper’s content and political slant; circulation (or the government) most often determined their lifespan.
INFORMATION>CONNECTIVITY
>DIGITAL DIVIDE
Universities were
centers of thought and seed beds for new ideologies, but only for those with
the necessary funds. Marx was heavily influenced by the philosophy of Professor
G.W.F. Hegel (more on this philosophy in an upcoming post). The professor died a
few years before Marx transferred to his school, the University of Berlin, but Karl
joined the ranks of the “New Hegelians” on campus.
PARTICIPATION>SOCIAL
NETWORKING
Social (though not
google+) circles and beliefs were deeply intertwined. Marx was influenced
by his future father-in-law, the Baron von Westphalen from a young age (they
were neighbors). The views on utopian socialism Karl picked up from the Baron
were tempered by his father, Heinrich Marx. Later, social circles in Paris,
Brussels, and England contributed to the refinement of Karl’s ideas. Marx made
the acquaintance of Friedrich Engels, one of his chief collaborators, in these
circles.
Social Proof
existed even during the 19th century, as evidenced by the inclusion
of some Marx’s writings in “a series of pamphlets on ‘Leaders in Modern Thought’” (Singer).
In addition, “Marx and Engels
kept up a correspondence with revolutionaries throughout Europe who shared their
views” (Singer).
CONTROL>DISRUPTION>CENSORSHIP
The Prussian Monarchy didn’t like Marx’s ideas, and censored
at least one of the publications he edited while in Germany, the Rheinische Zeitung (the Rhenish Gazette).
They eventually forced him from the country. He took another (short-lived)
editing post in Paris, but the French government yielded to pressure from the Purssian monarchs and Marx was again obligated to flee, this time to Brussels.
PARTICIPATION>COLLABORATION
Marx helped organize two early forums for Communist thought:
the Communist Correspondence Committee, and The International Workingmen’s Association also
known as “First International.” Marx was head of this second forum, and when members started to differ
from his views, Karl effectively dissolved the organization by moving its
headquarters to New York, out of feasible communication range for its European
members.
CONTROL>IDENTITY>REPUTATION
Education and the
value of a degree
Following the death of his father, Marx realized he couldn’t
remain at university indefinitely, and submitted his doctoral thesis to the
University of Jena instead of the University of Berlin (which had much stricter
standards). As Buchholz states, the University of Jena was “a noted diploma
mill.”
One of the great benefits of studying history through the lens of digital and social media is the validation of “our” digital concepts. We find that while there are some new means and mediums, the base concepts are in fact iterative in nature and have evolved throughout history.
