Marx as a Migrant – A digital narrative

Karl Marx lived a long life as a migrant. Fleeing from the Prussian state, censorship and possible arrest, important stops on his journey were Paris, Brussels and London. These cities shaped his political activities, his engagement with political fellow-travellers, as well as his intellectual development and thus his entire work.

At the click of a mouse, you can follow Marx as a migrant from city to city. You can not only immerse yourself in his time, but also discover that even today, traces of his life and work continue to be seen in Paris, Brussels and London.

Each station takes about 45 minutes.

Contact: info@marx200.org

Marx as a Migrant

  • Brussels
  • Trip to Manchester

Six weeks in England

In the middle of July 1845, Marx travels with Engels to Manchester, where he plans to study the English economists whose writings are unavailable to him in Brussels. They spend days together in Chetham’s Library, the oldest public library in England.

Marx was particularly interested in the early British socialist Robert Owen, whose ideas on improving the working and living conditions for workers and whose views on trade unions and co-operatives could “capture the imagination of the broad masses”.

He was also captivated by the work of John Francis Bray, particularly his criticism of the contemporary economists and private property, and his views on a dominant ‘unequal exchange’ of values between capitalist and worker.