Friedrich Engels

Alongside Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) was one of the founding fathers of scientific socialism. His collaboration with Marx was far from one-sided. Although Marxism bears the name of Marx, we should never forget the vital contribution made by Engels. Without a doubt, Engels possessed an encyclopaedic mind that encompassed a knowledge of such diverse fields as philosophy, economics, history, physics, philology and military science.

All too often, Engels is seen as playing a subsidiary role to Marx. While Marx was a titan in every possible way, Engels was key in this relationship too. Always extremely modest, Engels would defer to Marx. But when we read the voluminous correspondence between the two men, Engels’ own outstanding contribution is unmissable. Together with Marx he was a political giant.