One of the most influential (1) in modern history, this individual was born in Trier, in what is now Germany, in 1818. They studied philosophy and law before turning to journalism and political writing, a path that would see them (2) from several countries before eventually settling in London.
Working in poverty for much of their adult life, supported largely by a close friend and (3) who provided financial assistance for decades, they spent years in the reading room of the British Museum developing a comprehensive analysis of how (4) worked and why, in their view, it was destined to collapse.
Their central argument was that history was driven by class (5), and that the capitalist system, by concentrating wealth in the hands of a small owning class while paying workers only enough to survive, contained the seeds of its own (6). The workers of the world, they argued, would eventually rise up and replace capitalism with a system based on common (7).
Their ideas, developed across several major works, became the foundation of communist and (8) movements across the world. Revolutions carried out in their name in the 20th century produced regimes that often bore little (9) to what they had actually written.
They died in London in 1883, largely (10) outside radical political circles. Within a generation, however, their name had become one of the most debated in the world.
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One of the most influential (1) philosophers in modern history, this individual was born in Trier, in what is now Germany, in 1818. They studied philosophy and law before turning to journalism and political writing, a path that would see them (2) expelled from several countries before eventually settling in London.
Working in poverty for much of their adult life, supported largely by a close friend and (3) collaborator who provided financial assistance for decades, they spent years in the reading room of the British Museum developing a comprehensive analysis of how (4) capitalism worked and why, in their view, it was destined to collapse.
Their central argument was that history was driven by class (5) struggle, and that the capitalist system, by concentrating wealth in the hands of a small owning class while paying workers only enough to survive, contained the seeds of its own (6) destruction. The workers of the world, they argued, would eventually rise up and replace capitalism with a system based on common (7) ownership.
Their ideas, developed across several major works, became the foundation of communist and (8) socialist movements across the world. Revolutions carried out in their name in the 20th century produced regimes that often bore little (9) resemblance to what they had actually written.
They died in London in 1883, largely (10) unknown outside radical political circles. Within a generation, however, their name had become one of the most debated in the world.
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This individual argued that capitalism contained the seeds of its own destruction. Do you think the capitalist system has proved more resilient than they predicted, or are the tensions they identified still present today?
They were expelled from several countries for their political writing. Do you think governments today are more or less tolerant of radical political ideas than they were in the 19th century?
Revolutions carried out in their name produced regimes that bore little resemblance to what they had written. Do you think thinkers are responsible for how their ideas are used by others?
They spent years in the reading room of the British Museum developing their ideas. Do you think the conditions in which a thinker works have a significant effect on what they produce?
They died largely unknown, yet within a generation their name had become one of the most debated in the world. Do you think it is possible to predict which ideas will have the greatest long-term impact?
