Religion is the opiate of the masses.
—Karl Marx
As in private life one differentiates between what a man thinks and says of himself and what he really is and does, so in historical struggles one must still more distinguish the language and the imaginary aspirations of parties from their real organism and their real interests, their conception of themselves from their reality.
—Karl Marx
Topics: Politics, Politicians
Fascism in power is the open, terroristic dictatorship of the most reactionary, the most chauvinistic, the most imperialistic elements of finance capitalism.
—Karl Marx
Nothing can have value without being an object of utility.
—Karl Marx
Topics: Values, Value
The writer may very well serve a movement of history as its mouthpiece, but he cannot of course create it.
—Karl Marx
Topics: Creativity, Art, Authors & Writing, Writers
Necessity is blind until it becomes conscious. Freedom is the consciousness of necessity.
—Karl Marx
Topics: Necessity
The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.
—Karl Marx
Topics: Unemployment, Work
The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.
—Karl Marx
Topics: Science, Philosophy
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.
—Karl Marx
Topics: History
The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism.
—Karl Marx
Topics: Absence
It is not “history” which uses men as a means of achieving — as if it were an individual person — its own ends. History is nothing but the activity of men in pursuit of their ends.
—Karl Marx
Topics: History
The development of civilization and industry in general has always shown itself so active in the destruction of forests that everything that has been done for their conservation and production is completely insignificant in comparison.
—Karl Marx
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Jacques Derrida French Philosopher, Literary Theorist
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel German Philosopher
Wilhelm Dilthey German Philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche German Philosopher, Scholar
Christopher Hitchens Anglo-American Social Critic
Jeremy Bentham British Philosopher, Economist
Karl Popper Austrian-born British Philosopher
Rosa Luxemburg German Socialist, Revolutionary
Arthur Schopenhauer German Philosopher
Zeno of Citium Greek Philosopher