Prometheus
is a deity in Greek mythology. The legend says he was very wise. He once stole
fire from Zeus, the king of the gods, and taught mankind how to use it. Zeus
became so angry that he tied Prometheus to a hill. He sent an eagle to punish
him.
This eagle would tear Prometheus' belly
and eat his liver. But this wound of Prometheus would heal again. The eagle
would wound again, remove the liver and then eat.
Prometheus
was in pain all the time. But Heracles, the hero of Greek mythology, rescued
him. He is also called Hercules in Roman
mythology. He saved Prometheus from this torture. In this story, Prometheus
suffered a lot of pain. But he never
once apologized to the gods for helping humans. That is why Prometheus became a
symbol of humanity, resistance, and adherence to one's principles.
This
hero of Greek mythology was the ideal of a great philosopher. Just as Prometheus
challenged other gods, this philosopher challenged the earthly gods of the
time. He tried to show the way of salvation to the poor. Like Prometheus, he suffered a lifetime of
pain. He also went through exile,
imprisonment, the deaths of his children, and the torments of poverty. But he never regretted them all his life.
Instead, he fought for the revolution.
This great philosopher is known to the world today as 'Karl Marx'. Karl Marx opened his eyes on May 5, 1818, in a
three-story house on a narrow street inside the city. When Karl Marx was born,
Europe was in the grip of revolutionary sentiments. People in Europe wanted revolution. This revolutionary fervor spread because of an
event. This event took place 29 years before Marx's birth.
A great revolution had taken place in Germany's neighbor France. The revolution overthrew the Bourbon royal
family that had ruled France for centuries. The revolution also ended the
monopoly of the religious elite in France. This group had collaborated with the royal
family to exploit the people for centuries. The whole of Europe was affected by this
change. This revolution impressed the
people of Europe. They also wanted political changes in their own countries
like France.
Kings
of the European countries were also worried. They noticed that nobody could stop the
killing of French King Louis XVI. They were afraid that they might face the same
punishment. They were right in their
thoughts. The French revolutionaries had
indeed beheaded King Louis XVI and his wife. This was the atmosphere in Europe in which the
people of European countries had started various movements.
These
movements opposed the kings and the elite classes of Europe. A large number of Europeans, especially the
working class in factories had joined these movements. These people were fighting for their rights. They
were challenging the authority of the monarchy and the church. They demanded
representation in the assemblies. They
also demanded the government of lift the ban on media and complete freedom of
speech and writing.
The
people wanted to limit the authority of the Kings. They demanded to involve
people in political decisions. In other words, the 19th century was actually
the century of the evolution of democracy and liberalism in Europe. So that was
the atmosphere of the revolution in Europe in those days in which Karl Marx was
born and grew up. It was the effect of the revolutionary atmosphere that made
Karl Marx a revolutionary philosopher.
Marx's
family background also played an important role in his revolutionary training. Marx's
family was ethnically Jewish and had lived in Trier for a long time. Marx’s
ancestors were the rabbis of the Jews, and that was their profession. But
Marx's father left the family profession to pursue a career in law. He was a brilliant
lawyer and he became quite wealthy. He
also had good relations with the upper classes of Germany.
At that time, it was common throughout Europe to hate and discriminate against
Jews. They made special laws against
Jews to degrade them. In 1815, Marx's
parents also faced this discrimination. The state of Prussia ruled over
Rhineland and Trier. Prussia made a controversial law against Jews. This
law banned the Jews from the German high society. This law was a big hurdle in the progress of
Jews.
Because
of this law, Karl Marx's parents now had only two options. They could leave the
country or convert to Christianity So that the restrictions imposed on them
could be lifted. Karl Marx's father Heinrich chose the 2nd option. He converted
to Christianity. But he did not follow Catholicism. Instead, He became a
protestant Christian. This was because
he believed that the Protestants were more liberal than the Catholics.
Although
the Catholic sect was in the majority in Rhineland and Trier. The protestant
population was very small. But Marx's
father considered it appropriate to adopt the Protestant sect. Despite his
conversion, their Jewish background always troubled them. The German society still did not like them. Thus, from an early age, Marx developed a
rebellious attitude against religious discrimination.
In
addition to this religious discrimination, Marx inherited revolutionary ideas
from his father. Because his father was also influenced by the French Revolution.
He was struggling for a peaceful democratic revolution. He also joined few
revolutionary organizations and participated in their activities regularly. Marx's
father also had a library at home. He
stored books of Rousseau, John Locke, and many other great philosophers in his
library.
In
the same library, Karl Marx studied the Greek and Roman mythologies. Probably here he also read the story of
Prometheus. This story developed a
passion in him to serve humanity. So
Karl Marx developed his revolutionary thoughts at home. Although he was more naughty than a
revolutionary as a child. He used to annoy his sisters very much. He would ride
on their shoulders and force them to run. He made mud cakes and asked his
sisters to eat them.
Karl
Marx's parents did not enroll him in school until the age of 12. They taught him at home. But when he started
going to school at the age of 12, he realized something new. He noticed that the world was a harder place
than his upper-middle-class home. Then, as he grew up, he was sad to see the
plight of the poor on the streets. At
that time, industrialization had begun all over Europe. But there was little
industry in Trier.
The
region's economy was still based on agriculture. There were large vineyards
around the city, and most people worked in those orchards. The city lagged far
behind other German cities in development. That is why poverty and unemployment
were a bit higher here than elsewhere. There were even beggars and prostitutes
in the city. One-fourth of the city's population was forced to become beggars.
The
people of Trier wanted to get out of this poverty, but there was a problem. The government and the capitalist upper class
had become an obstacle to their development. The government was raising taxes
on the poor. While the rich, who owned
these gardens, were unwilling to pay them well. As a result, the income of the poor was
declining and inflation was rising. Common people were getting poorer and the
rich were getting richer.
Such
a great injustice in the distribution of wealth disturbed Karl Marx. Another thing that Karl Marx noted in his city
was more important than the unfair distribution of wealth. He felt that the
poor people were anxious to get rid of the slavery of the rich class. They were
also struggling for it. The city of Trier was very close to France and was
greatly influenced by the French Revolution. That is why many small
revolutionary organizations were active there.
But
these organizations were afraid of the government. So they worked in secret. Because this was a time in Europe when it was
a crime to talk about democracy and raise objections to the monarchy. Those who
did so were branded as rebels of the state and arrested. That's why the workers and students formed
their own secret organizations. These revolutionaries wanted political change
in the country. Two ideologies, socialism, and anarchism were also gaining
popularity in Europe.
Supporters
of the socialist ideology wanted a government that protected workers' rights. Anarchists
said that the state was unnecessary. They
thought that no one should rule over humans. They wanted to let all human beings live
freely. So these two ideologies were becoming popular in those days. The
government kept a close eye on all those who wanted revolution. Educational
institutions and offices were closely monitored.
Police
raided secret meetings of the unions and arrested students, teachers, and other
revolutionaries. Police also confiscated
all the anti-government literature during these raids. The religious class was also supporting the
monarchy. The church preached against
the revolution and taught the people to obey the king and the church. The
city's archbishop delivered strong speeches against socialist philosophers such
as St. Simon He preached to people to stay away from St. Simon's philosophy.
But
in spite of the king's oppression and the clergy's sermon, revolutionary ideas
were slowly spreading in the city. When Marx set foot in school, he also
experienced this revolutionary situation. The school principal, most of the teachers,
and the students also supported revolutionary ideas. That is why this school was also included in
the list of secret police and people in plain clothes monitored it.
Police
also raided the school and arrested students and teachers. But in school life,
Karl Marx never took part in revolutionary activities. His revolutionary ideas
appeared when he went to study law and philosophy at the University of Bonn. It
was here that his rebellious attitude was disclosed. He also spent some time in
a jail. 17-year-old Karl Marx at the University of Bonn had changed a lot.
He
had become accustomed to drinking alcohol, squandering his parents' earnings,
and borrowing money from friends. He formed a gang of drunkards, the Tavern
Club. Karl Marx was the co-president of this gang and this gang was notorious
for spreading chaos and fighting. Once Karl Marx was caught red-handed. He was
drunk and making noise at the university. Bonn University had set aside a small one-room
jail to punish drunken students.
The
student who was to be punished was locked in this room for 24 hours. The
University authorities locked up Marx in this room. But Karl Marx's friends, somehow, joined him
in the room. They all played cards and
drank beer all night. The authorities release him after 24 hours. But he didn't
change his attitude. While in Bonn, he
also missed Trier because his red-haired, green-eyed friend Jenny lived there.
Marx
loved Jenny since his childhood. He also wrote poems for her. He also promised to marry Jenny. But then Marx
suddenly stopped writing and took up arms. Marx joined a revolutionary organization at
the University of Bonn. There were many student organizations in the
university. Some of them were
pro-revolution and some were anti-revolution. The largest and the most powerful
anti-revolution organization was Borussia Corps.
The
students of this organization used to attack the supporters of the revolution. They
also targeted Karl Marx and his organization. So Marx kept a pistol with him
for self-defense. He also instructed his
fellow students to keep weapons. He
asked them to use these weapons for self-defense. There is a less popular incident that took
place in the university during this time. A student from Borussia Corps challenged Marx
to a duel.
Dueling
was a tradition in Europe. Arch-rivals
challenged each other in this way. Only one person could survive in these
duels. People used pistols or swords in
duels. You must have watched such duels
in Western movies. In these duels, 2
people stood with their backs to each other and guns in their hands. So Karl Marx's duel was also a sword fight. Marx's
life was in danger because his opponent was a trained person.
Marx
participated in this duel, but luckily, nobody was hurt. Karl Marx suffered a wound to his left eye,
but the people intervened and ended the fight. So Karl Marx was lucky to survive. But when the news of this duel reached Marx's
father, he was shocked. He wrote an
angry letter. In the letter, he objected to the duel. He also asked if the duel
had any relation with the philosophy. He
ordered Marx to stay away from such follies.
He
warned such events could be fatal for Marx and his parents. Marx ignored his father's advice. He continued
his activities as before. Marx once visited the city of Cologne. He also took
his pistol with him. Police in the city recovered that pistol from him. The pistol was illegal and so Marx was in
trouble. Police arrested Marx and
brought him to court. There was a chance that Marx would be jailed for a long
time.
This
imprisonment could end all his revolutionary plans. But it was Marx's father
who rescued him again. Marx's father was a successful lawyer and he had
relations with government officials. So
when Heinrich Marx learned that his son was arrested, he took immediate action.
He gathered information about the judge who was hearing Marx's case. He then wrote a letter to the judge with his
introduction.
He
asked the judge to pardon Marx's crime. The judge accepted this apology and did
not proceed with the case. Thus, once
again, Karl Marx's life and time were saved. The first year of young Karl Marx
at the University of Bonn was very troubling for his family. His father frequently received complaints
about him from the university. Marx's
father did not like Marx's friends at the University of Bonn.
He
thought Marx's friends would destroy his life. So he made a difficult decision to remove Marx
from the University of Bonn. He decided
to send him to Berlin, the current capital of Germany. Through Heinrich's
efforts, Marx was transferred from the University of Bonn to the University of
Berlin. He began to study law and philosophy at the University of Berlin. In
Berlin, Marx left his old habit of making noise and fights.
Now
his revolutionary sense was fully developed. Now he was beyond the age of a young
trouble-maker and wanted to do something big. He wanted to form a system that
would benefit all of humanity. But many issues about this idea were still
unsolved. The 1st question before him
was how to determine the role of religion and God within human society. The 2nd question was how to challenge the censorship restrictions imposed on the media
or newspapers in Germany. And then how to establish a free press, a free media?
The 3rd question: what should be the role of the working class in an ideal
society? It means that where the working class sands in a society? Along with these 3 questions, there was also
the 4th and final question. 4th
question: What profession would he take up after leaving the university?
Because
just reading philosophy was not enough for life. His father had also died in the last days of
his education. Now his mother was facing the financial burden alone. She was waiting for the day when Karl Marx
would finish his studies and earn money for her. Karl Marx had also promised to marry his girlfriend
Jenny. Jenny's father had announced his terms for the marriage. He asked Marx to complete his study before
marriage.
In
this way, all the channels of life stood together in front of the young Karl
Marx. He had to complete his studies, while he was an average student. He wanted to find a job but he was against
capitalism.
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