Karl Marx was quite an interesting man. I initially was in love with his ideas. His passion for equality and desire for change now rather than later all struck a cord with me. Even his belief that capitalism was inherently corrupt drew me toward this German thinker. I eventually became obsessed with his works, and I would even describe myself as a socialist. That was until I went to his house in Trier. I believed Marx was a man of principle. A man who would only do what was just and never have someone else do the work for him. I thought that’s why he believed in equality for all. Sadly this was just not the case. He might be the biggest hypocrites in the history of the world. He spoke about the struggle of the ordinary man and how one has to fight day in and day out just to survive. Yet, he and his family lived off of his good friend and cowriter Engels. He never had to deal with the real issue of poverty and neither did he work to get out of his current situation. He was a man who would live well beyond his means and expect someone to pick up the tab. Consequently, playing right into the criticism of every capitalist to ever exist. Being able to go to his house allowed me to understand Marx better and helped realize he wasn’t perfect. Although he was a brilliant thinker, he was indeed and idealist. He was a man who saw the world for what it could be rather than what it was. He believed in a world where men always chose right and would continually push for progress instead of self-destruction. Without this experience, I would have never understood the nuances to Marx let alone Marxism.
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