Welcome back from winter recess, everyone. Hopefully you had an opportunity to catch up on some great reading. The new year inevitably brings in a batch of historical biographies, and in my next two reviews I examine new biopics on two important figures: Karl Marx, the founder of one of the most influential socio−economic−political movements of the 20th century, and George Kennan, arguably the greatest grand strategist of the American Cold War.
The recent economic recession has demonstrated the weaknesses of both capitalism and socialism, as American businesses struggle to recover and reform−minded protesters take to the streets while European countries, once able to support a complicated social safety net, now find themselves unable to pay the bills. Thus, in an era when the ideas of Karl Marx appear increasingly consigned to the ash heap of history, Mary Gabriel's "Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution," is timely indeed.
Rather than focusing on Karl Marx's ideas, Gabriel paints a grippingly human picture of this "passionate logician" and the trials his family endured for his sake. The passionate and complex tale is anchored in a grand love story between the father of international socialism and the woman who adored him. It is the story of Marx's great loves: his wife Jenny, their six children, his friend, collaborator and benefactor Friedrich Engels, and, lastly, the proletariat to whom Marx devoted his life's work. Ironically, the truest relationship of all in Gabriel's narrative is not found between Marx and Jenny, but rather between Marx and Engels.
In many ways, "Love and Capital" is a "bromance" of sorts, exploring the joyful, intellectual and emotional bond the pair shared. While Gabriel understandably tries to bring Jenny to the forefront, it is Engels who remains the reliable presence in Marx's life through both his intellectual collaboration and his support of Marx's domestic situation. Engels, part of a wealthy German textile family, dedicated the bulk of his earnings to Marx and his family, and through these regular financial contributions, the family was kept from destitution. Even after the deaths of Jenny in 1881 and Marx in 1883, Engels remained a devoted family guardian, ensuring the welfare of Marx's surviving daughters and zealously guarding their father's intellectual legacy.
In "Love and Capital," Gabriel presents a vivid picture of the mundane challenges that face a family teetering on the brink of abject poverty as it travels back and forth across Europe. It also delves into the word of his intellectual handicaps, both physical and mental. Throughout adulthood, he suffered from numerous ailments, including debilitating carbuncles that flared up whenever the pressure to produce material intensified.
Gabriel's book is well written, but I believe it is overly long and overwrought. "Love and Capital" loses much of its dramatic force and conceptual coherence after the successive deaths of Jenny and Marx in the final 100 pages. When the focus shifts to Engels and the two surviving Marx daughters, the remaining text pales in comparison to the rest of the book. Without the captivating charm and enthusiasm of the disorganized character of Marx, the most compelling part of the book is lost. While readers may be absorbed by Engels' efforts to make order out of Marx's chaotic drafts of "Capital" or the sad suicidal ends of his daughters Eleanor and Laura, it simply doesn't go far enough to hold the reader's interest.
Nevertheless, Gabriel's pastiche of anecdotes offers an engaging picture of Marx's partners and colleagues. In the process, she provides a superficial but accessible introduction to some of the key tenets that formed Marxism. The book may not deepen any understanding as to the origins of Marx's ideas, but with the familiar and personal portrait Gabriel paints, it does encourage a broader appreciation for the man himself.
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