Letter to Friedrich Engels, November 14, 1867

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 14 November 1867


First published in Der Briefwechsel zwischen F. Engels und K. Marx, Bd. 3, Stuttgart, 1913
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 42


MARX TO ENGELS

IN MANCHESTER

[London,] 14 November 1867

DEAR FRED, A letter from Russia enclosed and one from Solingen.[1] I believe the Russo-German[2] must be the same man that Meyer[3]

told us about.

Kugelmann has sent me a copy of the Deutsche Volkszeitung (Hanover) containing a short notice of my book[4] written by himself. In it, Kugelmann has imitated one of your articles,[5] and by no means happily. As this paper is democratic, he could have gone into the content more. Among other things, he has me arrive 'at the' admittedly 'astonishing conclusion that all capital is derived from unpaid labour power. Among the 'German authorities on political economy' whose 'verdict' he seeks, Mr 'Faucher' (fortunately printed as 'Taucher') appears at the head of the list and Roscher at the end.

Your 'revelations' in respect of Freiligrath have created a great sensation here at home.

At this moment, Bonaparte has need of a riot or a secret society in Paris if he is to extricate himself from his predicament. For the time being, he is treating the Ligue de la Paix[6] as such. However, that jackass Pyat is JUST NOW preparing the necessary corpus delicti for him from here.

I am being plagued by a carbunculum on the right side of my back.

Salut.

Your

K. M.

  1. ↑ A reference to the letter to Marx, dated 24 October 1867, from Joseph Dietzgen, a German self-taught philosopher then living in St. Petersburg and working at a tannery. He spoke highly of Marx's merits both before science and the working class and wrote about the deep impression Volume One of Capital had made on him and about his acquaintance with some of the earlier works by Marx, particularly A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. In his letter Dietzgen also outlined the basis of his own materialist world outlook. The letter was the beginning of a friendship between its author and Marx and Engels.
    From Solingen Marx received a letter from Karl Klein dated 8 November 1867; he informed Marx about the activities of the local section of the International.
  2. ↑ Joseph Dietzgen
  3. ↑ Sigfrid Meyer
  4. ↑ the first volume of Capital (Deutsche Volkszeitung, 10 November 1867)
  5. ↑ F. Engels, 'Review of Volume One of Capital for the Zukunft'.
  6. ↑ League of Peace