Letter to Karl Kautsky, March 24, 1884


ENGELS TO KARL KAUTSKY

IN ZURICH

London, 24 March 1884

Dear Kautsky,

You'd do best to order Morgan's book in America; the few copies printed for England in association with the firm of MacMillan appear to be sold out or unavailable — I got mine second-hand and then only with difficulty. I don't know the American publisher. Mine cost me 13/4d.

When I can find time I shall get out something on it for you for the Neue Zeit, provided you are willing to print a separate copy in pamphlet form (it would be approx. 3 sheets); actually I am indebted to Marx for it and can incorporate his notes.

I have now agreed with Meissner that the 2nd book of Capital should appear separately at first; the 3rd, and the Theories of Surplus Value, will then follow on as the second half of Volume II. This will get the thing moving more quickly. Time for the post.

Your

F.E.

The Morris affair is of no significance; they are a muddle-headed lot.[1]

  1. Engels is probably referring to the part of Karl Kautsky's letter of 12 March 1884 dealing with the English socialist William Morris. Kautsky wrote that he had incorrectly understood Eleanor Marx's remark about William Morris and, in one of his articles, had therefore called him a 'Gefühlssozialist' (socialist by feeling). The offended Morris categorically rejected this opinion.