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Philosophical Haiku

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

by Terence Green

A haunting spectre
Class conflict drives history
The fated end comes.

Karl Marx argued that history was determined by forces much greater than any one person, and so he would be dismayed if I suggested he was pivotal in shaping our world. Still, he’s not here to object – so let me suggest that he was pivotal in shaping our world! No philosopher, I would suggest, has had a greater impact on our time. Some read his words and find in them their holy scripture; others read them and saw the work of the Devil.

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