The German Ideology

Idealism is a philosophical position which argues that consciousness is equivalent to or even determinant of material reality. While there have been many different kinds of idealism throughout history, Marx and Engels harshly criticize German… read analysis of Idealism

The Young Hegelians were a group of German philosophers and radicals who attempted to reinterpret Hegel’s philosophy in service of revolutionary causes, battling over his legacy with the more conservative Right Hegelians in the… read analysis of The Young Hegelians

The mode of production is Marx and Engels’s concept for the dominant economic system in a given society. By the 19th century, capitalism had definitively become the mode of production in Europe, although many… read analysis of Mode of Production

The division of labor is the basic structure by which humans produce their own means of subsistence. Originating in hunter-gatherer societies and becoming increasingly advanced with the development of agriculture, the division of labor is… read analysis of Division of Labor

Materialism is a philosophical position which argues that consciousness is derived from material things (rather than the other way around). Marx and Engels are strident materialists, and they argue that history, politics, and economics can… read analysis of Materialism

Empiricism is a philosophy which argues that genuine knowledge can only be derived from empirical evidence rather than abstract reason. Although Marx and Engels consider empiricism more in touch with reality than German idealism… read analysis of Empiricism

The bourgeoisie are the owners of capital (accumulated private property) and the ruling class under modern capitalism. Using their capital, the bourgeoise purchase labor from the proletariat in exchange for wages but extract more value… read analysis of Bourgeoisie

The petty bourgeoisie are the lower strata of the bourgeoisie who lack the capital to compete with wealthier producers. Made up mostly of small business owners and white-collar workers, the petty bourgeoise are at constant… read analysis of Petty Bourgeoisie

The proletariat are the propertyless working class. Lacking any private property or capital except for their own labor power, the proletariat are forced to sell their labor to the bourgeoise for wages in order to… read analysis of Proletariat

Egoism as Stirner imagines it is an individualist philosophy which argues that the truth of experience comes from the self. It also argues that only through embracing one’s power as an individual can one be… read analysis of Egoism

Dialectics is a philosophical method based on the development of an idea through contradiction, examining a given thesis and its antithesis to reach a synthesis. Hegel reinterprets dialectics to imagine an idea capable of overcoming… read analysis of Dialectics

Utilitarianism is a philosophy which argues that all actions can and should be judged according to their utility. It also argues that human society is based on mutual—and therefore acceptable—exploitation. As Marx and Engels point… read analysis of Utilitarianism

Peculiarity is Stirner’s somewhat incoherent category of human individuality. Stirner claims that religion, liberalism, and communism alike all wrongly suppress peculiarity in the name of freedom. As Marx and Engels point out, however, Stirner’s… read analysis of Peculiarity

The union is Stirner’s vision of a utopian society that transcends liberalism and communism alike by somehow making property both collective and individually owned. Marx and Engels find the union to be a particularly… read analysis of The Union

“The holy” is Stirner’s catch-all term for the power of religious or religious inflected taboo over human beings, which restricts human freedom and helps perpetuate the power of the same social systems that create… read analysis of The Holy