‘Wherever there is a revolutionary convulsion, there must be some social want in the background, which is prevented, by outworn institutions, from satisfying itself.’
In 1851, Marx was asked to write a series of articles on the German Revolution of 1848. Marx never got around to them, and instead asked Friedrich Engels to write the articles for him. Engels agreed and published the articles under Marx’s byline. His authorship of the articles was discovered much later when his correspondence with Marx became available to the public.
Engels, being Marx’s lifelong collaborator and friend, had a clear understanding of Marx’s ideas and shared Marx’s conception of history. Like Marx, he understood the character, significance, and consequences of great historical events, and this understanding was clearly reflected in his account of the German Revolution of 1848. Revolution and Counter-Revolution provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to the situation in Prussia, Austria, and other German states in 1848.
Friedrich Engels was a German philosopher, historian, political theorist, social theorist, and revolutionary socialist. He was Karl Marx's closest friend and collaborator.
Eleanor Marx was a socialist activist and literary translator. She was the youngest daughter of Karl Marx.