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Umrisse zu einer Kritik der Nationalökonomie

Friedrich Engels · 1844

Engels's 1844 German-language essay critiquing political economy, published in the Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher and influential on Marx's economic thought.

Engels wrote this essay himself, and it directly shaped the economic ideas he later developed with Marx.

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What it is

This is Friedrich Engels's essay Umrisse zu einer Kritik der Nationalökonomie ('Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy'), written in Manchester and published in 1844 in the journal Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher.

Why it matters

In this essay Engels criticises the foundations of national economics, describing it as a 'science of enrichment' built on greed and self-interest between merchants and nations. The essay shaped the economic thinking Engels later developed together with Karl Marx, and shows Engels as an original economic thinker in his own right, not only Marx's collaborator.

Look closer

  • What does Engels's harsh language about economics ('the most repulsive selfishness') tell you about his attitude toward the subject?
  • Why might Engels, writing from Manchester, a major industrial city, have been drawn to criticise economic theory?
  • How might this early essay connect to ideas Engels and Marx developed later together?

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