"Marx's thought a product of its time." Discuss.
             Karl Marx was an individual who has influenced a great many individuals thought, even though he has been dead for over than forty years. The work of Marx continues to influence intellectual thought in some of the most remote countries. Marx's influence is important on the intellectual development of others, hence it is vital to study the history of the period of time that Marx was raised in to assess whether his thought was a product of its time. In this essay I intend to outline the historical background of Marx and to discuss its effects on his thought development.
             Karl Marx was born in Treves, a city in the Rhineland, on the fifth of May 1818. It is significant that he was born in Germany, in the Rhine province. During his adolescence he grew up in an era full of revolution, in the 1830's especially. In 1830 the July revolution occurred in France and led to a number of events, like the Polish insurrection of 1831. These events occurred during the formative years of Marx and would have been part of his history. Marx would have been aware of these events as they were part of the world around him.
             The industrial revolution and its effects were also occurring at that time, although coming to an end around 1830. The industrial revolution in England started at about 1760 and continued until about 1830. This revolution was the start for capitalism in England, there was even a proletariat. This proletariat was made up of people who owned no property, no means of production and therefore forced to sell themselves as labour as their only commodity. There was already a system of master and employee with the handicraft system which was on a much smaller scale. It was the middle of the eighteenth century that the manufacturing stage had taken over from the small scale handicrafts.
             It is these industrial and political changes that helped to shape the ideology of Marx. There are a number ...