5 ms·

Karl Marx's letter to Abraham Lincoln (1864)

62 points by soneca 14y ago

jboynyc 14y ago
The relationship between Marx and Lincoln is also the subject of a book by Robin Blackburn: http://www.versobooks.com/books/954-an-unfinished-revolution http://www.versobooks.com/books/954-an-unfinished-revolution
dreamdu5t 14y ago
What is the point of posting this? This letter doesn't seem to be of any significance.
- soneca 14y ago
  In my point of view a man with a deep understanding of its time is congratulating another one for successfully hacking a vicious system. Don't let the 20th century marxists (or the cold war propaganda) ruins your perception of Marx's genius. Lincoln's importance is more obvious. Both men changed the world for better (IMO Marx is not to be blamed for any dictatorship atrocities). A Nelson Mandela quote resume pretty much for me both of their ideoligical legacies: "Money won't create success, the freedom to make it, will." That said, I think its counterproducent for people who love to claim that are trying to change the world, underestimate the significance of history. And this letter is, at least for me, a unique, yet not well known, piece for understanding history.
jivatmanx 14y ago
Left unmentioned is Lincoln and Thaddeus Steven's extraordinary achievement of issuing United States Notes, called Greenbacks. Unfortunately, after Lincoln's assassination, this battle was lost in the years after.
- jamesaguilar 14y ago
  Why would that be mentioned? I'm not too familiar with his ideas but I'm not aware that Marx is known for his ideas about monetary policy.
  - jivatmanx 14y ago
    Unfortunately, he wasn't. Thaddeus Stevens on the other hand was well aware of how debt-based and private monetary systems create inequality, something that seemingly should have been of interest to Marx. Disclaimer: I'm no fan of Marx.
keithwarren 14y ago
Can you say noise? How is this remotely startup related?
- lifeisstillgood 14y ago
  HN has a good FAQ - link at the bottom - the guiding principle for posting is satisfying intellectual curiosity. This does it for the history buff in me - startup or not. Anyway Lincoln was a serial entrepreneur.
- icebraining 14y ago
  Regardless of the merits of this particular submission, Hacker News is not just for discussing startups, but "anything that good hackers would find interesting" and "that includes more than hacking and startups".
- nnnnni 14y ago
  Why does EVERYTHING on HN have to be startup-related? I personally hate when the front page is nothing but startup-related news, especially when it's really pretentious.
rweba 14y ago
I haven't seen anyone note that the person who replied to Marx's letter in his role as US Ambassador to the United Kingdom (Charles Francis Adams) was the son of America's 6th president (John Quincy Adams) and grandson of the 2nd president and Founding Father (John Adams). I highly recommend David McCullough's biography "John Adams." Even if you're not really into history (I'm not) it's actually a pretty good read and entertainingly covers most of US History from 1750 to 1830.

62 points by soneca 14y ago

The relationship between Marx and Lincoln is also the subject of a book by Robin Blackburn: http://www.versobooks.com/books/954-an-unfinished-revolution http://www.versobooks.com/books/954-an-unfinished-revolution

dreamdu5t 14y ago

What is the point of posting this? This letter doesn't seem to be of any significance.

soneca 14y ago
In my point of view a man with a deep understanding of its time is congratulating another one for successfully hacking a vicious system. Don't let the 20th century marxists (or the cold war propaganda) ruins your perception of Marx's genius. Lincoln's importance is more obvious. Both men changed the world for better (IMO Marx is not to be blamed for any dictatorship atrocities). A Nelson Mandela quote resume pretty much for me both of their ideoligical legacies: "Money won't create success, the freedom to make it, will." That said, I think its counterproducent for people who love to claim that are trying to change the world, underestimate the significance of history. And this letter is, at least for me, a unique, yet not well known, piece for understanding history.

jivatmanx 14y ago

Left unmentioned is Lincoln and Thaddeus Steven's extraordinary achievement of issuing United States Notes, called Greenbacks. Unfortunately, after Lincoln's assassination, this battle was lost in the years after.

jamesaguilar 14y ago
Why would that be mentioned? I'm not too familiar with his ideas but I'm not aware that Marx is known for his ideas about monetary policy.
- jivatmanx 14y ago
  Unfortunately, he wasn't. Thaddeus Stevens on the other hand was well aware of how debt-based and private monetary systems create inequality, something that seemingly should have been of interest to Marx. Disclaimer: I'm no fan of Marx.

keithwarren 14y ago

Can you say noise? How is this remotely startup related?

lifeisstillgood 14y ago
HN has a good FAQ - link at the bottom - the guiding principle for posting is satisfying intellectual curiosity. This does it for the history buff in me - startup or not. Anyway Lincoln was a serial entrepreneur.
icebraining 14y ago
Regardless of the merits of this particular submission, Hacker News is not just for discussing startups, but "anything that good hackers would find interesting" and "that includes more than hacking and startups".
nnnnni 14y ago
Why does EVERYTHING on HN have to be startup-related? I personally hate when the front page is nothing but startup-related news, especially when it's really pretentious.

rweba 14y ago

I haven't seen anyone note that the person who replied to Marx's letter in his role as US Ambassador to the United Kingdom (Charles Francis Adams) was the son of America's 6th president (John Quincy Adams) and grandson of the 2nd president and Founding Father (John Adams). I highly recommend David McCullough's biography "John Adams." Even if you're not really into history (I'm not) it's actually a pretty good read and entertainingly covers most of US History from 1750 to 1830.