Who was Friedrich Engels and what were his ideas?

Marxism, originally called ‘scientific socialism’, takes its name from Karl Marx. But Marx didn’t work alone in developing his ideas. His co-philosopher – and close friend – shares the credit for that historic work.

How did these two giants of socialism come together? What led Engels to develop revolutionary ideas? What were his most important contributions to socialist thought? And what can we learn from his hands-on approach – not just to ideas, but in fighting to put them into practice?

This episode of Socialism, part of a short series on Engels, introduces the co-founder of Marxism: the revolutionary life of Friedrich Engels

Further reading

Engels: A Revolutionary Life: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/4795/04-06-2008/engels-a-revolutionary-life

The Frock-Coated Communist, the revolutionary life of Friedrich Engels: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/7401/05-06-2009/the-frock-coated-communist-the-revolutionary-life-of-friedrich-engels

The Condition of the Working Class in England (Engels): http://leftbooks.co.uk/epages/950002679.sf/en_GB/?ObjectID=6651300

The Communist Manifesto (Marx and Engels): https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/manifesto/

The Housing Question (Engels): https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1872/housing-question/

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific (Engels): http://www.socialistbooks.co.uk/socialism-utopian-and-scientific-resources/

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (Engels): http://leftbooks.co.uk/epages/950002679.sf/en_GB/?ObjectID=2017113