Yuan Qun and Wang Enming: Commemoration and Reflection of the Foreign Left on the 200th Anniversary of Engels' Birth
Friedrich Engels was the greatest revolutionist, thinker, theorist, and leading figure in the international communist movement in the second half of the 19th century following Karl Marx. Throughout his seventy-five-year life and a revolutionary career spanning more than half a century, he co-founded, enriched, and developed Marxism, guided the course of the international workers' movement, and made indelible historical contributions to the world socialist movement’s efforts to seek breakthroughs while upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground. However, since Marx’s death in 1883, controversies regarding Engels, and particularly his late-period thought, have persisted. On the 200th anniversary of Engels’s birth, the world faces great changes unseen in a century [1], and the world socialist movement is at a critical historical turning point, transitioning from a gradual emergence from its lowest ebb toward revitalization. Against this periodic backdrop, foreign leftist parties, organizations, and scholars held various forms of online and offline activities to grandly commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Friedrich Engels—the great mentor of the world’s proletariat and working people. They comprehensively reviewed Engels’s revolutionary and militant life, spoke highly of his major contributions to the founding, persistence, and development of Marxism, as well as his role in guiding the international workers’ movement and advancing the world socialist movement. They profoundly elucidated the epochal significance and contemporary value of Engels’s theoretical works, using this opportunity to propagate the basic theories of Marxism and clarify the theoretical ideas and programmatic platforms of their respective parties.
I. Foreign Leftists Grandly Commemorate the 200th Anniversary of Engels’s Birth
The year 2020 happened to be the 200th anniversary of Engels’s birth, an anniversary of great historical significance for disciplines such as the history of Marxist development, scientific socialism, the international communist movement, and foreign Marxist studies. Since the second half of 2020, foreign leftist parties, organizations, and scholars have taken action, continuously reaching a crescendo in commemorating Engels’s bicentenary through various forms.
(1) Organizing Commemorative Seminars and Conferences On September 27, 2020, the Portuguese Communist Party held a conference in Lisbon to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Engels’s birth under the theme "Engels and the Struggle for Socialism Today," with General Secretary Jerónimo de Sousa delivering a speech. On November 26, various circles in Laos held an academic seminar at the National Academy of Politics and Administration (NAPA) titled "Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Engels’s Birth: Engels’s Theory and Laos’s Renovation and Opening-up" [2]. On November 27, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, in coordination with the Propaganda and Education Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Central Theoretical Council, and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), jointly held a scientific seminar in Hanoi titled "Engels’s Intellectual Legacy: New Values and Vitality for the Era." On the same day, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation also held a webinar, attended by representatives of leftist parties including the leader of the Left Party (Die Linke) parliamentary group in the German Bundestag and the head of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (affiliated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany), who delivered keynote reports. On November 28, the Keio Economic Society in Japan held an online academic seminar titled "Engels’s Contribution to Marxism and Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Engels’s Birth," attended by over 40 scholars from Japan and China. In addition, the German Communist Party held online commemorative activities and video conferences with the Communist Party of Britain and the Communist Party of the Donetsk People’s Republic, respectively.
(2) Issuing Commemorative Manifestos and Statements On November 27, 2020, five Marxist-Leninist-Maoist parties, including the Communist Workers’ Union (MLM) (Colombia) and the Maoist Communist Party (Italy), jointly issued the statement "Joint Statement Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Engels: Long Live Engels! Long Live Marxism-Leninism-Maoism!" The statement summarized Engels’s great achievements for the development of human civilization and the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat, emphasizing that honor and glory belong to the great mentor of the world proletariat—Friedrich Engels—and calling for communists, the proletariat, and oppressed peoples around the world to unite in proletarian internationalism. On November 28, the Communist Party of the Philippines issued a "Statement on the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Friedrich Engels," emphasizing the importance of cherishing Engels’s proletarian theory and revolutionary political legacy and advancing along the path of New Democratic and socialist revolution. On November 29, eleven Marxist-Leninist-Maoist parties and organizations, including the Communist Party of Peru, the Committee for the Construction of the Maoist Communist Party of Austria, and the Maoist Committee of Finland, jointly signed an international manifesto commemorating the 200th anniversary of Engels’s birth. From three perspectives—"the eternal solidarity and struggle between Marx and Engels," "Engels’s contribution as one of the founders of Marxism," and "Engels’s legacy"—the manifesto reviewed Engels’s intellectual journey and the great friendship between Marx and Engels, while profoundly exploring Engels’s unique contributions to Marxism and the epochal significance of his thought.
(3) Writing Commemorative Articles On the occasion of Engels’s bicentenary, foreign leftists wrote commemorative articles to express their thoughts and remembrance of the great revolutionary mentor. Representative works included: "The Three Great Merits of Engels" by Gennady Zyuganov, Chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, published in Pravda; "Engels—An Exemplary Theorist Inseparable from Marx," published in the Communist Party of India (Maoist) publication People’s March; "Engels and Women's Liberation" by Brinda Karat, member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist); "The Barefoot Altruist: Friedrich Engels's The Condition of the Working Class in England" by Pakistani social scientist Raza Naeem; "Engels and Marriage" and "A Poetic Sculpture of Friedrich Engels and his Partner Mary Burns" by Jenny Farrell, columnist for the Communist Party of Ireland’s party newspaper Unity (referred to as Cultural Affairs in the source); "Friedrich Engels at 200 is More Important than Ever" by Marcello Musto, Associate Professor of Political Science at York University, Canada; Michael Roberts’s "The Engels Pause and The Condition of the Working Class in England"; "Three Questions on Reading Engels and Why" by Indian leftist scholar Prabir Purkayastha; "The Life and Thought of Friedrich Engels" by Adam Booth; "Great Scientist, Great Mentor" by Dmitry Novikov, Vice Chairman of the CPRF Central Committee; "Engels Against Reformism in Germany and France" by historian Doug Enaa Greene; "Thought Leader," "In Engels’s Footsteps," and "Presenting the Truth" published on the official website of the DKP (German Communist Party) newspaper; Thomas Riggins’s "Engels at 200: Intellectual Giant and Rebel"; and the article titled "Continue to Inherit, Innovate, and Carry Forward Engels’s Great Intellectual Legacy" published in Nhan Dan, the central organ of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
(4) Other Commemorative Activities The Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) held political meetings in 11 German cities and premiered the new film Friedrich Engels: The Most Underrated Classic. Engels’s hometown, the city of Wuppertal (formed in 1929 by the merger of Barmen and other towns), declared 2020 the "Year of Engels," not only reopening the Engels House but also launching a dedicated website (www.engels2020.de) and unveiling an Engels sculpture. The official website of the CPGB-ML (Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist)), the American leftist website "Struggle for Socialism," and the CPI(M) (Communist Party of India (Marxist)) central organ People’s Democracy specifically republished Lenin’s September 1895 obituary titled "Friedrich Engels." The CPGB-ML stated that to recognize Engels’s immense contribution to the cause of the working class and to commemorate and disseminate the revolutionary content of his genius ideas, every worker should be familiar with the name and contributions of this great revolutionary fighter and proletarian mentor. People’s Democracy also published a detailed chronology recording Engels’s life, works, and major events. The DKP newspaper Unsere Zeit published a letter written by a German communist to Engels, in which the author used simple language to recount Engels’s subtle influence on them and narrated their journey from an impulsive youth to a revolutionary fighter. The American leftist organization "Political Movements" (referring to Movement for People’s Democracy/Labor Today contexts) continuously published Engels’s quotes in poster form on its website. Furthermore, in alignment with COVID-19 prevention and control measures, several leftist organizations, including the DKP, held commemorative demonstrations in Wuppertal. Representatives from the DKP and the Communist Party of Greece laid flowers at the Engels statue presented by the Chinese government in 2014. In Moscow, representatives of communist party members, Komsomol members, and their supporters from across Russia also laid baskets of flowers at the Engels monument.
In addition, websites of institutions and organizations such as the Communist Party of India, Communist Party USA, Communist Party of Brazil, Communist Party of Austria, Paraguayan Communist Party, Party for Socialism and Liberation (USA), the Engels Association (Germany), the International Committee of the Fourth International, and the League for the Fifth International; publications such as Socialist Voice, the PCP Central Committee official publication Avante!, the Communist Party of Ireland central organ Socialist Voice, and the CPUSA central organ People’s World; Western leftist journals like Jacobin, Monthly Review, and New Left Review; and numerous leftist websites including "Solidnet," "In Defense of Communism," "Marxists," "Left Voice," "Against the Current," "Peoples Dispatch," "World Socialist Web Site," "Maoist Road," and "New Era Media" all published a series of commemorative articles by leftist parties, organizations, and scholars centered on the 200th anniversary of Engels’s birth, while providing continuous news coverage.
II. Fully Affirming Engels’s Noble Historical Status as the Irreplaceable "Second Fiddle"
Together with Marx, Engels achieved a high degree of unity between thinker and revolutionist in practice. As a Marxist classical author, Engels co-founded Marxism and scientific socialism with Marx; as a great mentor of the proletariat, Engels co-guided the world workers’ movement and international communist movement with Marx. Foreign leftist parties, organizations, and scholars have taken a clear-cut stand against historical nihilism [3], speaking highly of Engels’s important historical contributions and profound international influence in terms of theoretical contributions, practical struggles, and spiritual qualities, focusing on themes such as Engels’s classic works and international socialist alliance.
(1) Engels’s Status as the Co-founder of Marxism and Scientific Socialism is Unshakable Major German media outlets published articles commemorating the 200th anniversary of Engels’s birth. Die Zeit described Engels as "one of the most influential and multifaceted thinkers of the 19th century, a proletarian revolutionary theorist and practitioner, the earliest sociologist, and an outstanding journalist." Süddeutsche Zeitung stated that Engels changed the course of history through his writing. Deutschlandfunk published an article stating that Engels lived a "double life," being both an entrepreneur and a philosopher, communist, and revolutionist. "Engels supported Karl Marx economically and intellectually, and the friendship between the two profoundly influenced Engels. Together with Marx, he wrote one of the most influential texts in history." As Werner Plumpe, a historian at Frankfurt University, said: "Without Friedrich Engels, much of Karl Marx's work might never have seen the light of day." Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of the CPI(M) central committee...
agreed with this, arguing that "after Marx's death, the international working class and the people of the world came to know the rich writings and theoretical foundations of Marxism primarily through Engels." He continued, "It is clear that in almost every field of human activity and life, Engels made pioneering contributions, either independently or in collaboration with Marx. From the natural sciences, anthropology, and history to political economy and philosophy, Engels’s expositions on the dialectics of man and nature made outstanding contributions to the development of the revolutionary movement and its theoretical foundations. Furthermore, it must be emphasized that every work produced by Marx and Engels—whether jointly or independently—was enriched by their mutual discussions." Ariane Diaz, a member of the Socialist Workers' Party of Argentina, stated in her article The 200th Anniversary of Engels's Birth: Engels is Still Alive that "Engels's theoretical work was able to broaden the battlefield of Marxism, entering fields where Marx did not participate, or more accurately, the works of Marx's friend provided him with nourishment." Rob Sewell, editor-in-chief of Socialist Appeal, emphasized: "Although Marxism is named after Marx, we should never forget the vital contributions made by Engels and the organic connection between their life paths. Undoubtedly, Engels was an encyclopedic thinker and polymath whose theories covered philosophy, economics, history, physics, linguistics, and military science; his knowledge of military theory earned him the title of 'The General.'"
(2) Engels’s historical contributions to guiding the world workers' movement and the international communist movement cannot be erased
Mahir Ali, a columnist for Pakistan's Dawn, pointed out in the article Marx’s Subaltern: "There, he was regarded as the great sage of European socialism, particularly influential in leading the process of German Social Democracy. Compared to Marx, he is more closely associated with terms such as 'dialectical materialism' and 'scientific socialism.'" Stanislav Grospič, Chairman of the Association of Trade Unions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, emphasized that as one of the most influential revolutionary thinkers, although Engels spent most of his life in the shadow of his friend and collaborator Karl Marx, he remained a great theorist and revolutionary activist. "Thanks to Anti-Dühring, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, and other works, he became one of the most influential and thorough revolutionaries." Les Doherty, Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) for the Manchester Area, noted during an online memorial event hosted by the Chinese Consulate-General in Manchester: "Engels went deep into the slums many times to understand the living conditions of the working class, wrote the profoundly influential The Condition of the Working Class in England, and co-authored classic works such as the Communist Manifesto with Marx. Engels’s contributions to the development of Marxism and the promotion of human historical progress are invaluable and should be recognized by more people." Walter Smolarek, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) in the United States, cited Engels’s thesis in Dialectics of Nature regarding "the part played by labor in the transition from ape to man" and pointed out that "besides the key documents co-authored with Marx, Engels’s own works have stood the test of time, becoming basic guides for generations of revolutionaries hoping to understand and transform the world. In all his works, such as Dialectics of Nature, Engels showed a prescience capable of identifying the most important laws and trends affecting the development of human society. Today, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, Engels remains a figure in the history of the socialist struggle who is difficult to surpass." The Workers' Communist Alliance (Colombia) emphasized: "As a passionate revolutionary fighter, Engels was a staunch defender of proletarian interests, a fierce critic of erroneous socialism, and the finest supporter and tireless mentor of the working class; he always maintained a close friendship with the working class, and people from many countries sought guidance and support from him."
(3) Engels’s adherence to the original aspiration and founding mission and his sense of responsibility for the liberation of the proletariat and all humanity deserve praise
The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) highly evaluated Engels's great personality and qualities, praising the "sincere friendship and comradeship between Engels and Marx." They believe that "Engels's revolutionary spirit, work perseverance, modest character, and spirit of cooperation in the revolutionary struggle have become a shining example," pointing out that "for the CPV, the working class, and laborers in Vietnam, as well as the working class and laborers worldwide, Engels's life, career, noble character, and excellent style of work have always been a major driving force for revolution." Gennady Zyuganov, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), believes that Engels's primary moral achievement and merit was that, while he had every opportunity from birth to succeed in the world of capitalist exploitation, he chose to transcend class interests and discard social conventions intellectually and spiritually at the cost of personal happiness. Rather than the individual happiness of capitalism, he preferred to stand with the highest humanistic values—justice, equality, and solidarity. The Communist Party of India (Maoist) further pointed out that Engels, who came from a bourgeois background, chose the philosophy of the working class, joined the working class in opposing industrial capitalists, and provided the working class with the ideological weapons needed to change their lives.
III. High evaluation of the global significance of Engels and his theoretical works
As the co-founder of Marxism and scientific socialism, Engels not only co-authored and authored many classic works but also devoted great energy between 1883 and 1895 to organizing and publishing Marx’s posthumous works, thereby leaving his own theoretical imprint. The foreign Left highly evaluates the contributions of Engels and his theoretical works to upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground in Marxist philosophy, his major contributions to Marxist political economy, his inheritance and development of scientific socialism, and his laying of the foundation for proletarian military science.
(1) Engels’s upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground in Marxist philosophy
In the report Engels’s Contribution to Marx’s Philosophy, Hiroyoshi Makino, Professor Emeritus at Hannan University, explained Engels’s important contributions to scientific socialism, materialist dialectics, and Marxist philosophy from the perspectives of the relationship between Marx and Engels, the "second violin" as the prelude to the "first violin," the ensemble of the first and second violins, and the independence (variations) of the second violin in works such as Anti-Dühring, Dialectics of Nature, and Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy. Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], pointed out: "The theoretical contributions made by Engels in the evolution and elaboration of the Marxist worldview are of extreme importance for understanding the unfolding of dialectics and the discovery of dialectical laws governing the material development of the universe, the development and evolution of life, and all laws of human social development. While commemorating his life and thoughts, people usually restudy these contributions of Engels and the profound influence they have had on human thought, wisdom, and the progress of civilization." An editorial in Nhan Dan (The People), the organ of the Central Committee of the CPV, pointed out: "Engels and Marx protected and developed materialist philosophy, realized the innovation of dialectical materialism, established a fundamental turning point for philosophy, and provided a brand-new perspective and accurate method for explaining, understanding, and transforming the world; historical materialism is a great achievement of scientific thought, discovering the laws of social development and the necessity of transitioning from this economic-social system to a higher one."
(2) Engels’s major contributions to Marxist political economy
Tristram Hunt, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum and former Labour Shadow Education Secretary, pointed out: "Engels is a figure of profound historical and philosophical significance. Not only did he play a role in shaping 20th-century Marxism, but his views on socialism are more relevant to our contemporary era than Marx’s pure political economy. Similarly, Engels pioneered the Marxist conception of colonial liberation through his early analysis of imperialism as a core component of Western capitalism." CPI(M) General Secretary Yechury believes that Engels’s Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy, published in 1844, laid down the basic principles for criticizing bourgeois political economy, noting that "Engels argued that all important phenomena in the bourgeois economic system inevitably arise from the private ownership of the means of production, and a society without poverty can only be one without private ownership of the means of production," which had a significant influence on Marx. The Nhan Dan editorial noted: "Engels and Marx relied on classical political economy to create a new economic doctrine, bringing historical changes to political economy; by studying and discovering the law of surplus value, Engels and Marx identified the capitalist mode of exploitation and provided a scientific demonstration of the necessary demise of capitalism and the victory of communism."
(3) Engels’s inheritance and development of scientific socialism
In a report titled An Examination of Engels’s "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State" from the Perspective of Ancient Japanese History, Professor Shozo Iwanaga of Kyushu University explained from a historical perspective the theories on the formation of the state in classical doctrine, the formation of state apparatuses in East Asian countries, the relationship between changes in kinship structures and the formation of the state, as well as society in the early stages of state development and the handling of transitional periods and related theoretical issues, thereby demonstrating the significance of this classic work. Sumanasiri Liyanage, a retired professor of political economy at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka, wrote: "Engels’s contribution to Marxism can be manifested under four interconnected headings: the development of historical realism and its application in real historical events; the development and defense of dialectical realism; the link between the family, private property, and the Marxist theory of the state; and the contribution to eco-communism." The Nhan Dan editorial pointed out: "Engels and Marx analyzed capitalism to discover its laws of motion and development; they affirmed that class struggle is the driving force for the development of class societies and pointed out that the working class, led by the Communist Party, is the only force capable of building a new society. Therefore, Marx and Engels’s view of socialism is scientific socialism."
(4) Engels’s laying of the foundation for proletarian military science
The Nhan Dan editorial emphasized that the total result of Engels’s thought, together with Marx, provided humanity with the key to opening the door to a New Era. Marxism-Leninism, including Engels’s thought, is defined as the ideological foundation of the Vietnamese revolution and has been flexibly applied by President Ho Chi Minh and the CPV to brilliantly complete the tasks of national liberation, national unification, and the comprehensive promotion of Reform and Opening-up [4] toward a socialist orientation. In the past struggle for independence and the current defense of the country, Engels’s military thought and theories have had a huge impact on the CPV’s views on establishing a national defense front for all people, the line of people's war, and the people's armed forces, helping the CPV analyze and grasp the causes, essence, and nature of war, as well as resolving the relationship between humans and weapons and affirming the role of the people and the political spirit in war. Mahir Ali noted in Marx’s Subaltern: "It would be more accurate to view him as a complementary intellectual who was more active than Marx in fields such as natural science and military strategy, leaving behind many substantial results closely related to them. Although viewing him as Marx’s subaltern is not inaccurate, it is worth remembering that due to his military expertise and active participation in the 1848 revolutions, he was affectionately called 'The General' by his close friends and loved ones, including the Marx family."
IV. Profoundly explaining the contemporary value and guiding significance of Engels’s thought
As a great achievement in the history of human thought, the Marxist theory co-founded by Engels and Marx, from the moment of its birth, "was like a magnificent sunrise, illuminating the path for humanity’s exploration of historical laws and the quest for self-liberation." For over a century, various arguments have frequently appeared under different guises to deny, attack, slander, and spread rumors against the scientific and truthful nature of Engels and his thought through politicization, labeling, and stigmatization. These are represented by the "Marx-Engels Antithesis," the claim that "in his later years, Engels abandoned proletarian revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat, abandoned communist theory, and advocated the parliamentary road, thereby degenerating into a social democrat," the "Antithesis between the Young and Old Engels," and the "Theory of Engels's Late-stage Self-negation." In response, the foreign Left acknowledges and resolutely defends the status of Engels's thought, noting that "its importance is reflected not only in the development of Marxism but also in the contemporary relevance of its revolutionary ideas," maintaining that Engels's intellectual legacy still possesses practical guiding significance today.
(1) Engels's thought remains the theoretical weapon for the working class to overthrow the old capitalist world and move toward the new communist world. The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) affirms: "Engels's ideological and theoretical legacy has became a guiding light for the struggle for peace, national independence, democracy, and socialism"; "Engels's thoughts on philosophy, political economy, and scientific socialism remain contemporary and are of great significance to our country's Doi Moi [5] (Renovation) cause. They help recognize and clarify the necessary laws of development for the Vietnamese revolution—based on inheriting the scientific and technological achievements humanity attained during the capitalist period to bypass capitalism and move toward socialism—and help to more fully realize the relationship between revolutionary goals and economic development methods." Rob Sewell, editor-in-chief of Socialist Appeal, believes: "There is no doubt that Engels's revolutionary spirit lives on in the Marxist tendencies that defend his intellectual legacy and fight for world socialism." The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) further points out: "We should feel proud to follow the ideas of Marx and Engels and realize our special responsibility in this regard. This responsibility urges us to maintain principled and fearless spirits in the process of struggling for communism, thereby creatively mastering the rich scientific thoughts left by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They not only left us outstanding scientific results and political achievements but also set the highest example of moral strength and dedication." In a joint statement, the New Communist Party of the Netherlands and its Dutch Communist Youth Movement stated: "Engels made fundamental contributions to Marxist theory in dialectical materialistic philosophy, Marxist political economy, and the revolutionary tactics of class struggle. Many of his works continue to inspire people worldwide to struggle for a better society and provide indispensable guidance for this struggle." They added: "The insights of Engels and Marx remain of great significance today, providing guidance for everyone fighting for a better communist society and refusing to accept current capitalist relations of production and the uncertainty, poverty, war, and exploitation they cause."
(2) Engels's theses on capitalist relations of production and the concentration of capitalist wealth are continuously corroborated by social realities since the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Gennady Zyuganov, Chairman of the Central Committee of the CPRF, points out: More than 150 years have passed since the creation of the main works of Marx and Engels. During this time, capitalism has become even more brutal, immoral, and destructive. The profound and irreversible crisis of the bourgeois system has never been as obvious as it is today. The world is increasingly discovering the truth of Engels's exposure of bourgeois economic doctrines regarding the interests of capital and labor, harmony, and general public welfare, and the false foresight concerning what free competition would bring. Indeed, the ugliness of the rampant spread of capitalist super-profits and exploitation has become even more apparent against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stanislav Grospič, Chairman of the Trade Union Association of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, believes: "Engels and Marx predicted in their analysis that capital accumulation would concentrate in the hands of as few people as possible. Therefore, we should not be surprised that during this COVID-19 pandemic, while the working class became poorer, the wealth of billionaires increased by 27.5%." Peter Schwarz, International Secretary of the International Committee of the Fourth International, further notes: "Financial markets are completely out of control; trade wars threaten to trigger a third world war; brutal neo-colonial wars will destroy the entire world; the democratic disintegration of the most important capitalist country—the United States; the imminent environmental catastrophe; hundreds of thousands of deaths due to the global spread of COVID-19; the increasing concentration of world wealth and social inequality, where the 26 richest billionaires own as much wealth as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the Earth's population. All these phenomena validate what Marx and Engels wrote in the Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1848: 'Modern bourgeois society' is 'like the sorcerer who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells.'"
(3) Engels's strategies on proletarian revolution, working-class struggle, and women’s liberation remain of important guiding significance today. Stanislav Grospič believes: "Engels's thought continues to guide the working class in the struggle for better conditions and to eliminate the roots of capitalism and oligarchy—exploitation, injustice, and oppression. Friedrich Engels's ideas are more consistent with the current situation than the defeatism, social-democratic politics, politics of promise, and radical discourse of the so-called 'modern Left.' This is not a return to Engels's history, but a step forward!" Brinda Karat, member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], in her article "Engels and Women's Liberation," demonstrates the scientific nature of The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State from three aspects: the root causes of the oppression of women and child labor, the family situation under capitalism, and the gender-based division of labor. She emphasizes: "The historic contribution of Marx’s co-founder Friedrich Engels to the theory and practice of scientific socialism for the cause of women's liberation has not faded with the passage of time. It continues to illuminate the path for thousands of women worldwide in their struggle against systemic discrimination and violence, which prevail even in the most advanced capitalist societies." Engels "pointed the way forward for the women of the world by bringing together all the work on historical materialism done by Marx and himself, and advancing it into a concrete analysis of the material basis of women's subordinate status." Christian Hogsbjerg, a lecturer at the University of Brighton, in his article "Friedrich Engels at 200: The Revolutionary Historian," highly praised this revolutionary historian and philosopher of the German Revolution for his pioneering and far-reaching contributions to modern social and political theory. He believes Engels played a key role in the creation and development of classical Marxism, and the commemoration of Engels's birth will clarify the new significance of many of his views in the late-capitalist world. Hogsbjerg points out that today, everyone is inspired by radical historical traditions, people's history, and history from below (grassroots historiography). We should use the 200th anniversary of Engels's birth as an opportunity to acknowledge the intellectual debt owed to him; the vagrants and pariahs at the bottom of society deserve and demand to be recognized and recorded as "prime elements."
V. Continuously Securing New Victories in the Great Struggle of the New Era under the Guidance of Engels's Thought and Marxism The enduring vitality of Engels's thought and Marxism lies not only in their incisive and profound critiques of capitalism and imperialism but also in providing a powerful ideological weapon and scientific guide for action for the proletariat and its parties in all countries to persist in struggle and strive for socialism. They have anchored the navigational markers for human society's transition toward socialism and communism. Foreign Leftists' commemoration and reflection on Engels, while paying tribute to a great thinker in human history, also strengthen faith in the scientific truths of Marxism and actively contemplate strategies to move world socialism from its low ebb toward revitalization.
(1) Promoting and strengthening the establishment and development of proletarian revolutionary party organizations. The Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) points out: "Today, as economic and political crises of the capitalist world break out everywhere, leading to revolutionary uprisings and the struggle of workers for rights and the establishment of a Marxist leadership force, the task of achieving victory through crushing the dictatorial rule of the capitalist state machine and realizing the dictatorship of the proletariat is imminent. Engels and Marx fought all the way to establish revolutionary parties of the working class, which fearlessly led the struggle for rights. The way to commemorate Engels's life today is to advance the revolutionary cause for which he fought his entire life by establishing proletarian revolutionary party organizations in all countries and leading the world socialist revolution to victory."
(2) Effectively strengthening the study, research, dissemination, and education of Marxist theory. The Nhan Dan [6] (People's Daily), the official organ of the CPV Central Committee, emphasized in an editorial that materialist dialectics and scientific methodological principles have always required us to define Marxism-Leninism as an open system. The application of Marxist-Leninist principles should be combined with practical activities. Research should continue to fill in the scientific foundations, conducting theoretical research and summarizing practice to further clarify the theory of socialism and our country’s path toward it. This will consolidate the spiritual foundation and enable the entire Party and people to strive for the goals of "rich people, strong country, democracy, justice, and civilization." Nguyen Xuan Thang, member of the CPV Central Committee Secretariat, President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, and Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, further affirmed that Vietnam will be "even more steadfast in the path chosen by the Communist Party of Vietnam on the basis of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought; resolutely refute misleading statements that distort facts, and focus on protecting the scientific and revolutionary value of Marxist-Leninist doctrine." The Communist Party of Mexico and the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain unanimously agreed that today, as the ideological struggle intensifies, it is necessary to expand the influence of Marx and Engels's thought and strengthen the ideological armament of the proletariat, communist workers, and youth worldwide. Since the publication of Marxist works is an urgent need in the contemporary class struggle, the two parties decided to jointly publish a new edition of the Selected Works of Marx and Engels on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Engels's birth. Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of the CPI(M), also expressed that if Engels's contribution were portrayed as a canvas scroll, no single article could fully annotate it. His party will continue to conduct a year-long research activity on Engels's contributions to humanity within its current capacity.
(3) Establishing a united front against war and for peace, and establishing the broadest working-class alliance and revolutionary united front under the slogan "Workers of the World, Unite!" Lenny Shail, a member of the National Committee of the Socialist Party (UK), pointed out in the article "Friedrich Engels: A Revolutionary Who Played a Key Role in the Development of Socialism": "Only through the socialist revolution for which Engels and Marx fought can humanity begin to utilize and plan the rich scientific and technological wealth generated by the historical labor of workers in class society. Then, when 'workers of the world unite,' it will be possible to create a harmonious world and sweep the horrors of capitalism into the dustbin of history." The Socialist German Workers Youth, in a speech during a demonstration in Wuppertal, pointed out: "Engels's thought and his great example remain our winning weapon in the struggle for socialism. In the multi-front struggle for socialism, militarism is a very important issue among many social problems in capitalist countries like Germany. Politicians in Berlin are working toward military escalation at an alarming rate. The entire German government supports the goal of NATO, led by U.S. imperialism, to spend 2% of GDP on arms expansion. We socialists resolutely oppose any act of inciting war and reject war, death, suffering, and hunger."
VI. Conclusion The 200th anniversary of Engels's birth in 2020 was a...
The commemorations held by the international Left in 2020 served as a legacy, continuation, deepening, and supplement to the 2018 bicentennial of Marx’s birth. The profound interpretations offered by the international Left demonstrate that Engels’s entire integrated doctrine—concerning the basic principles of scientific socialism, the development of the labor movement and proletarian struggle tactics, the theory of building working-class political parties, and the Marxist theory of the state—remains significant as a scientific theory for the proletariat seeking class liberation and the liberation of all humanity. These theories continue to guide the contemporary world socialist movement as it gradually emerges from its low ebb and moves toward revitalization, fulfilling the historical mission of liberating oneself and all of humanity. In the face of a new round of intensifying anti-communist and anti-Marxist offensives by imperialism since the COVID-19 pandemic, the international Left has moved beyond simply affirming and memorializing Engels’s monumental achievements, positively assessing his great intellectual contributions, and highly praising his noble character. Based on these foundations, they have proposed new struggle tactics and action plans, emphasizing the need to persist in struggle under the guidance of Engels’s thought and Marxism. For those on the international Left who have long fought within the heartlands and central zones of imperialism, the specific political ecosystem [7] and the severe and complex conditions of struggle imbue their commemorations and understanding of Engels with a unique significance and profound inspiration—one that is both rich in revolutionary optimism and committed to an objective, prudent stance. This commemorative activity was, moreover, a vivid practice of Marxist-Leninist education.
(Author affiliations: School of Marxism, Yunnan University) Web Editor: Zhang Jian Source: Socialist Studies (《社会主义研究》), Issue 3, 2021.