Friedrich Engels Was Not a Hypocrite (He Was a Pioneering Feminist)

The Guardian ^ | Thursday 7 May 2009 | John Green

[nickcarraway]

I welcome Tristram Hunt's contribution to bringing Friedrich Engels out of the shadow of Marx and to prevent his being forgotten by history (Feminist friend or foe?, G2, 29 April). In these turbulent times Engels still has much to say of relevance.

Hunt rightly emphasises that Engels was a pioneering feminist and gives prominence to his book The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State. However, I take issue with his claims of hypocrisy.

The article says Friedrich Engels condemned prostitution but enjoyed it himself. In his wild youth, while alone in Paris for a short period, Engels enjoyed the company of les grisettes - but these were working-class girls who enjoyed a good time, and were not synonymous with prostitutes. In Manchester he practically lived with Mary Burns, an Irish working-class woman, and - after her early death - with her sister Lizzie. He was, as far as we know, loyal to both.

In referring to the Burns sisters, Hunt claims: "Engels had once condemned the tendency of mill owners to take advantage of female hands; here, he did just that." But there is no evidence that either of the Burns sisters worked in the mill.

SNIP

Engels never inherited the mill - when his father died, his family feared he would squander the legacy "on his communist friends", and he was unable to withdraw any capital from the firm for 20 years. He left the mill in 1869 but retained shares and invested in the stockmarket, to provide an income that allowed him to continue supporting Marx and to write and work for the cause of socialism.

[VeniVidiVici]

Slow news day?

At least I have little bit of trivia that I’ll probably never get to use now.