The Poverty of Philosophy

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Misère de la philosophie, German title Das Elend der Philosophie, English title The Poverty of Philosophy, is a book by Karl Marx published in Paris and Brussels in 1847, where he lived in exile in 1843-1849. It was originally written in French, though Marx wrote most of his works in German.

In it, Marx criticizes the economic and philosophical arguments of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon set forth in The System of Economic Contradictions, or The Philosophy of Poverty. Marx specifically accuses Proudhon of wanting to rise above the bourgeoisie. In the history of Marx's thought and marxism, this work is pivotal in the distinction between the concepts of utopian socialism and what Marx and the marxists claim as scientific socialism.

In popular culture

The book is also referenced by rapper Immortal Technique in a 2001 song by the same title; he uses it similarly, to criticize the economy and society.

External links

• Misère de la philosophie French text
• Das Elend der Philosophie German text
• The Poverty of Philosophy English text