As the title suggests, the following is an introduction to the German worker philosopher Dietzgen.
Joseph Dietzgen is a worker philosopher often overlooked in the history of the international communist movement. His greatness lies in his independence from Marx and Engels, having partially developed some fundamental principles of Marxist philosophy, and using the term “dialectical materialism” to describe his philosophical ideas (a term still widely used today). After realizing the high level of Marx and Engels’ thoughts, he regarded it as a treasure, was deeply convinced of Marx and Engels’ great discoveries, and wrote many letters to Marx and Engels to express his admiration for the two revolutionary mentors and his support for their fight against enemies of Marxism such as Bakunin and Dühring. As a student of Marx and Engels, Dietzgen actively participated in the activities of the First International and attended as a delegate at the 1872 Hague Congress. Revolutionary mentors Marx and Engels highly praised Dietzgen; Marx also highly appreciated Dietzgen’s insights into Marx’s teachings in the second edition preface of “Capital” and personally visited him. Due to Dietzgen’s intellectual achievements, Marx called him “our philosopher” at the Hague Congress. Later, Lenin also wrote specifically to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Dietzgen’s death, again highly praising his philosophical achievements. Although there are some flaws and imperfections in Dietzgen’s philosophical thoughts, overall, he can be regarded as a qualified Marxist throughout his life. His reputation will forever be passed down among the working class!
Joseph Dietzgen (1828–1888), was born into a tanner family in Blankenberg near Cologne. Although he was a petty bourgeois, Dietzgen’s family belonged to the upper layer of the petty bourgeoisie, and his family even served as city councilors and mayors in Sigburg.
Although Dietzgen’s family was a wealthy petty bourgeoisie family, he still had to engage in labor because he was required by his father to work in the family’s tannery from a young age, suffering exploitation by his father. But even in heavy labor, Dietzgen managed to learn various cultural knowledge. He only completed high school at the academy but studied diligently on his own, reading a large number of books on philosophy and political economy in his spare time and after work in the workshop, and also self-studied French, reading various utopian socialist works from France. From these works, Dietzgen absorbed a large amount of advanced democratic ideas, making him a revolutionary democrat.
The dark reality of German society also further inspired Dietzgen’s revolutionary ideas of the proletariat. At that time in Germany, capitalism was still underdeveloped; although the proletariat had already appeared, it was subjected to dual exploitation by feudalism and capitalism. The feudal system still held sway in Germany, and the landlord class remained the ruling class of German society. They not only exploited peasants but also colluded with the weak German bourgeoisie to jointly exploit the proletariat. This severely hindered the development of capitalism in Germany and worsened the living conditions of the broad masses of workers and peasants.