Reading Marx

Marx, by Andrew Collier, published by OneWorld Oxford.

Extracted from Page 137.

A rather more balanced account if Marx's conception of the relation between scientific and political work is given by Lafargue (Marx's son-in-law) himself in his reminiscences of Marx.

While he was of the opinion that every science must be cultivated for its own sake and that when we undertake scientific research we should not trouble ourselves about the possible consequences, nevertheless, he held that the man of learning, if he does not wish to degrade himself, must never cease to participate in the public affairs - must not be content to shut himself up in his study or his laboratory, like a maggot in a cheese, and to shun the life and the social and political struggles of his contemporaries.

Science must not be a selfish pleasure. Those who are so lucky as to be able to devote themselves to scientific pursuits should be the first to put their knowledge at the service of mankind. One of his favourite sayings was, "Work for the world."