Australian Left Review
Article Title
Marxism and Anarchism
Abstract
EARLY IN THE 1840s Karl Marx used to frequent Hippel’s Winecellar in Berlin and engage in long stein-in-hand conversations with the Bauer brothers, and other members of the Hegelian Left. Engels has left us a pencil sketch of one evening meeting, when the high priest of the Left Hegelians, Arnold Ruge, was treated to the disrespect which characterised the noisy group of “Freemen” . Sitting slightly apart, in the nonchalant pose of one who is au-dessus de la melee,* was a teacher from Madame Gropius’ academy for young ladies, Johann Caspar Schmidt, who wrote under the pen-name of Max Stirner. Stimer’s essay on education was published by Marx in Rheinische Zeitung, after Marx became editor of that paper in 1842. In time, Marx tired of the public bufooneries and larrikinism of the Freemen and finally broke with them in 1842. Among the sort of activities which he found particularly irritating was the clowning of Bruno Bauer at Stirner’s wedding to Marie Dahnhardt. Though today it seems trivial, Bauer shocked the bourgeoisie by making mock of the wedding by substituting copper rings from his purse for the wedding ring.