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Dermatologist Says Marxism Is Only Skin-Deep

Karl Marx's skin disease contributed to theory of communism, says doc

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 31, 2007 1:10 PM CDT

(Newser) – A specter is haunting the history of communism: the specter of skin disease. In the latest post-mortem assessment of the health of great historical figures, a British dermatologist has concluded that Karl Marx suffered from hidradenitis suppurativa, an ailment afflicting the sweat glands that results in blackheads and boils. It also produces psychological effects such as alienation—a key theme, the researcher notes, in Das Kapital.

The article in the British Journal of Dermatology examined Marx's letters to his doctors and to Friedrich Engels, to whom he complained of boils "on my posterior and near the penis" that kept him from working. London dermatologists treated Marx with arsenic and lancing. The procedures did little to help, though Engels assured Marx that his carbuncles were "a truly proletarian disease."

Marx, commemorated as a statue in Berlin, Germany.
Marx, commemorated as a statue in Berlin, Germany.   (Getty Images (by Event))
Karl Marx suffered from a painful condition called hidradenitis suppurativa, that may have contributed to his temperamant.
Karl Marx suffered from a painful condition called hidradenitis suppurativa, that may have contributed to his temperamant.   (Archive Photos)
Moscow. Kremlin. Red Square. 7th November celebrations. Day of the Revolution. An effigy of German philosopher, economist and politician Karl MARX is carried by the crowds. USSR - Homo (PAR225281)
Moscow. Kremlin. Red Square. 7th November celebrations. Day of the Revolution. An effigy of German philosopher, economist and politician Karl MARX is carried by the crowds. USSR - Homo (PAR225281)   (Magnum Photos)
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Hidradenitis Suppurativa   (norrisnuvo (YouTube))

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Marx and alienation
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

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