Marx and Engels on Spiritualism and Theosophy

by Herman A.O. de Tollenaere

English home page

Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)  
There are several ways to look at relationships (friendly or unfriendly relationships) between occultism and political tendencies, such as Marxism. In this regard, Bruce Campbell has observed that "Esoteric and mystical sources have been identified as part of the intellectual background for Hegelian and Marxist thought."¹⁾ He did not elaborate on this observation, however, and neither will we. The statement must relate to indirect influence of pre-1800 ideas via Hegel. This concerns, however, an earlier age than the subject of this article. Nor does this article consider subjects later in history, like reciprocal opinions of twentieth century communists and theosophists in such countries as India and Sri Lanka; though that is part of wider research in which I am now involved.

This article is specifically about Karl Marx' (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels' (1820-1895) views on spiritualism and theosophy. They both embarked on their political careers in the 1840's, in the Communist League, an international organization, in which migrant German workers in England were heavily represented.²⁾

Nineteenth century spiritualism was a widespread, but not well organized movement. As is well-known, it began with the Fox sisters' claims to hear 'spirit rapping' sounds at their farm in Hydesville, New York, in 1848.³⁾

Nineteenth century theosophy started in the same American state: in New York City in 1875 Colonel (U.S. army, retired) H.S. Olcott, and Russian aristocrat Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (H.P.B; 1831-1891) founded the Theosophical Society (TS). They, and others from a Spiritualist background, wanted more coherent doctrine and organization. It was only since the 1880's (the decade when Marx died and Engels was in his sixties) that the Theosophical Society became sizable, first in south Asia, later in the U.S. and Europe.

Marx and Engels, in their voluminous works, often referred to Spiritualism. On examination, all these references are brief to very brief. Some of them do not mention Spiritualism by name, but are jokes (for instance, by Marx in Das Kapital) about dancing tables,⁴⁾ "ghost-rappers, ghost-rapping shakers..."⁵⁾

Engels in a letter briefly put this movement into the perspective of U.S. society:

though the Americans ... have not taken over from Europe medieval institutions, they did take over lots of medieval tradition, religion, English common (feudal) law, superstition, spiritualism, in short, all nonsense, that was not directly harmful to business, and now is very useful to dull the masses.⁶⁾

So he thought modern spiritualism was unmodern. He tried to explain its recent rise only when he used the word "now", as he wrote about usefulness to the rich in their battle against the poor.

Longest was a ten page article by Engels called Die Naturforschung in der Geisterwelt-"Natural Science in the World of Ghosts".⁷⁾ Probably written in 1878, it was not printed during his lifetime; it first came out in an 1898 Hamburg social democrat calendar. It was not unlike T. Huxley's better known observations on credibility, or lack of it, of spiritualist mediums. The article in fact ended with an Huxley quote. English zoologists from the sphere of Darwin and Huxley were prominent among the adversaries of spiritualism. One of them, Ray Lankester (1847-1929), had American medium Slade, whom Olcott and H.P.B. had sent to Europe in 1876, sued in court for fraud.⁸⁾ Later, Lankester was one of the speakers at Marx' burial.

Engels thought that "modern spiritualism" was the "emptiest of all superstitions." As an example of fraud, he cited the Holmes couple of Philadelphia. They had evoked the spirit of 'Katey King', an action that H.P. Blavatsky defended in the U.S. press.

Engels' article aimed at a sociological explanation only in that it asked what kind of scientist spiritualism was most likely to attract. Paradoxically, it concluded that the empiricist kind was more likely to than a priori theorists like German nature philosophers; Alfred Wallace and Sir William Crookes⁹⁾ were cited as examples of the former.

For four years prior to her joining the Theosophical Society in 1889, Annie Besant (1847-1933) was, like Engels, active in the English socialist labour movement. At first in the Fabian Society, which was too moderate for Engels; later in the Social Democratic Federation (S.D.F.) -officially 'Marxist', but criticized for its sectishness- as well.

Although Annie Besant's biographer Nethercot¹⁰⁾ did not quote from Engels' works, he did mention him several times. He wrote on p. 235:

Certainly Mrs. Besant never darkened the doors of Engels' home, though she was the Fabian for whom he had the greatest respect, because of her influential pamphlets.

Engels did not forgive her earlier anti-socialism.¹¹⁾ He saw her as one of 'all those "dummy men and women"'¹²⁾ who played a part only while British workers were not confident enough for leadership from their own midst yet.

Engels wrote to German social democrat Kautsky on Annie Besant: "Mother B. always is of the religion of the man, that has subjected her."¹³⁾ Engels shared that idea with many beforeand after him. It was first said against her by W.P. Ball, a fellow freethinker who opposed her becoming socialist; Nethercot, and even her 1980's feminist biographer Rosemary Dinnage¹⁴⁾ tended to agree. I hope to write later on arguments against that view on influence on Besant.

Like Annie's supporters later, when she played a major part in India, Engels spoke of "Mother" Besant; but not in their complimentary sense. Engels complained that a review copy of the new English translation of his The condition of the Working-class in England in 1844 he sent to Besant's Our Corner magazine was ignored.¹⁵⁾

To top of file

Nederlands: home page

Home page

E-mail: simpos@zonnet.nl