Karl Marx

About Karl Marx

Karl Marx (1818–1883), the German philosopher, economist, and revolutionary socialist, remains one of the most influential thinkers in human history. His seminal works, most notably *Das Kapital* and *The Communist Manifesto* (co-authored with Friedrich Engels), laid the foundation for modern communism and profoundly shaped political and economic theory for the next two centuries. His historical significance is cemented by the Pantheon project, which ranks him at #53 among the most influential figures globally, a recognition stemming from his unparalleled impact on labor movements, class struggle concepts, and 20th-century geopolitical structures.

Despite this high historical ranking, Marx's modern digital presence shows a complex attention landscape. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accumulated 2.6 million annualized views. While a substantial number, this places him in an 'overattention' category (+4x relative to his historical importance), suggesting he commands a strong, albeit perhaps specialized, online interest compared to his rank. For context, his importance rank (#53) is significantly higher than that of Pope Leo XIV (#127), who garnered 18.7 million views in the same year.

This relative attention is slightly waning, as indicated by a -7.9% year-over-year decline in views and a -4% drop in 2025 momentum between Q1 and Q3, suggesting that while Marx remains a major online figure, the peak of sustained digital curiosity may have passed.