Karl Marx

About Karl Marx

Karl Marx (1818–1883), the Prussian-born philosopher, economist, and revolutionary socialist, stands as one of history's most impactful thinkers, earning the #53 rank from MIT's Pantheon project. His monumental work, including Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto (co-authored with Friedrich Engels), fundamentally reshaped political theory, labor movements, and subsequent global conflicts through his critique of capitalism and concept of historical materialism.

Despite this profound historical importance, Marx's online attention in 2025 suggests a significant disconnect. He garnered approximately 2.6 million annualized Wikipedia views. This level of attention is notably lower than that received by figures with much less historical weight, such as the modern film director David Lynch (ranked #774 importance, with 6.8M views) or comedian Robin Williams (ranked #966, with 5.5M views). Compared to his importance score, Marx experiences an "overattention" factor of +4x, yet his raw view count falls short of several contemporary celebrities.

Further analysis reveals that Marx's digital presence is beginning to wane. His 2025 annualized views are down 8.5% year-over-year, and his quarterly momentum shows a 4% decline between Q1 and Q3, suggesting that even the substantial modern attention he commands may be gradually eroding.