Chapter 16 Dr. Marx went to the seaside for vacation

In the summer of 1880, Marx took his family to Ramsgate, a seaside summer resort in Kent, for vacation.Londoners like Lansgate very much, saying that it is full of momentum and charm.Lansgate is the setting for the scene where Rivecombe wants to elope with Darcy's sister; Jane Austen was there in 1803; Berentyne once collected materials and wrote novels in that summer resort.American John Swinton’s "Forty Days in England and France" recorded his visit to Marx there, saying that he rushed to the small villa according to the appointment, and Marx’s wife Jenny greeted him at the door; Jenny was quiet and kind. , with a sweet voice, and enthusiastically took him in to chat with Max.Marx would have been sixty-two years old at that time, and he had been struggling for years and had to work hard. Although his hands were much looser in his old age, he was already tired.He usually lives a quiet academic life at home in London. He wakes up at seven in the morning, drinks several cups of black coffee, and then hides in the study to read and write; he has a quick lunch at two o'clock and works at his desk.After dinner, I went out for a walk, and when I came back, I soaked in the study until two or three o'clock in the middle of the night.The study is upstairs, with windows facing the park; large bookshelves are placed on both sides of the fireplace, and books, newspapers, periodicals, and manuscripts are piled up to the ceiling.The two tables in front of the window are also full of books and newspapers.There is a small desk in the center of the study, and a leather sofa beside the table. When Marx is tired, he wants to lie on the sofa to recuperate.No one can touch the whole room of books and newspapers; he knows in his heart that every paper and roll can be found.In those few years, I didn’t write any articles that should be written, and I was busy taking notes and copying materials every day, including farming, chemistry, geology, history, banking, and currency; works by Dante, Shakespeare, Pushkin, and Balzac When he was old, he often dug it out to review.Reading too much, on the contrary, delayed my own writing.That afternoon he talked to Swinton about Russia, about England, about Germany, about France, about the prospects of the whole of Europe, about American social problems, about his translation of "Das Kapital".Swinton admired his profound knowledge and couldn't help asking him, "Why don't you do anything now?" Marx smiled and didn't answer.

As the twilight outside the window deepened, Max took Swinton out for a walk, across the town to the beach.Jenny, Marx's daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were all there; the old scholar came out of his study to spend the holidays with his children and grandchildren in good spirits.They were drinking on the beach; Marx stared at the roaring waves, thinking of the honor and disgrace behind him: "The economy is a vast ocean, and there are many problems that are not in the books. We are required to investigate and study in practice and propose solutions. Books need to be read, and reports must be solved." Listen, but it’s impossible to read too much, and listening to the report alone is not enough.” People’s Daily wrote “Theory and Practice” in conjunction with China’s economic system reform.Both Marx himself and his contemporaries said that he was an economic theorist; the basic assumptions of his economic theory were constantly brought up for discussion, some scoffed at them, and some defended them desperately.In fact, this set of economic theories has never become the mainstream of economic theory in any era.Even more influential and shocking than Marx's economic theory is Marx's theory on the evolution and structure of capitalist society.This set of theories enriched his theory of class struggle, designed a perfect political organization for the exploited class, and expanded it into a universal law, striving for the interests of this class everywhere.Thus, the blood injection from the wound of history has finally seeped into the research path of all social problems in the past century.All classes, groups, movements, leaders in every country, all historians, sociologists, psychologists, politicians, critics and writers, artists, if they set out to analyze the evolution of the character of social life, will directly Indirectly inspired by Marx.Marx was just a hard-working scholar. Of course, his works are not "panacea" that "cures all diseases", but they are must-have books on the bookshelf of those who are willing to care about and think about social issues.It doesn’t matter whether these books are outdated or outdated; the ancient classics and history subsets still have reference value today; it is really outdated to sing the praises of these works and use Marx’s bayonet to castrate one’s own thoughts.

"To master the theory, you must study hard."Marx only likes reading, not tidying up his study.He filled a shelf with quarto and octavo books at random, regardless of whether the binding was good or bad, and he didn't pay attention to whether the printing was good or bad; Draw the line and fill the eyebrow batch.His mind never rests: a learned scholar is a dreamer who thinks often, and a thinker who always fantasizes; a scholar who is not learned cannot even dream, just as an unlearned statesman can only dream.Years of vacations are certainly not good; decades without vacations is worse.Marx, a student who can only talk about "learning" and can't think about problems, looks down on him.Thoughts don’t need to wear uniforms, and the study doesn’t need to be too tidy; it’s more comfortable to drink a few cups of black coffee and be a "descendant of Marx" lying on the leather sofa to rest, than to be pointed at the nose and cursed.After more than 30 years of "learning", it's time to "think"!

It was getting dark, and the sea breeze was getting colder and colder. Yanni and the others had already gone back to the cottage, and Swinton had to catch the train back to London.Max drank his last glass of wine and walked back slowly: now is the time to do nothing; Dr. Marx is tired; he is on vacation.