[Classics] Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right

Karl Marx understood very well the role of religion. He is often quoted as saying that religion is the “opium of the people”. But he said a lot more than that, and it was in this work that he shows a deep understanding of why people are religious. He explains that, to ask them to give up on their religious illusions, this means removing the conditions that require that illusion.

Written: 1843-44;
Source: Marx’s Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right (1843);
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1970. Ed. Joseph O’Malley;
Translated: Annette Jolin and Joseph O’Malley;
Transcribed: Andy Blunden;
HTML Markup: Andy Blunden and Brian Baggins (2000).
Marxist.com version: HTML reworked, November 2019.