Karl Marx isn’t responsible for all the atrocity his alleged heirs have to answer for – Jean Claude Juncker

Jean Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission defended Karl Marx’s record as a philosopher, arguing that he is not “responsible” for mistakes and atrocities committed in his name after his death. In a speech in the German philosopher–economist’s hometown of Trier to mark his 200th birthday, Jean-Claude Juncker said that “Marx isn’t responsible for all the atrocity his alleged heirs have to answer for”.

“Karl Marx was a philosopher, who thought into the future had creative aspirations, and today he stands for things, which is he not responsible for and which he didn’t cause, because many of the things he wrote down were redrafted into the opposite,” Mr Juncker said in a speech at a church in Trier.

“One has to understand Karl Marx from the context of his time and not have prejudices based on the review, these judgements shouldn’t exist. Karl Marx was lucky in life as he was born in Trier. He grew up in the city, actually the shortest period of his vita.”

Drawing on the philosopher’s legacy, Mr Juncker said the European Union’s instability could be addressed by focusing more on social welfare, which he said had been a neglected part of European integration so far.

“It will be a task of our time to create a lively reality out of the social rights we set up for Europe, for the ones who live today and often are sad or blackmailed by life and won’t have enough social rights and the ones, who will be born tomorrow,” he said.

In a different occasion, the Chinese president has praised Karl Marx as the “greatest thinker of modern times” ahead of the bicentennial of the German philosopher. Ahead of Karl Marx’s 200th birthday on Saturday, Xi Jinping referred to the German philosopher as “the greatest thinker of modern times,” calling his theories on communism a tool for China to “win the future.”

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, he said Marx’s name was “still respected all over the world” and that “his theory shines with the brilliant light of truth.” He also claimed that putting “Marxism onto the flag of the Chinese Communist party was totally correct.”

A Chinese gift of a statue of Karl Marx is dividing Germans, as his home town of Trier prepares to unveil it 200 years after his birth. Marx co-wrote the Communist Manifesto, which said that all human history had been based on class struggle. Local officials have appealed for calm as rival groups prepare for rallies in Trier on Saturday.