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Friedrich Engels and Electricity

In: 200 Years of Friedrich Engels

Author

Listed:
  • Eberhard Illner

    (Museum of Early Industrialization)

Abstract

Friedrich Engels is regarded in research not only as an expert on military technology but also as a well-informed scientific journalist on chemistry, physics, anthropology, and linguistics. His manuscripts for a book he planned on natural dialectics provide evidence of this. In a text from 1882, he discussed the state of research on electricity, especially electrolysis. Engels recognized – albeit late – the eminent importance of the use of this new energy source and derived from it supporting impulses for a political revolution along the lines of the French Revolution. Although Engels’ outlook was not realized, he recognized important effects of the decentralization of industrial production in Europe and the USA, which arose within a short period of time due to the availability of electrical energy in many places. Furthermore, and against the background of the scientific history of electromagnetism and electrodynamics, this chapter addresses the question of how familiar Engels actually was with the development of the science and technology of electricity.

Suggested Citation

  • Eberhard Illner, 2022. "Friedrich Engels and Electricity," The European Heritage in Economics and the Social Sciences, in: Jürgen Georg Backhaus & Günther Chaloupek & Hans A. Frambach (ed.), 200 Years of Friedrich Engels, pages 153-166, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:euhchp:978-3-031-10115-1_11
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-10115-1_11
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