H S I N T H E N E W S
Disease made Karl Marx boil with anger
Oct 31 2007
The Times, UK
© Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd.
Karl Marx suffered from a skin disease that can cause severe
psychological effects such as self-loathing and alienation, according to a
British dermatologist.
The father of communism’s life and attitudes were shaped by hidradenitis
suppurativa, said Sam Shuster in the British Journal of Dermatology. One of
its symptoms is alienation – a concept that Marx, a martyr to boils and
carbuncles, put into words as he wrote Das Kapital.
The condition was described as early as 1839 by a French physician, Alfred
Velpeau. But, Professor Shuster says, ideas crossed the Channel less readily
than wine and Marx’s true condition was never diagnosed.
Hidradenitis suppurativa is a disease of the apocrine sweat glands, found in
the armpits and the groins. The skin in the affected areas shows a mixture
of blackheads, lumps that look like boils, spots and areas that leak pus.
Doctors and Marx, who was born in Germany but lived most of his life in
London, called them “furuncles, boils and carbuncles”, but Professor Shuster
says that they were too persistent and recurrent for that. He searched
Marx’s letters and found that he had started complaining of carbuncles in
1864, when he was 46, though it is possible that he had them earlier.
In 1867 he wrote to Friedrich Engels of the boils “on my posterior and near
the penis” – areas characteristic of the condition. Marx was often unable to
work because of the pain. He wrote to Ludwig Kugelmann in 1867: “I still
have a carbuncle on the left loin not far from the centre of propagation, as
well as numerous furuncles.”
The evidence that he suffered hidradenitis suppurativa is strong, says
Professor Shuster. Marx was treated with arsenic, poultices and lancing, but
with little effect. His only consolation, he told Engels, was that
carbuncles were “a truly proletarian disease”.
The illness also contributed to Marx’s poverty, Professor Shuster says.
“This new diagnosis is not just important in terms of historical accuracy,”
he said. “The skin is an organ of communication, which is why its disorders
produce so much psychological distress, with depression of self-image, mood
and wellbeing, and with self-loathing and disgust.
“In addition to reducing his ability to work, which contributed to his
depressing poverty, hidradenitis greatly reduced his self-esteem. This
explains his self-loathing and alienation, a response reflected by the
alienation Marx developed in his writing.”
Nina Goad, of the British Association of Dermatologists, said: “It is
fascinating to discover that such an influential figure suffered from
[hidradenitis], especially considering how it might have affected his work.”
Illness of the people
— Hidradenitis suppurativa is found in about one in 100 people
— It more often affects women, and only appears after puberty, when the
apocrine glands are activated by —hormones
— It is often treated with antibiotics or anti-acne drugs
— In severe cases, oral corticosteroids may be prescribed
Source: British Association of Dermatologists