Karl Marx: First Futurist
In 1848, twenty years before Jules Verne published his first novel and decades before H.G. Wells was even born, Karl Marx did something unprecedented. He didn't just critique capitalism—he invented a new way of seeing the future.
You think AI is new? Marx predicted ChatGPT 175 years ago.
In 1848, twenty years before Jules Verne published his first novel and decades before H.G. Wells was even born, Karl Marx did something unprecedented. He didn't just critique capitalism—he invented a new way of seeing the future.
While other thinkers described how things were, Marx described how they would be. He wasn't writing fiction. He was writing the future's first draft.
The Predictions That Came True
Marx didn't use crystal balls or prophecy. He synthesized philosophy, economics, and history into scientific prediction. And his accuracy is terrifying:
Globalization - He called it the "World Market" in 1848
Tech Monopolies - "Capital tends to concentrate" (Hello, Amazon)
Gig Economy - The "Reserve Army of Labor"
AI Replacing Workers - "Machinery makes workers obsolete"
The DNA of Every Dystopia
Every sci-fi dystopia you've ever loved borrowed from Marx's playbook:
• Class warfare in The Hunger Games
• Corporate control in Blade Runner
• Tech oligarchy in every cyberpunk story ever written
Marx saw these patterns forming in the steam engines and factory floors of the 1800s. He traced their trajectories forward with mathematical precision. The Communist Manifesto wasn't political theory—it was humanity's first systematic attempt at predicting technological society.
Why This Matters Now
As AI reshapes our economy exactly as Marx predicted machinery would, his framework becomes essential. Not because we need communism, but because we need to understand the logic of technological change.
Marx didn't just predict our problems. He revealed the engine that creates them. Understanding that engine might be the only way to build something better.
