Karl Korsch

Karl Korsch
Korsch's official Reichstag portrait, 1924
Born15 August 1886
Died21 October 1961(1961-10-21) (aged 75)
Education
EducationUniversity of Munich
University of Geneva
University of Berlin
University of Jena (Dr. jur.)
Philosophical work
Era20th-century philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolWestern Marxism
InstitutionsTulane University
Columbia University
Main interestsPolitics, economics, law
Notable ideasThe principle of historical specification (comprehending all things social in terms of a definite historical epoch)
Minister of Justice of the
Free State of Thuringia
In office
16 October 1923  12 November 1923
Minister-PresidentAugust Frölich
Preceded byRoman Rittweger
Succeeded byRichard Leutheußer
Member of the Reichstag
for Thuringia
In office
26 July 1924  1 July 1928
Preceded byHermann Schubert
Succeeded byMulti-member district
Member of the Landtag of Thuringia
In office
February 1924  July 1924
Personal details
Political partyUSPD (1917–1920)
KPD (1920–1926)
KAPD (1927)
Other political
affiliations
Determined Left (1926)
Group of International Communists (1926)
Left Communists (1926–1928)

Karl Korsch (German: [kaʁl kɔʁʃ]; August 15, 1886 – October 21, 1961) was a German Marxist theoretician and political philosopher. He is recognized as one of the "dissidents" that challenged the Marxism of the Second International of Karl Kautsky, Georgi Plekhanov and Lenin. Along with György Lukács, Korsch is considered to be one of the major figures responsible for laying the groundwork for Western Marxism in the 1920s.