Verwaltung von Sachen?

The study examines the affirmative and apologetic moments of Marx's and Engels' materialism, focussing on Engels' work. It is shown that Engels (and Marx) repeatedly depoliticised critical materialism, which is demonstrated (a) in their political thinking, (b) in their philosophy of history and social theory and (c) in their philosophical understanding of materialism. The approach is both theoretical and systematic. The writings of Engels and Marx are dealt with comprehensively, but the actual intention is nevertheless a systematic critique that is not solely of historical interest: Anyone interested in overcoming capitalist socialisation and power relations can learn from Marx and Engels, above all, how difficult this project actually is and how little the founders of Marxism were aware of this problem.