"I am not a Marxist"

[Jurriaan Bendien <j.bendien@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Try Engels to Conrad Schmidt, 5 Aug 1890. Or try
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/05/parti-ouvrier.htm

The quote is discussed in detail in Hal Draper's marxological work, Karl
Marx's Theory of Revolution (section: "I am not a Marxist, said he") but I
haven't got the books here so cannot give page ref.

Generally it would appear Karl Marx was quite irritated by academic people
using his name to refer to general historico-philosophical systems cooked
up on the basis of the skimpiest research and knowledge, or to ultra-left
political practices which had little relevance to the real needs of the
working-class movement. As far as I know, the label "Marxist" was not
widely used when Marx was still alive. The labels "Marxism", "scientific
socialism" and "historical materialism" were however accepted by Engels and
gained wider currency in the Second International.