Karl Marx was the principal architect of the theory of historical materialism, which argued that social change is driven by class struggle. His foundational works, 'The Communist Manifesto' and 'Das Kapital', provided a searing critique of industrial capitalism and its impact on the working class. Living much of his life in exile in London, Marx developed a comprehensive framework for understanding the relationship between labor, value, and power. His call for a proletarian revolution to overthrow the capitalist system changed the course of 20th-century history, influencing political movements and academic disciplines across the globe. Marx remains one of the most cited and controversial thinkers in the history of the modern world, essential for any study of politics or economics.