Learning about Marx’s life is valuable for gaining a deeper insight into Marx’s ideas. In his early political career, Marx went through substantial changes in his politics and outlook. Beginning as a radical Democrat, with strong influences on his thinking from figures like Hegel, Marx’s contact with various social and especially class struggles would see his views evolve towards a focus on the centrality of labour in systems of production, a materialist conception of history and a fierce allegiance to the international proletariat. This was his path to becoming the theoretical and practical leader of communists across the globe.