Book Review "Friedrich Engels: Pemikiran dan Kritik" (Friedrich Engels: Thought and Criticism)

Not infrequently people only know Friedrich Engels as the scribe of Karl Marx. His only job was to collect, retype Marx's papers and give them to publishers. Some books describe him as an amateur writer, limited in his abilities and unable to adapt to Marx's thinking. That is why the editor of this book, Dede Mulyanto, compiled the anthology "Behind Marx: The Characters and Thoughts of Friedrich Engels" published by Marjin Kiri a few months ago.In general, the book introduces Engels' life and thought, and explores his relationship to Marx in a way that does not simply place him within or under Marx. In this book, we will realize that Engels was not only a loyal friend but also provided the impetus and avenue for Marx to write and publish his work. Not only was he the saddest person at the time of Marx's death, but he also didn't even have time to finish the Das Kapital masterpiece. In addition, we also see Engels' persistence in compiling Marx's research notes and compiling them to produce a series of publications, including Das Kapital and Das Kapital.We also gain a deeper understanding of Engels, as explained in the brief description by Sylvia Tiwon in the introduction to the book, as a theorist who developed the theory of historical materialism into scientific fields outside of economics and struggled with the latest scientific discoveries of his time.This book exists to restore Engels' figures and thoughts and to place them accordingly. It is a challenge to reintroduce the image and ideas of Engels to Indonesian readers today, not only in formal legal aspects, such as prohibiting the spread of Marxist ideas through TAP MPR/Ketetapan Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (Resolution People's Consultative Assembly) No. 25 of 1966 but also in the theoretical aspects of Marxism itself. As we know MPR/Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (People's Consultative Assembly) decree 25 of 1966 is a product of the highest law of the times and has acted as an integrating mechanism and effective conflict resolution to address the nation's breakdown after the G30S / PKI 1965, which devastated national unity. With the MPRS decree, the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was dissolved and declared a prohibited organization throughout the territory of the Republic of Indonesia and a ban was imposed on any activities to spread or develop the understanding or teachings of Communism/Marxism-Leninism. When studying the thinking of this German man, the main question that often arises is: Why does Engels need to be studied? Why didn't Engels study Marx's thinking right away? The ideological leanings of neo-Marxist scientists further exacerbated this situation. They hoped that by identifying Engels as the culprit of the extreme and rigid interpretation, Marx's theory was freed from the bad thoughts of Soviet determination.