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Why are BTS fans discussing Karl Marx? Poll compares his impact to Jin as German philosopher trends under K-pop

A fan, explaining the reason yet baffled by it, said, 'Wait so ur telling me that Karl Marx is trending because there was a Marx vs BTS' Jin discourse?'

BTS fans of the world united to trend the name of the German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, and socialist revolutionary Karl Marx. Known globally for authoring 1848's 'The Communist Manifesto' and the three-volume 'Das Kapital' ('The Capital' written between 1867 and 1883), Marx has been a divisive figure throughout history.

He founded Marxism which has, over the years, evolved into different branches of political thoughts and systems, the most popular (or unpopular depending on what side you're on) and impactful being Leninism, Marxism–Leninism, Trotskyism, Maoism, Luxemburgism and libertarian Marxism.

Marx's work has also had a profound impact on modern sociology and has influenced revolutions labeled as "Marxist" throughout the globe like the Russian Revolution, which led to the founding of the Soviet Union.

World leaders who have cited Marx as an influence include Vladimir Lenin (Russia), Mao Zedong (China), Fidel Castro (Cuba), Salvador Allende (Chile), Josip Broz Tito (erstwhile Yugoslavia), Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Jawaharlal Nehru (India), Nelson Mandela (South Africa), Xi Jinping (China), Jean-Claude Juncker (Luxembourg) and Thomas Sankara (Burkina Faso). So why is he trending on Twitter under the K-pop category?

Strangely enough, Marx is being discussed by fans of BTS who are comparing his impact on the world to Jin's — a member of the K-pop boy band. Many followers of BTS, all in jest, of course, talked about who has had more of a lasting impact on the world at large: Marx or Jin? One fan, pointing out the fact that Marx is trending under K-pop, wrote, "ah yes my favorite K-pop boy, Karl Marx."

Another, explaining the reason yet baffled by it, said, "Wait so ur telling me that Karl Marx is trending because there was a Marx vs BTS' Jin discourse? How is this real life? I'm screaming!" Another shared screenshots of quotes by Marx and tweeted, "Karl Marx trending, so here are some of his best bars straight from the 1800s." As Marx was trending, this lesser-known fact about the philosopher was shared, "Karl Marx named all four of his daughters Jenny." Talk about equal distribution.

A fan shared a screenshot of the poll asking who's more impactful, Jin or Marx, writing, "Did they delete because Karl Marx was winning?" while another, confused about who Marx is, wrote, "Pause I thought Karl Marx was a K-pop idol! This motherf***er is a philosopher?" One more, along with a picture of Marx, jokingly wrote, "Not Karl Marx stans coming for Jin when their fave literally looks like this."

One fan said, "Now what is the Twitter intern gonna say when they write up the summary on why Karl Marx is trending?" Another simply explained, "Karl Marx is trending on K-pop Twitter because someone said he's more attractive than jin." Another tweeted, "Jin could write the communist manifesto but Karl Marx could never do 'Epiphany'."

Marx employed historical materialism to predict capitalism that would, eventually, lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system known as the Socialist Mode of Production. According to Marx, the class antagonisms under capitalism would cause the working class's development of class consciousness that would lead to their conquest of political power and establishment of a classless, communist society.

Jin, on the other hand, as a member of BTS, will release the K-pop group's fifth Korean-language album 'BE' on November 20, 2020.