Strange but true: Karl Marx’s grave is more expensive to see than Adam Smith’s

You pay £10 to see Karl Marx at Highgate Cemetary, but Adam Smith’s grave is free. The irony is hard to ignore

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Social media platforms like Facebook, X, Bluesky, TikTok and others have good and bad points. Every so often, you’ll see a social media post that conveys a wide range of emotions. Something that could challenge perceived beliefs, make you pause and think, frustrate you to no end, evoke expressions of anger, sadness, laughter and more.

When one of those posts includes several emotions, that’s worthy of further discussion.

Here’s an example. The popular X account The Rabbit Hole posted a fascinating juxtaposition of two gravesites located in the United Kingdom. One of them is for Karl Marx, the revolutionary German philosopher often described as the “Father of Communism” who authored several well-known works with Friedrich Engels, including The Communist Manifesto (1848). The other is for Adam Smith, the free market-oriented Scottish economist often described as the “Father of Capitalism” who authored several well-known works, including The Wealth of Nations (1776).

Which gravesite would you have thought was the most expensive to visit? The great defender of the working man and proletariat, or the great defender of private enterprise and capitalism?

Believe it or not, it’s the former.

The Rabbit Hole included photos of the two gravesites in an X post on March 11 with information taken from The Atlas Society that provided an eye-catching narrative. “To visit Karl Marx’s grave it costs £10,” above the photo appropriately placed on the left, and “to visit Adam Smith’s grave it costs nothing” above the photo unsurprisingly on the right.

“Fate loves irony,” as the anonymous X account aptly put it. Too true! When it costs more to see something associated with a Communist-loving philosopher as opposed to a pro-capitalist economist, the world does seem a bit topsy-turvy.

That’s not all that caught my attention. I also reminisced about something completely different and more personal.

Here’s part of what I wrote when I reposted it on X that day, “The irony can’t help but make you laugh! Quick story. When I studied at the LSE in 1994-95, I went to see Marx’s grave with my girlfriend (now wife) … A groundskeeper pointed out his original resting place, too. The £10 fee was instituted in 2024.”

What an interesting adventure that was.

My wife visited me when I was finishing up my Master’s degree at the London School of Economics in 1995. One of the things she wanted to do was head to Highgate Cemetery in north London to see Marx’s grave. The fee was about £2 to £3 per person. I begrudgingly agreed, but asked if it was OK if I booed him when we got there. We were still dating at that point, so my mediocre attempt at a witty remark was mildly tolerated!

It wouldn’t have normally been a challenge to get there. The problem that year? The London Underground, also known as the Tube, had experienced several citywide strikes that slowed things down to a crawl. Every subway car was packed like sardines, too.

We struggled to get on the Tube on Sept. 4, 1995. The trip from Russell Square Underground Station on the Piccadilly Line (where my university residence was located) to Archway Underground Station on the Northern Line (the closest stop to Highgate), which should have been about 15 minutes, took closer to two hours. To top it off, I had to literally yank my wife out of the subway car with all my might.

If you think I’m trying to be a modern-day version of Baron Munchausen, I’m not!

We finally got to Archway in (mostly) one piece. We saw a sign that pointed to Highgate, but still ended up walking the wrong way twice. Things were not as clearly marked as they are today. We finally saw the cemetery in the distance and walked happily the rest of the way.

To find out that it closed at 5 p.m. We arrived about ten minutes late.

While we obviously didn’t want to give up, we also didn’t know what to do. My wife and I walked around the perimeter of the cemetery in hopes of finding someone—anyone—who could let us in.

Incredibly, there was one groundskeeper that I happened to see near the front gate. I motioned to my wife, and then to him. We pleaded our case to see Marx’s grave, the long journey we had taken, and said he could follow us from start to finish. The friendly gentleman took mercy on our poor Canadian souls. He opened the gates, let us in, and showed us where to go. Not only did he point out where the main monument was in the East Cemetery—which is easy to identify—but also where the original grave site is located. All he asked was for us to yell out when we left so he could lock everything up.

We went to each grave, took some photos (I grumbled at Marx under my breath), wandered around for a few additional minutes and left. We thanked the groundskeeper on our way out. He wished us well, and we saw the gates of Highgate close once more.

That’s how my wife and I saw Marx’s grave at Highgate for free. It was an experience we’ll never forget. The price was certainly left, err, right. No rabbit hole on social media was required, either.

Michael Taube is a political commentator, Troy Media syndicated columnist and former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics, lending academic rigour to his political insights.