This is a list of prominent figures who contributed to Marxist theory, principally as authors; it is not intended to list politicians who happen(ed) to be a member of an ostensibly communist political party or other organisation.
| Name | Place of birth | Place of death | Nationality | Life | Tendency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Adler | Prague, Austria-Hungary | Vienna, Austria | Austrian | 1852–1918 | Social democracy, Austro-Marxism |
| Theodor W. Adorno | Frankfurt am Main, Hesse-Nassau Province, Prussia, Germany | Visp, Visp, Valais, Switzerland | German | 1903–1969 | Frankfurt School, Western Marxism |
| Louis Althusser | Birmendreïs, French Algeria | Paris, France | French | 1918–1990 | Western Marxism, Structural Marxism, Leninism |
| Samir Amin | Cairo, Egypt | Paris, France | Egyptian and French | 1931–2018 | Third Worldism, Maoism, World-systems theory |
| Otto Bauer | Vienna, Austria-Hungary | Paris, France | Austrian | 1881–1938 | Social Democracy, Austro-Marxism |
| Walter Benjamin | Berlin, German Empire | Portbou, Catalonia, Spain | German | 1892–1940 | Western Marxism, Marxist hermeneutics |
| Franco "Bifo" Berardi | Bologna, Italy | Still Living | Italian | 1949– | Autonomism |
| Eduard Bernstein | Schöneberg, German Confederation | Berlin, Germany | German | 1850–1932 | Social democracy, Marxist revisionism |
| Caio Prado Júnior | São Paulo, Brazil | São Paulo, Brazil | Brazilian | 1907–1990 | Marxism |
| Ernst Bloch | Ludwigshafen, Germany | Tübingen, West Germany | German | 1885–1977 | Western Marxism, Marxist hermeneutics, Marxist humanism |
| Amadeo Bordiga | Ercolano, Kingdom of Italy | Formia, Italy | Italian | 1889–1970 | Italian Left communism, Leninism |
| Bertolt Brecht | Augsburg, German Empire | East Berlin, East Germany | German | 1898–1956 | Marxist literary criticism |
| Nikolai Bukharin | Moscow, Russian Empire | Kommunarka shooting ground, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | Russian | 1888–1938 | Bolshevism, Left communism (initially), Right opposition (later on) |
| Jacques Camatte | Plan-de-Cuques, Alpes-Maritimes, France | France | French | 1935–2025 | Bordigism, Anarcho-primitivism (later on), Communization (later on) |
| Cornelius Castoriadis | Constantinople, Ottoman Empire | Paris, France | Greek and French | 1922–1997 | Western Marxism, Post-Marxism, Psychoanalytic Marxism, Libertarian socialism |
| Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya | Calcutta, British Raj | Calcutta, India | Indian | 1918–1993 | Marxism |
| V. Gordon Childe | Sydney, Colony of New South Wales | Blackheath, New South Wales, Australia | Australian | 1892–1957 | Marxist archaeology |
| G. A. Cohen | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Oxford, England | Canadian | 1941–2009 | Analytical Marxism |
| James Connolly | Cowgate, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom | Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin, Ireland | Irish and Scottish | 1868–1916 | Marxism, Irish republicanism |
| Onorato Damen | Monte San Pietrangeli, Italy | Milan | Italian | 1893–1979 | Italian Left communism |
| Gilles Dauvé | France | Still living | French | 1947– | Left communism, Communization |
| Angela Davis | Birmingham, Alabama | Still Living | American | 1944– | Marxist feminism |
| Guy Debord | Paris, France | Bellevue-la-Montagne, Haute-Loire, France | French | 1931–1994 | Situationism |
| Daniel De Leon | Curaçao | New York, State of New York, United States | American | 1852–1914 | De Leonism, Syndicalism |
| Joseph Dietzgen | Blankenberg (now Hennef, German Confederation | Chicago, Illinois, United States | German | 1828–1888 | Marxism |
| Raya Dunayevskaya | Yaryshev, Russian Empire (today, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine) | Chicago, Illinois, United States | American | 1910–1987 | Marxist humanism |
| Terry Eagleton | Salford, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom | Still living | British | 1942– | Marxism |
| Gilles Deleuze | Paris, France | Paris, France | French | 1925–1995 | Freudo-Marxism, Post-Marxism |
| Arghiri Emmanuel | Patras, Greece | Paris, France | Greek | 1911–2001 | Unequal exchange |
| Friedrich Engels | Barmen, Kingdom of Prussia (today Wuppertal, Germany) | London, United Kingdom | German | 1820–1895 | Classical Marxism |
| Frantz Fanon | Fort-de-France, Martinique, France | Bethesda, Maryland, United States | French | 1925–1961 | Marxist humanism, Pan-Africanism, Decolonization |
| John Bellamy Foster | Seattle, Washington, United States | Still living | American | 1953– | Marxism |
| Herman Gorter | Wormerveer | Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Brussels | Dutch | 1864–1927 | Council communism |
| Antonio Gramsci | Ales, Sardinia, Italy | Rome, Lazio, Italy | Italian | 1891–1937 | Gramscianism, Western Marxism, Marxist humanism, Neo-Marxism |
| Félix Guattari | Villeneuve-les-Sablons, France | Cour-Cheverny, France | French | 1930–1992 | Freudo-Marxism, Post-Marxism |
| Ernesto "Che" Guevara | Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina | La Higuera, Vallegrande, Bolivia | Argentine | 1928–1967 | Marxism-Leninism, Guevarism |
| Abimael Guzmán (Gonzalo) | Arequipa, Peru | Callao, Peru | Peruvian | 1934–2021 | Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, Gonzalo thought |
| Ted Grant | Germiston, South Africa | London, United Kingdom | South African and British | 1913–2006 | Trotskyism |
| David Harvey | Gillingham, Kent, England, United Kingdom | Still living | British | 1935– | Marxist geography |
| Harry Haywood | South Omaha, Nebraska, United States | Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States | American | 1898–1985 | Marxism-Leninism |
| Rudolf Hilferding | Vienna, Austria-Hungary | Paris, France | Austrian and German | 1877–1941 | Austro-Marxism |
| Max Horkheimer | Zuffenhausen (now Stuttgart), Württemberg, German Empire | Nuremberg, Bavaria, West Germany | German | 1895–1973 | Frankfurt School, Western Marxism |
| Ho Chi Minh | Nghệ An Province, French Indochina | Hanoi, North Vietnam | Vietnamese | 1890–1969 | Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought |
| Enver Hoxha | Ergiri (today Gjirokastër), Janina Vilayet, Ottoman Empire | Tirana, People's Socialist Republic of Albania | Albanian | 1908–1985 | Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought (initially), Hoxhaism |
| C.L.R. James | Trinidad | London, United Kingdom | Trinidadian and British | 1901–1989 | Marxism, Pan-Africanism, Anti-Stalinist left |
| Fredric Jameson | Cleveland, Ohio, United States | Killingworth, Connecticut, United States | American | 1934–2024 | Western Marxism, Marxist hermeneutics |
| Kojin Karatani | Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan | Still living | Japanese | 1941– | Marxist literary criticism |
| Edvard Kardelj | Ljubljana, Duchy of Carniola, Austria-Hungary | Ljubljana, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | Yugoslavian | 1910–1979 | Titoism |
| Karl Kautsky | Prague, Austria-Hungary | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Czech, Austrian and German | 1854–1938 | Orthodox Marxism |
| İbrahim Kaypakkaya | Çorum, Turkey | Çorum, Turkey | Turkish | 1949–1973 | Maoism |
| Kim Il-Sung | Chingjong, Korea | Hyangsan, Korea | Korean | 1912–1994 | Marxism-Leninism, Juche |
| Jim Kemmy | Limerick, Ireland | Limerick, Ireland | Irish | 1936–1997 | Marxism |
| Alexandra Kollontai | St Petersburg, Russian Empire | Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | Soviet | 1872–1952 | Marxist feminism, Bolshevism |
| Karl Korsch | Tostedt, German Empire | Belmont, Massachusetts, United States | German | 1886–1961 | Western Marxism |
| Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi | Kosben, (now Goa) British Raj | Pune, Maharashtra, India | Indian | 1907–1966 | Marxism |
| Yalçın Küçük | İskenderun, Hatay, Turkey | Still living | Turkish | 1938– | Marxism |
| Antonio Labriola | Cassino, Papal States | Rome, Kingdom of Italy | Italian | 1843–1904 | Marxism |
| Paul Lafargue | Santiago de Cuba | Draveil, France | French | 1842–1911 | Marxism, Anti-work |
| Henri Lefebvre | Hagetmau, France | Navarrenx, France | French | 1901–1991 | Western Marxism, Hegelian Marxism |
| Vladimir Lenin | Simbirsk, Russian Empire | Gorki Leninskiye, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | Soviet | 1870–1924 | Leninism, Bolshevism |
| Karl Liebknecht | Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire | Berlin, Weimar Republic | German | 1871–1919 | Spartacism |
| Domenico Losurdo | Sannicandro di Bari, Kingdom of Italy | Ancona, Italy | Italian | 1941–2018 | Marxism |
| Georg Lukács | Budapest, Austria-Hungary | Budapest, People's Republic of Hungary | Hungarian | 1885–1971 | Budapest School, Western Marxism, Hegelian Marxism, Leninism |
| Rosa Luxemburg | Zamość, Vistula Land, Russian Empire | Berlin, Germany | Polish and German | 1871–1919 | Spartacism |
| Herbert Marcuse | Berlin, German Empire | Starnberg, West Germany | German | 1898–1979 | Frankfurt School, Western Marxism |
| José Carlos Mariátegui | Moquegua, Peru | Lima, Peru | Peruvian | 1894–1930 | Marxism, Sorelianism |
| Andreas Malm | Mölndal, Sweden | Still living | Swedish | 1977– | Marxism |
| Karl Marx | Trier, Kingdom of Prussia | London, United Kingdom | Prussian and German | 1818–1883 | Classical Marxism |
| Paul Mattick | Stolp, Pomerania, German Empire (now Poland) | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | German | 1904–1981 | Council communism |
| Andy Merrifield | Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom | Still living | British | 1960– | "Magical Marxism" |
| István Mészáros | Budapest, Hungary | Margate, England | Hungary | 1930–2017 | Marxism |
| Antonio Negri | Padua, Italy | Paris, France | Italian | 1933–2023 | Autonomism |
| Kwame Nkrumah | Nkroful, Gold Coast (now Ghana) | Bucharest, Romania | Ghanaian | 1909–1972 | Nkrumahism |
| Abdullah Öcalan | Ömerli, Şanlıurfa, Turkey | Still living | Turkish Kurdish | 1948– | Democratic confederalism |
| Sylvia Pankhurst | Manchester, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | British and Ethiopian | 1882–1960 | Council communism |
| Anton Pannekoek | Vaassen, Netherlands | Wageningen, Netherlands | Dutch | 1873–1960 | Council communism |
| Evgeny Pashukanis | Staritsa, Russian Empire | Soviet Union | Russian | 1891–1937 | Leninism |
| Georgi Plekhanov | Gudalovka (now Gryazinsky District), Tambov Governorate, Russian Empire | Terijoki, Finland | Russian | 1856–1918 | Marxism |
| Bijan Jazani | Tehran, Iran | Tehran, Iran | Iranian | 1938–1975 | Marxism |
| Nicos Poulantzas | Athens, Greece | Paris, France | Greek | 1936–1979 | Structural Marxism, Leninism (initially), Democratic socialism (later on) |
| Isaak Illich Rubin | Dinaburg, Russian Empire | Aktobe, Kazakh SSR, USSR | Soviet Union | 1886–1937 | Marxism |
| Jean-Paul Sartre | Paris, France | Paris, France | French | 1905–1980 | Neo-Marxism, Existentialism |
| Jose Maria Sison | Ilocos Sur, Philippines | Utrecht, Netherlands | Filipino | 1939 - 2022 | Marxism-Leninism-Maoism |
| Alfred Sohn-Rethel | Neuilly-sur-Seine, France | Bremen, West Germany | German | 1899–1990 | Marxism |
| Mahdi Amel | Harouf, Lebanon | Beirut, Lebanon | Lebanese | 1936–1987 | Marxism |
| Joseph Stalin | Gori, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire | Kuntsevo Dacha near Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | Soviet | 1878–1953 | Marxism-Leninism, Stalinism |
| Paul Sweezy | New York City, New York, United States | Larchmont, New York (state), United States | American | 1910–2004 | Neo-Marxism |
| Josip Broz Tito | Kumrovec, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary | Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia | Yugoslavian | 1892–1980 | Marxism-Leninism, Titoism |
| Leon Trotsky | Yelizavetgrad, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire | Coyoacán, Distrito Federal, Mexico | Soviet | 1879–1940 | Leninism, Bolshevism, Trotskyism |
| Alberto Toscano | Italy | Still living | Italy | 1977– | Western Marxism |
| Raymond Williams | Llanfihangel Crucorney, Wales, United Kingdom | Saffron Walden, England, United Kingdom | British ( Welsh) | 1921–1988 | Western Marxism, New Left |
| Karl August Wittfogel | Woltersdorf, Lower Saxony, Province of Hanover, German Empire | New York, State of New York, United States | German and American | 1896–1988 | Marxism |
| Mao Zedong | Shaoshan, Hunan, Qing Dynasty | Beijing, People's Republic of China | Chinese | 1893–1976 | Marxism-Leninism, Maoism |
| Slavoj Žižek | Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia | Still living | Slovene ( Yugoslavian before Dissolution of Yugoslavia) | 1949– | Western Marxism, Hegelian Marxism, Psychoanalytic Marxism |