Marxist blogger and author Max Edwards dies of cancer aged 16

A Marxist blogger and author who wrote forthrightly about coping with terminal cancer has died at the age of 16.

The teenager from York was diagnosed with a tumour in his spine in autumn of last year and died on Saturday.

Max Edwards started his political blog, The Anonymous Revolutionary, in the winter of 2014. In exploring Marxism in the contemporary world, the blog went on to form the basis of his book which was published in February of this year.

On Sunday, his parents Dan and Jenny posted a message on his blog, poignantly titled The Last Post, thanking his readers for their support and describing their son as a “Writer, Philosopher, Thinker, Musician, Artist” and “The Anonymous Revolutionary”.

“He loved writing this blog and sharing his ideas with you. In the later months of his life, in particular, it was a great source of comfort to him. Thank you all for your support. Thank you all for making a young revolutionary very happy,” Max’s parents wrote.

Less than two weeks ago, Max met Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband in the palace of Westminster.

Both the current Labour leader and the former Labour leader have expressed their sadness about his death on Twitter.

Just last week, Max wrote an emotive article for The Guardian about the stark reality of being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 16. In his own wise, stoic words, he wrote: “I came to realise that it doesn’t make any difference if you’ll be dead in 10 years or two months; you still get up, have a shower and make a cup of tea”.

Max wrote eloquently and extensively about myriad aspects of revolutionary socialism, with his most recent blog posts exploring Marxism and the plight of women, the private property myth and, last but not least, American imperialism and the ‘war in Iran’.