Abstract: The relationship between Marx and European Enlightenment is a basic issue in Marxism research. Marx as a young man was influenced by European Enlightenment， and he affirmed its principles of rationality and freedom and its legal plan to realize human rights. However， Smith， Ricardo provided another economic enlightenment plan， revealing that what constituted the legal enlightenment and promoted the enlightenment goal lay in the capitalist economic activities. Therefore， with his in-depth studies on political economics， Marx not only revealed the realistic premise and historical limits of the Enlightenment， but also truly formed a project to surpass the Enlightenment when he no longer directly criticized it. Because the Enlightenment is a historical product within capitalism， the way to surpass it can only be realized in the critique of capitalism. The relationship between Marx and European Enlightenment should be reopening on the basis of abandonment.

Key words: Marx; European Enlightenment; political economics; legal enlightenment; economic enlightenment