The Communist Manifesto

Written in 1848 by political theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 'The Communist Manifesto' has since been recognized as one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the Communist League, it laid out the League's purposes and program. It presents an analytical approach to the class struggle (historical and present) and the problems of capitalism, rather than a prediction of communism's potential future forms.

The seminal work contains Marx and Engels' theories about the nature of society and politics, that in their own words, "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."

The book also briefly features their ideas for how the capitalist society of the time would eventually be replaced by socialism, and then eventually communism.

'The Communist Manifesto' is an attempt to explain the goal of communism as well as the theory underlying the communist movement. It argues that class struggles and the exploitation of the lower class are the motivating factors behind historical developments leading to the communist movement. Marx insisted that his brand of socialism was different from others because it was scientifically based in the objective study of history, which he saw as a continuous process of change and transformation. Just as feudalism evolved into mercantilism and then capitalism, capitalism would inevitably give way to its logical successor, socialism, as the necessary result of class struggle.

Marx discusses modern industrial society, which is characterized by class conflict between the bourgeoisie (the employers of the wage laborers and the owners of the means of production) and the proletariat (the wage-laborers who do not have their own means of production and therefore must sell their own labor in order to survive). The productive forces of capitalism, he argues, are quickly ceasing to be compatible with this exploitative relationship and therefore the proletariat will lead a revolution different from any previous revolution. Where previous revolutions simply reallocated property in favor of the new ruling class, this revolution would have the proletariat destroying all ownership of private property, which would cause social classes to disappear and a classless society to arise. Marx argues that this development is inevitable and that capitalism is inherently unstable. The Communists intend to promote this revolution and will promote the parties and associations that are moving history towards this natural conclusion. The elimination of social classes cannot come about through reforms or changes in government, but has to happen through a revolution.

'The Communist Manifesto' concludes with a discussion about the role of the Communists as they work with other parties and ends with a rallying cry: "Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE "