Karl Marx Review

Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto is a book written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848 and has since been recognized as one of the world’s most influential political manuscripts. Marx was the principle author while Engels assisted and edited. In it, Marx presents an analytical approach to class struggle and the problems of capitalism and his theories about the nature of society and politics. The book came about as a result of a group of radical workers called the “Communist League” in London. Marx’s theories should be understood in the context of the hardships suffered by 19th century workers in England, France, and Germany. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries created a permanent underclass of workers, many of whom lived in poverty and worked under terrible conditions with little political representation.

The Communist Manifesto has four sections. In the first section, Marx discusses the Communists’ theory of history and the relationship between proletariats and bourgeoisie. In the second section, Marx explains the relationship between the Communists and the proletarians. The third section addresses the flaws in other, previous socialist literature, and the final section discusses the relationship between the Communists and other parties.

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....