The United States Constitution Compared to the Communist Manifesto

833 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Comparing communism and capitalism

The United States Constitution Compared to the Communist Manifesto

Both the Communist Manifesto and the United States Constitution share some common ideas. They are documents that strive for ideas that in opposition to one another. The Communist Manifesto and The Constitution of the United States both include what the relationship between an individual and society should be about. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto. Marx and Engels talked about in the Communist Manifesto what they thought to be the way to solve the problems in the world during that time. Those problems dealt with society, but mainly the poor. They thought that people during those times were too dependent on money and how much of it they made. They wrote the manifesto in hopes to change society. The form of government they used to do this was by way of the Communist Party. "The Communists, therefore, are on the one hand, practically, the most advanced and resolute section of the working-class parties of every country"[i] Within the Communist Party everyone is equal, and all property belongs to the state.

The Constitution of the United States on the other hand was written to restrict the amount of power the government could have. It allows people to have property unlike the Communist Manifesto. Within the Constitution, it is stipulated that the people have control over how much power the government has. According to the first amendment in the Constitution, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grieva...

... middle of paper ...

...heir own liberty and freedom. The idea of what liberty and freedom are is discussed quite differently within the two documents. The constitution calls for democracy, where an individual can have the right to choose what they want their role in society to be. The manifesto helps to explain communism, in which the government decides for each person what his or her role in society is.

Notes

[i] “The Communist Manifesto”

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/treatise/communist_manifesto/mantwo.htm

[ii] The United States Constitution”

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html#amendmenti

[iii] “The Communist Manifesto”

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/treatise/communist_manifesto/manone.htm

[iv] “The Communist Manifesto”

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/treatise/communist_manifesto/mantwo.htm

Show More
Related

  • Separation Of Powers Dbq Essay Power

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    You little tyrant king george off with your head.Since the Americans had a bad experience with one person having too much power they made a constitution that guarded against tyranny by, dividing power, making the branches able to check or limit each other, and dividing power between big and little states.

    Read More

  • The People's Republic of Power

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ailable. Charles A. Beard argues this point in his book An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, stating that “The Constitution was essentially an economic document based upon the concept that the fundamental private rights of property are anterior to government and morally beyond the reach of popular majorities.”

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Karl Marx's Writing Of The Communist Manifesto

    2472 Words  | 5 Pages

    Karl Marx 's writing of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848 has been documented by a vast number of academics as one of the most influential pieces of political texts written in the modern era. Its ideologically driven ideas formed the solid foundation of the Communist movement throughout the 20th century, offering a greater alternative for those who were rapidly becoming disillusioned and frustrated with the growing wealth and social divisions created by capitalism. A feeling not just felt in by a couple of individuals in one society, but a feeling that was spreading throughout various societies worldwide. As Toma highlights in his work, Marx felt that ‘capitalism would produce a crisis-ridden, polarized society destined to be taken over by

    Read More

  • The Constitution as A Democratic Document

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    Upon the opening words of the Constitution, "We the People…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America," one must ask, who are these people? While the American Constitution provided its citizens with individual rights, many members were excluded. Elite framers manipulated the idea of a constitution in order to protect their economic interests and the interests of their fellow ‘white land and slave owning men' by restricting the voices of women, slaves, indentured servants and others. Therefore, the Constitution cannot truly be considered a "democratic document." However, because it is a live document, malleable and controllably changeable according to the interest of congress, it has enabled us to make reforms overtime. Such reforms that have greatly impacted America, making us the free, independent nation that we are today.

    Read More

  • The Electoral College Should Be Abolished

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Founders built certain protections for individual rights into this country's founding documents. The United States Constitution was one such document. In particular, such protections guard Americans who hold minority viewpoints from those who side with the majority. For example, the First Amendment protects the right of free speech to ensure that people who hold unpopular views have just as much freedom to express those views as do people who tend to agree with the majority. The United States Constitution, therefore, was intended to protect the individual rights of Americans from a tyrannical government and majority. However, today, the Electoral College does not represent the vibrant democracy into which the United States has grown.

    Read More

  • The Guidance of a Government

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    People have their own perspective of a government that they envision for their people. Thomas Jefferson has been the president of the United States and ruled under a monarch. Jefferson couldn’t tolerate the abuse from a monarch, so he rebelled against the British crown. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence, and declared the colonies were free from British rule. Before he became the author of The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was established “ as an ardent republican and revolutionary” (Jacobus 77). Jacobus states Jefferson is, “one of the most versatile Americans of any generation” (Jacobus 78). In The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson and the founding fathers envisioned a government that would govern the people, and the people would be free. The people must be governed with rights, Jefferson implies it’s the government’s duty to guide and secure the people, therefore, he believes the government’s obligation to the individual is more important than the individuals obligation to the state.

    Read More

  • Constitutional Republic

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    Between 1787 and 1791 the Framers of the US Constitution established a system of government upon principles that had been discussed and partially implemented in many countries over the course of several centuries, but never before in such a pure and complete design, which we call a constitutional republic. Since then, the design has often been imitated, but important principles have often been ignored in those imitations, with the result that their governments fall short of being true republics or truly constitutional. The Framers of the Constitution tried very hard to design a system that would not allow any one person or group within the government to gain too much power. Personally, I think they succeeded. In order to guard against what one of the Founding Fathers called an "excess of democracy," the Constitution was built with many ways to limit the government's power. Among these methods were separating the three branches, splitting the legislature so laws are carefully considered, and requiring members of Congress to meet certain criteria to qualify for office. The Founders did leave a few problems along with their system.

    Read More

  • The Communist Manifesto Analysis

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marx and his coauthor, Friedrich Engels, begin The Communist Manifesto with the famous and provocative statement that the “history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle.” They argue that all changes in the shape of society, in political institutions, in history itself, are driven by a process of collective struggle on the part of groups of people with similar economic situations in order to realize their material or economic interests. These struggles, occurring throughout history from ancient Rome through the Middle Ages to the present day, have been struggles of economically subordinate classes against economically dominant classes who opposed their economic interests—slaves against masters, serfs against landlords,

    Read More

  • The Struggle Between The Working Class And Communism In The Communist Manifesto?

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the two German philosophers saw history as the struggle between the working class and the Bourgeois, or middle class (textbook 708). The Communist Manifesto was written in 1848, during the peak of the Industrial Revolution, a time when the Bourgeois made huge profits in manufacturing at the expense of the working class. According to Marx and Engels, the fruits of the Industrial Revolution created a new class of the oppressed modern working class, the Proletariat, which had never before existed because it was neither like serfdom or slave hood in that it was dependent on the Bourgeois to hire them for wage labor. This was the class the two philosophers envisioned would set off a revolution that would overthrow capitalism to end the perpetual class struggle and create a fair society known as Communism.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The US Constitution

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    While we have a constitution that lays out our clear cut civil liberties and all the rights we possess, other countries chose to restrict those freedoms. Due to the many advantages the Constitution gives each American citizen, the US has been able to keep this document intact as long as they have while other countries have to constantly restructure their government principles. This stability leads to greater efficiency in our legislative process and a strong sense of national pride. For a nation filled with differences and mixed opinions, the Constitution is a perfect fit. It was written as unbiased as possible to ensure that it was not limiting anyone or anything, instead, giving each citizen the ability to keep their government in check and grant freedom to everyone. During the time the document was written was when the Colonist knew exactly what it felt like to live in a world of oppression and unjust government. As a result, Madison and the other leaders at the time made it a goal to put the power in the hands of the people and make freedom an utmost priority. With an Unbiased approach to government that gives no advantage to one group or another, and with amendments that only help citizens take control, the Constitution is what the early colonist left Europe and died

    Read More

  • Comparing The Us Constitution

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1918, while the rest of Europe was still engaged in World War I, a newly formed communist government was developing in Russia. Much like 18th century Americans, they had just managed to overthrow what was viewed as a tyrannical government and hoped to form a new nation free of the injustices of the previous rule. Both countries wrote a new constitution as well as a declaration of rights to facilitate this, but their respective documents had vast differences. These disparities stemmed from differences in the ideologies of the new governments. The primary objectives of the Russian Declaration of Rights of the Working and Exploited People and the later constitution were the “abolition of all exploitation of man by man, complete elimination of the division of society into classes, merciless suppression of the exploiters, socialist organization of society, and victory of socialism in all countries.” Americans wanted equality of opportunity and personal freedom instead of the social equality desired by the Russians. The American constitution and Bill of Rights were created to protect personal liberties and individual freedom while the Russians were more concerned with the welfare and equality of the population as a whole. This difference is partially due to the differences in the conditions leading to revolution in each country. The American Revolution was initiated by the wealthy in response to what they considered unfair treatment by a foreign ruler while the Russian revolution was instigated by the poor in reaction to centuries of oppression and exploitation by the wealthy within their own country.

    Read More

  • U.S. Constitution: Counter Revolutionary?

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    The beginning of the Constitution provides a basis for one to question the righteousness of the Framers intentions. The Constitution starts by saying, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This was not a true statement. That phrase excluded black people, women, and men who lacked wealth. Government under the British did the same thing; all the power was made accessible to only the rich. The American Revolution was aimed at acquiring equal and fair representation in government for everyone. Next, the Constitution established a Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was a group of selected people who would make major legal decisions for the country. These people were not elected or chosen by the people, they were chosen by the government. This placed a form of power over the people of the United States that had been held by King George. The Supreme Court had the power to ma...

    Read More

  • The Founding Fathers: An Age Of Realism Summary

    1855 Words  | 4 Pages

    The men who wrote the American constitution agreed with Thomas Hobbes that humans were naturally evil. Therefore, they agreed that in order to prevent a dictatorship or monarchy, the citizens should have influence in the government. The writers wanted a more ideal constitution, but they realized evil human motives would never change. One of the main goals of the constitution was to create a balanced government that would allow the citizens to prevent each other from being corrupt. The writers wanted to give citizens liberty, but they did not want to give people so much liberty that they would have an uncontrollable amount of power. The writers agreed that a citizen’s influence in government would be proportionate to that individual’s property.

    Read More

  • The Impact of the Communist Manifesto During the Late 1800s and Early 1900s

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is no doubt that the Communist Manifesto was a shocking and radical document for its time, but it did much more than shock the public. The Communist Manifesto made the oppressed conscious of their status and influenced the unity of the working class. It also influenced the revolutions of 1848, it formed the basis of the reorganization of the Communist League and the demands of the Communist party, it influenced other radicals to take action, and it significantly influenced all subsequent Communist literature.

    Read More

  • Summary of Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx

    2061 Words  | 5 Pages

    Karl Marx was born in 1818 into a middle-class, German family. During his studies, Marx was heavily influenced by the philosophy of Hegel. He joined a group called the “Young Hegelians.” The group, though “inspired by Hegel, [was] determined to champion the more radical aspects of the old master's system.”[i] Though he was a strong scholar, he got into trouble because of his radical political views.[ii] In 1847, together with fellow German, Freidrich Engels, Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto. The Central Authority of the Communist League approved The Communist Manifesto January of 1848, and the document began printing the next month.[iii] The manifesto was “inspired by the emergence of the modern working class, [he] developed a wholly new socialist outlook based upon the principle of socialism from below.”[iv] In Marx’s version of socialism, there were two central themes, one of which was that the working class had to liberate themselves from their oppressors, and the other involved the working people overthrowing their current government to create a new, democratic society for themselves.[v]

    Read More

More about The United States Constitution Compared to the Communist Manifesto

Open Document