The Manifesto of the Communist Party

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The Manifesto of the Communist Party

Drafted in 1848 by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, the “Manifesto of the Communist Party” outlines the views, tendencies, and aims of the communist party through the so-called philosophy of historical materialism (Distante). These views were expressed throughout four distinct sections of the “Manifesto of the Communist Party.” The first section describes the relationship between the bourgeois and the proletarians. The next section depicts the relationship between the proletarians and the communists. The third section of the document presents socialist and communist literature. The “Manifesto…” is ended with a section stating the position of the communists in relation to opposition parties.

The first section begins with a brief history of the bourgeois in various societies. Marx shows that like earlier civilizations, the bourgeois, or modern capitalists and employers, has oppressed the proletarian class, or the working class of the society. Comparisons are made regarding ancient Rome as well as the middle ages with the modern bourgeois. Marx claims that the “modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society [….] It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression (Marx).”

During the feudal period, the feudal lords monopolized industry. As time progressed, this system was insufficient for the growing needs of the nation. A new manufacturing system took the place of the monopoly system and soon provided for the natural evolution of the capitalist class. Due to increased work and efficiency, the markets continued to grow to the point that even the manufacturing system was not sufficient. Industrial revol...

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...tionary movement against the existing social and political order of things. In all these movements they bring to the front, as the leading question in each, the property question…Working men of all countries unite! (Marx)”

Works Cited

1. Brians, Paul. Communist Manifesto Study Questions.

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/manifesto.html (19 Oct. 2001).

2. Distante, Patrick. Evolutionary Philosophy---the Late 19th Century.

http://home.earthlink.net/~pdistan/howp_9.html (19 Oct. 2001)

3. Kuhn, Rick. The Communist Manifesto.

http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html (19 Oct. 2001).

4. Marx, Karl and Engels, Freidrich. The Manifesto of the Communist Party. (New York:

Monthly Review Press, 1964)

5. Marxism Made Simple. http://www.marxism-made-simple.fsnet.co.uk/mainpage.htm (19

Oct 2001).

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