The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx:
Born in 1818 to a Jewish family
Studied Law, Philosophy, journalism and then Revolution
1844, Met Engels in Paris
1848, Communist Manifesto published

The Communist Manifesto outlines the Communist Leagues aims and ideologies; it focuses largely on criticising capitalism and past class struggles.
According to Engels, Marx’s work achieved a fusion of Hegelian philosophy, British empiricism (particularly the economics of Adam Smith and French revolutionary politics (particularly socialist politics)

The Manifesto begins by stating that “A spectre is haunting Europe -- the spectre of communism.” The reference to a ‘spectre’ is a reference to Hegel’s idea of the ‘Zeitgeist’; the ghost of now, or the spirit of the moment. Marx seems to be implying that the time of writing was the time for communism to happen. The Manifesto outlines that it was created so that communists can ‘openly, in the face of the whole world, publish their views, their aims and their tendencies in a manifesto.’

The first chapter relates to bourgeois and proletarians, and begins with the line “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” This refers to the way in which class struggles have always affected civilisation. The Bourgeoisie are the wealthy ruling class; the landowners and business owners, as Marx puts it, ‘the industrial millionaires.’ The Proletariat are the people that work for the bourgeoisie, doing hard, monotonous work just in order to earn enough money to simply survive. This chapter claims that the economic structure of each society leads to one part of that society being oppressed.

It claims that oppressor and oppressed have always stood in opposition to each other and that this fight has always ended in the ruin of the contending classes and that the gap between the two classes has been increased by the East Indian and Chinese markets and the colonisation of America, this extension of trade and exchange has led to the disappearance of the division of labour between different corporate Gilds in the face of division of labour in every workshop. New technologies such as steam and Machinery have also helped to further widen this gap, it has caused proletarian labourers to become simple commodities, and their work has lost all individual character. Marx describes them as an ‘appendage of the machine’. The Manifesto reads “the modern bourgeoisie is itself the product of a long course of development, of a series of revolutions in the modes of production and exchange”. This passage again shows the influence that Hegel has over Marx. It is referring to the way that things are constantly changing and developing through war and revolution.

He accuses the modern state of being ‘a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie (This is different to Hegel, who was a big fan of ‘the state’).
The manifesto then says that No sooner is the exploitation of the labourer by the manufacturer, so far at an end, that he receives his wages in cash, than he is set upon by the other portion of the bourgeoisie, the landlord, the shopkeeper, the pawnbroker, etc.

The Manifesto indicates that the proletariat need to rise up and overthrow the bourgeoisie using the ‘tools’ that the bourgeoisie have provided (improvements in transport, technology, communication etc). This would involve the proletariat organising themselves into a political party, during this process, Marx believes that parts of the bourgeoisie would be forced into joining the proletariat. This would happen naturally due to bourgeoisie industry becoming bigger, and therefore more expensive, forcing bourgeois out of their positions. As the proletariat numbers grow and the bourgeoisie numbers decrease, the proletariat can overthrow the bourgeoisie through violent revolution or politically.

Once the Proletariat have formed a communist party, Marx states that the following would be applicable:

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc.

This would apparently lead to the removal of class antagonism, and classes in general and create an “association in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.”

One criticism that the manifesto addresses, is that without private property “universal laziness will overtake us”. Marx claims that if this was the case, laziness would have overtaken a capitalist society a long time ago, because the people that work don’t own anything, and the people that own things don’t work. It has been suggested that Marx can come across as slightly sarcastic in his responses to criticisms of communism.

The third section of the manifesto is a critical review of other socialist and communist literature. These are reactionary socialism, conservative or bourgeois socialism and critical utopian socialism and communism. Marx argues that each of these fails because it misses out on a key part of communist theory. The reactionaries and the conservatives fail to understand the class antagonism that will lead to the eventual downfall of the bourgeoisie and the critical utopians fail to realise that revolution is necessary and that nothing will happen through “fanatical and superstitious belief in the miraculous effects of their social science.”

The final section of the manifesto relates to the communist party’s relationship with other political parties, it states “In short, the Communists everywhere support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order of things.” It finishes with the passage:

“Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.”

“Proletarians of all countries unite!”

The communist manifesto is fairly simple to read, and was clearly aimed at a wide working class demographic, I find that one of the key downfalls of the manifesto is the lack of importance that is given to religion and culture, Marx claims that they are “not deserving of serious examination.” Of course Marx was opposed to religion but it seems silly to give this no consideration, surely it’s something that the proletariat would be concerned by, and something that may divide them or bring them together.