Communist Manifesto: Introduction –

COMMUNIST MANIFESTO Introduction – The communist manifesto, which is originally the manifesto of the communist party, is a political document published in 1848 by German philosophers karl marx and friedrich engels. It was commissioned by communist league, a political party based in England. It was published in late february1848 in united kingdom in German language but was later translated into many other languages and ran into several editions.The manifesto was became popular as one of the world's most influential and powerful political documents. Its approach is analyse the class struggle (historical and then-present) and the conflicts of capitalism and the capitalist mode of production. It aimed at developing the theory of communism and offers detailed critique of capitalism and gives practical suggestions for bringing out communist society.

Summary– The communist manifesto has four sections. In the very first section, it mainly puts emphasise on the communists' theory of history and the relationship between bourgeoisie and proletarians. The second section discusses explicitly the relationship between the communists and the proletarians. The third section mentions and talks about the flaws in other, previous socialist literature. The final section discusses the relationship between the communists and other parties. In section 1, "bourgeois and proletarians," Marx explains that the "the history of all existing society is the history of class struggles". He portrays his view of history reflecting on the creation and ultimate dissolution of the bourgeoisie, the ruling class of his day until the bourgeoisie gained power, society was governed under a feudal system controlled by aristocratic landlords and corporate guilds a new class, a manufacturing class, emerged with the discovery of America and the subsequent expansion of free markets, which took charge of foreign and domestic trade by producing goods more effectively than closed guilds. With its increasing economic strength, this class began to gain political influence, crushing the trace of the old feudal society that tried to restrict its ambitions. However, this bourgeois supremacy has produced a new social class which works in the new capitalist industries. This class, the proletariat are the necessary consequence of bourgeois modes of production. With passage of time there was expansion of bourgeois industries and increase in their own capital, the ranks of the proletariat increased as other classes of society, artisans and small business owners, could not compete with the bourgeois capitalists. Moreover, the growth of the capitalist factories causes the state of the proletariat to deteriorate proportionally. This degradation, which can be slowed but not prevented, creates a revolutionary element within the proletariat which ultimately destroys its capitalist oppressors. The section 2, “ proletarians and communists" begins by stating the relationship of conscious communists to the rest of the working class. The communist party does not challenge other working-class parties but will, unlike them, express the general will and protect the collective 1

interests of the workers of the world as a whole, independent of all nationalities. The section continues to defend communism from numerous criticisms, including arguments that it promotes collective prostitution or discourages working people. The section ends by proposing a series of short-term demands like - a progressive tax on income; abolition of inheritance and private property; abolition of child labour; free public education; nationalization of transportation means and communication; centralization of credit through a national bank; expansion of publicly owned property etc. which would contribute to the precursor to a stateless and classless society. The third section, "socialist and communist literature," was able to differentiate communism from other then prevalent socialist doctrines which were commonly classified as reactionary socialism; bourgeois or conservative socialism; and critical-utopian socialism and communism. Although the degree of reproach for rival views differs, both are cast aside for promoting reformism and the failure to accept the working class's leading revolutionary position. The concluding section of the manifesto, "position of the communists in relation to the various opposition parties", addresses briefly the communist stance on struggles in different midnineteenth-century countries such as France, Switzerland, Poland and Germany, the latter being on the verge of a bourgeois revolution and predicts that a world revolution will follow shortly. It ends by forming an alliance with the democratic socialists, openly supporting other communist revolutions and calling for united international revolutionary action—"working people of all countries, unite!”.

Important aspects of the manifesto During the beginning of twentieth century, the communist manifesto was considered as doctrine by those living under communist rule as well as by those caught up in the intense and passionate feeling of revolutionary political activity, while others considered it a piece of propaganda of interest mainly to scholars of political history and international relations. but the  manifesto is actually an extension which has set of provocative and strong responses to questions about communism, which was emerged in the 1840s as a new view of history and the nature of human beings as historical beings, as determined in all aspects by the material conditions of society. And as a work that places so much importance on the connection between ideas and artifacts and their historical moment, it has its own history. The manifesto came to be distinguished and respected more as a document of symbolic historic importance than as a viable action plan. The manifesto was regarded as a perennial outline for the direction of politics. Like sacred scripture, it consists of a body of orthodox interpretation, carefully constructed to be pertinent to the changing world scenerio what were considered as its universal propositions. The intrinsic qualities of the manifesto are such as in part 2, Marx and Engels assert, “the theoretical conclusions of the communists are in no way based on ideas or principles that have been discovered, by this or that would-be universal reformer. They express, in general terms, 2

actual relations springing from an existing class struggle, from a historical movement going on under our very eyes” (p. 234-235). Marx and engels, it would seem, intended the manifesto not only to make it clear to the world the political positions and views of communists, in order to dispel the specter of misconception, but to also describe the causes and directions of historical change as manifested through the cleareyed view of communists. In concise form, the manifesto presents a unified theory of historical dynamics, with struggle of the class as the central part of motive and all the manifestations of culture and politics, including literature and art, taken from the prevailing system of material production. This leads way to an almost exuberant characterization of the capitalist productive achievement that still holds our attention as a completely recognizable portrait of the relentless drive of modern industry and trade.Set against capitalism’s wonders is the human cost of being subject to a system that drains personal incentive, wears out the body and mind, and results in profound alienation from the value of one’s productive activities. The plight of the proletariat forces us to consider the harrowing condition of humanity stripped of all comforting illusions: “…man is at last compelled to face with sober senses, his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind” (p. 223). But Marx and Engels ultimately were concerned with the advent of a world in which the conditions of life will be uniformly benign and in which human relations will be in some way improved. What would be the moral basis of such a world? Marx and Engels claimed that “communism abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion, and all morality, instead of constituting them on a new basis” (p. 242). In the last, readers of the manifesto must meet and confront a paradox that emerges whenever we conceive of the individual as largely determined by circumstances. For the manifesto is both a prediction of an inevitable course of history and a long cry to act in a certain way for the purpose of bringing about change and improvement. How to act autonomously in a world determined by forces more powerful than the individual is a timeless question. In the manifesto, Marx and Engels believed the class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat will have a different result from all previous class struggles in recorded history and the claimed that the bourgeoisie inevitably produces its own gravediggers. They described the proletariat as a revolutionary class and raise questions like that capital has individuality but living persons do not? Is this true of members of the bourgeoisie as well as the proletariat?  The manifesto of the communist party place such strong emphasis on the remarkable achievements of bourgeois capitalism.  It assumes that there is a strong affinity between the grievances of the workers and the aims of communism. According to the book, communists have an advantage over the proletariat in understanding the conditions, direction, and general results of the proletarian movement where 3

Marx and Engels give for their claim that human consciousness—ideas, views, and conceptions —changes with every change in material existence and insist that the abolition of private property is central to revolutionary change? The major issues which could have been raised was that  If one of the early stages and levels of the revolution of the proletarian is a exercise of absolute power of the working class, as Marx and Engels assert, what assures that this order will give way to a free, classless society? 

why does Marx and Engels denied the possibility that the then existing social and political systems can be reformed?

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In part 3 of the manifesto, why do Marx and Engels recommends supporting the bourgeoisie in Germany when it goes and acts in a revolutionary way, instead of recommending or advocating direct support of the proletariat in its struggle of the class?

A brief view of the authors Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Prussia to a family with liberal political leanings, which, at that time, were likely to attract surveillance of the police. After a academic career at the university of Berlin, where he was influenced by the historical doctrines of the philosopher Hegel, Marx became editor of a radical newspaper in cologne, which was soon suppressed. He then left with his new wife for Paris, where he began to meet with communist organizations of french and German workers and formulate his socialist views. Friedrich Engels, was born in 1820 and came from a family of affluent industrialists and quickly developed a capacity for leading a double life. While successfully tending to family business interests as manager of and partner in textile factories in Germany, and later in Manchester, England, he pursued his involvement in revolutionary politics through writing and meeting with radical workers’ groups. In 1844, he published his classic study of the social ravages of industrialized society, the condition of the working class in England.

Conclusion– The overall aim of the book is an attempt to explain the ideologies and goals of the communist party. Marx and Engels argue that it is “the history of class struggles” that are the driving force of history. Marx claims that relationships between classes are based on the medium of production of that time.He also argues that if such relationships become unsuitable, then revolution will take place and a new ruling class will take power. This is Marx’s justification for the shift of the “bourgeoise” (middle class) from feudalism to capitalism. This is also how Marx describes the progress from capitalism to socialism and from socialism to communism. Marx and Engels believe communism is inevitable, and that the proletariat (the working class) will 4

inevitably seize power directly from the hands of the bourgeoisie. After the dictatorship of proletariat( revolution of working class ), scientific communism will arrive where there will be no dialectics or no contradictions there will be no have’s and have not’s. Everyone will be same and everyone will own the material forces of production.

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