The Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto is one of the most influential political documents in history. Originally written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848 and published in London, it is a key political work for many communist movements worldwide. It is often cited as a key reference point for socialists today and is considered essential reading for all social activists.

The Manifesto contains an analysis of class struggle and critiques capitalism, but does not attempt to predict the future form of communism. The authors believe that the bourgeoisie-proletariat relationship of exploitation is rapidly deteriorating and that revolution will be necessary for a lasting solution. The Manifesto also criticises the capitalist mode of production as being unsustainable and suggests that class struggle will be replaced by cooperative forms of production.

Manifesto Introduction and General Character of the Revolution
The revolution which is now being led by the proletariat will be a revolution of an entirely different kind from all previous ones. It will not simply reallocate property in favour of the new ruling class, as previous revolutions have done, but it will sweep away the conditions of old class antagonisms and of all classes generally, as well as destroy all private ownership of property and the classes themselves.

Unlike the majority of other social movements of the time, which were based around a series of reformist principles, communism argued that only a revolution could create truly revolutionary change. It also believed that only the working class could achieve this change.

It argues that capitalism is the root cause of all ills, and that it has failed to provide social security, freedom, and democracy. It outlines a number of short-term demands, including the abolition of inheritances and private property; a progressive income tax; free public education; a nationalised system of transport and communication; centralisation of credit via a state-run bank; expansion of publicly owned land.

The Manifesto is divided into four sections: "Position of the Communists in Relation to Various Opposition Parties"; "Reasons for Believing in Communism"; "Socialist and Communist Literature"; and "Working Men of All Countries, Unite!"

The first section, entitled "Position of the Communists", asserts that communism was not a party but a philosophy of society. It also argues that the party would not oppose other working-class parties, but it would defend the interests of the world's proletariat as a whole and advocate a global socialist revolution. This approach was unique to the communist movement and reflected its origins in the 1848 Germany-led revolution.