The Communist Manifesto (Unabridged)
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels - (German: Das Kommunistische Manifest), originally the Manifesto of the Communist Party (Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London in 1848. The text is the first and most systematic attempt by Marx and Engels to codify for widespread consumption the core historical materialist idea that, as stated in the text's opening words, 'the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles', in which social classes are defined by the relationship of people to the means of production. Published against the backdrop of the Revolutions of 1848 and their subsequent repression across Europe, the Manifesto remains one of the world's most influential political documents.
Synopsis
The Communist Manifesto is divided into a preamble and four sections. The introduction begins: 'A spectre is haunting Europe-the spectre of communism.' Pointing out that it was widespread for politicians-both those in government and those in the opposition-to label their opponents as communists, the authors infer that those in power acknowledge communism to be a power in itself. Subsequently, the introduction exhorts communists to openly publish their views and aims, which is the very function of the manifesto.
The first section of the Manifesto, 'Bourgeois and Proletarians', outlines historical materialism, and states that 'the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles'. According to the authors, all societies in history had taken the form of an oppressed majority exploited by an oppressive minority. In Marx and Engels' time, they say that under capitalism, the industrial working class, or 'proletariat', engages in class struggle against the owners of the means of production, the 'bourgeoisie'. The bourgeoisie, through the 'constant revolutionising of production [and] uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions' have emerged as the supreme class in society, displacing all the old powers of feudalism.[6] The bourgeoisie constantly exploits the proletariat for its labour power, creating profit for themselves and accumulating capital. In doing so, however, Marx and Engels describe the bourgeoisie as serving as 'its own grave-diggers'; as they believe the proletariat will inevitably become conscious of their own potential and rise to power through revolution, overthrowing the bourgeoisie.
'Proletarians and Communists', the second section, starts by stating the relationship of 'conscious communists' (i.e. those who identify as communists) to the rest of the working class. The communists' party will not oppose other working-class parties, but unlike them, it will express the general will and defend the common interests of the world's proletariat as a whole, independent of all nationalities. The section goes on to defend communism from various objections, including claims that it advocates communal prostitution or disincentivises people from working.
Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx (Author), John Ingra (Narrator)
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