The Communist Manifesto, originally the Manifesto of the Communist Party, is a political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It was commissioned by the Communist League and published in London in 1848. The text represents the first and most systematic attempt by the two founders of scientific socialism to codify for wide consumption the historical materialist idea; namely, that "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 amid the Revolutions of 1848 in Europe, the manifesto has become one of the world's most influential political documents. "A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism." and "Workers of the world, unite!" stand as two iconic lines that frame the text, marking its opening and its close, respectively, with the latter being reworked and popularized into a famous slogan of working-class solidarity.
In the Manifesto, Marx and Engels combine philosophical materialism with the Hegelian dialectical method in order to analyze the development of European society through its modes of production, including primitive communism, antiquity, feudalism, and capitalism, noting the emergence of a new, dominant class at each stage. The text outlines the relationship between the means of production, relations of production, forces of production, and mode of production, and posits that changes in society's economic "base" affect changes in its "superstructure". The authors assert that capitalism is marked by the exploitation of the proletariat (working class or wage labourers) by the ruling bourgeoisie, which is "constantly revolutionising the instruments [and] relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society". They argue that capital's need for a flexible labour force dissolves the old relations, and that its global expansion in search of new markets creates "a world after its own image".
The Manifesto concludes that capitalism does not offer humanity the possibility of self-realization, instead ensuring that human beings are perpetually stunted and alienated. It theorizes that capitalism will bring about its own destruction by polarizing and unifying the proletariat, and predicts that a revolution will lead to the emergence of communism, a classless society in which "the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all". Marx and Engels propose the following measures during the revolutionary transition: abolition of private property in land and inheritance; introduction of a progressive income tax; confiscation of emigrants' and rebels' property; Lamb says of this measure: "Marx expected such fervent dissatisfaction with the revolution in some quarters as to spark a significant departure by the opponents of the new society. These emigrants would, according to the measure, have to leave their property behind and thus be unable to contribute to the impoverishment of the country in transition. The measure also serves as another indication that Marx expected some form of rebellion from the society's counter-revolutionaries, whose assets would hence be seized." nationalisation of credit, communication, and transport; expansion and integration of industry and agriculture; enforcement of universal obligation of labour; provision of universal education; and elimination of child labour.
Synopsis The Communist Manifesto is divided into a preamble and four sections. The preamble begins: "A spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre of communism." Later scholarship revealed that the phrase, "das Gespenst des Kommunismus" ("the spectre of communism"), was not coined by Marx. It had been used several times in the 1840s, e.g., by Moses Hess in a November 1847 article that Marx would have been familiar with. 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 preamble exhorts communists to openly publish their views and aims, which is the very function of the Manifesto.
The first section of the document, "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 previous societies had taken the form of an oppressed majority exploited by an oppressive minority. Marx and Engels claim that in their time under capitalism, the industrial working class, or "proletariat", is engaging in class struggle against the owners of the means of production, the "bourgeoisie". The latter, through the "constant revolutionising of production [and] uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions", had emerged by 1848 as the supreme class in society, displacing the old powers of feudalism.: In the oft-quoted next passage, the authors assert that because of the societal disruptions engendered by market-driven capitalism, "everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones. All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind. The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connexions everywhere." The bourgeoisie continuously exploits the proletariat for its labour power, creating profit for themselves and accumulating capital. In doing so, however, Marx and Engels argue that the bourgeois class is serving as "its own grave-diggers" because, in the view of the authors, proletarians will inevitably become conscious of their own potential and rise to power through revolution, overthrowing the bourgeoisie.
The second section, "Proletarians and Communists", starts by explaining 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 shared interests of the world's proletariat as a whole, independent of all nationalities. The authors go on to defend communism from various objections, including claims that it advocates communal prostitution or disincentivises people from working. Several pages into Section II, the authors surprisingly switch the narrative voice and address the reader directly: "You are horrified at our intending to do away with private property. But in your existing society, private property is already done away with for nine-tenths of the population; its existence for the few is solely due to its non-existence in the hands of those nine-tenths." The section ends by outlining a set of short-term demands—among them a progressive income tax; abolition of inheritances and private property; abolition of child labour; free public education; nationalisation of the means of transport and communication; centralisation of credit via a national bank; expansion of publicly owned land, etc.—the implementation of which, it is argued, would result in the precursor to a classless society.: "If the proletariat during its contest with the bourgeoisie is compelled, by the force of circumstances, to organise itself as a class; if, by means of a revolution, it makes itself the ruling class, and, as such, sweeps away by force the old conditions of production, then it will, along with these conditions, have swept away the conditions for the existence of class antagonisms and of classes generally, and will thereby have abolished its own supremacy as a class."
The third section, "Socialist and Communist Literature", distinguishes communism from other socialist doctrines prevalent at the time, which are categorised as Reactionary Socialism; Conservative or Bourgeois Socialism; and Critical-Utopian Socialism and Communism. The first category is subdivided into "Feudal Socialism", "Petty-Bourgeois Socialism", and "German or 'True' Socialism". While the degree of reproach varies toward these rival socialist perspectives, all are dismissed by Marx and Engels for advocating reformism and for failing to recognise the pre-eminent revolutionary role of the proletariat. The authors are least hostile toward the utopian socialists whose attacks on existing society "are full of the most valuable materials for the enlightenment of the working class."
The fourth and concluding section, "Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Opposition Parties", briefly discusses the communist position on struggles in specific countries in the mid-19th century such as in France, Switzerland, Poland, and lastly Germany, which is said to be "on the eve of a bourgeois revolution" that is but "the prelude to an immediately following proletarian revolution" (a prediction later criticized as a fundamental error in the Manifesto). The section ends by declaring an alliance with the democratic socialists, boldly supporting other communist revolutions, and calling for united international proletarian action: "Working Men of All Countries, Unite!"
Writing Preliminary drafts In spring of 1847, Marx and Engels joined the League of the Just, which was soon convinced by the duo's ideas of "critical communism". At its First Congress from 2–9 June, the League tasked Engels with drafting a "Creed" document outlining the League's programme, to be submitted for review at the end of the Congress. Engels quickly produced the "Draft of a Communist Confession of Faith" in question-and-answer format, similar to a catechism, e.g.: In total, there were 22 questions, and the answers were relatively terse. In October, Engels arrived at the League's Paris branch to find that Moses Hess had written his own "Creed" document for the League (now called the League of Communists). Engels severely criticised this document (in Hess's absence), and convinced the rest of the League to entrust him with drafting a new one. At the end of October, he wrote the Principles of Communism, again in the style of a catechism but now with 25 questions and more detailed, concrete answers than before.
On 23 November, prior to the League of Communists' Second Congress (29 November – 8 December 1847), Engels sent a letter to Marx, expressing a desire to eschew the catechism format in favour of a manifesto, because he felt it must contain "a certain amount of history.": Excerpt from Engels letter to Marx: "I believe that the best thing is to do away with the catechism form and give the thing the title: Communist Manifesto. We have to bring in a certain amount of history, and the present form does not lend itself to this very well." On 28 November, Marx and Engels met at Ostend in Belgium, and a few days later, gathered at the Soho, London headquarters of the German Workers' Education Association to attend the Congress. Over the next ten days, intense debate raged between League functionaries; Marx eventually dominated the others and, overcoming "stiff and prolonged opposition", in Harold Laski's words, secured a majority for his programme. The League thus unanimously adopted a far more combative resolution than at the First Congress in June. Marx (especially) and Engels were commissioned to draw up a manifesto for the League.
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