\'The Communist Manifesto\' is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx. Published in 1848, it is a foundational text for the socialist and communist movements and a key work in the history of political thought.In the manifesto, Marx and Engels articulate their theory of historical materialism, arguing that the history of society is shaped by the conflicts between different economic classes. They assert that in the capitalist system, the bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production) exploits the proletariat (working class). The authors predict that, ultimately, this class struggle will lead to the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the establishment of a classless society.The manifesto outlines the goals of the Communist Party and calls for the working class to unite and revolt against the capitalist system. It famously declares, \'Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains.\'\'The Communist Manifesto\' is characterized by its bold language, concise analysis of historical forces, and revolutionary fervor. While some aspects of its predictions did not materialize as Marx and Engels envisioned, the work has had a profound impact on political thought and has inspired movements and revolutions around the world. It remains a significant document in discussions about class struggle, capitalism, and the pursuit of social justice.
Of course, in the beginning, this cannot be effected except by means of despotic inroads on the rights of property, and on the conditions of bourgeois production; by means of measures, therefore, which appear economically insufficient and untenable, but which, in the course of the movement, outstrip themselves, necessitate further inroads upon the old social order, and are unavoidable as a means of entirely revolutionising the mode of production. These measures will of course be different in different countries. Nevertheless in the most advanced countries, the following will be pretty generally 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 right of inheritance. 4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. 5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a
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6. Centralisation 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 liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. 9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.
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10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of childrens factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, &c., &c. When, in the course of development, class distinctions have disappeared, and all production has been concentrated in the hands of a vast association of the whole nation, the public power will lose its political character. Political power, properly so called, is merely the organised power of one class for oppressing another. 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.
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In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all. III. SOCIALIST AND COMMUNIST LITERATURE 1. REACTIONARY SOCIALISM
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