The Communist Manifesto, originally titled Manifesto of the Communist Party, was written in 1872 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marx and Engels, both socialists, set out to complexly critique the capitalist system in The Communist Manifesto. The book presents analytical insight into class struggle, the problem with capitalism and the abolition of private property. These are the three main ideas behind the Communist Manifesto that I will be discussing today.
It was believed by Marx that class struggle was the foundation and motivation behind all historical developments. There was a constant opposition between the “oppressor and oppressed” (Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto, pg. 74), as Marx put it, that could only end in “either a revolutionary
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There was also a problem in the way human life was viewed. Within a capitalist society, people generally couldn’t advance in any way. They couldn’t move up in their careers or change their lives in the way they chose because of the strict roles created for them by the capitalists. This hindered the work of the Proletarians as it gave them no incentive to work. Capitalism stripped them of their motivation and drive. This of course would eventually be the main reason that the Proletarians would rebel against the Bourgeoisie. Simply put, the human race could not be successfully conformed to such extent for a long period of time.
The third main idea behind The Communist Manifesto is the abolition of private property. Marx believed that the main tool that the Bourgeoisie had at their disposal was private property. They were able to exist and exploit the Proletarians with low wages through the use of private property, "the accumulation of wealth in private hands, the formation and increase of capital" (Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto, pg. 7). Thus he believed that the most effective way to overthrow the power of bourgeois was through the abolition of private