Capitalism: The Communist Manifesto By Karl Marx

In the 19th century, Capitalism was the most accepted form of economic theory. Factories were booming thanks to the industrial revolution, and the world became more connected and more civilized. While many great things were occurring, there were also troubles with equality in the system that caused discontent among many across Europe. Those people were known as socialists, as they called for social reform for a more just world as an alternative to capitalism. The most influential of these socialists was Karl Marx. He was a German scholar who took a scientific approach to socialism called Communism. He studied economics and history and collected those findings into the pamphlet known as The Communist Manifesto. In this document, he distinguished

Because they own no means of production, it is easy for the ones who do to take advantage of their labor. In fact, the Manifesto states that they are treated like capital. To the Bourgeoisie, human lives can be seen as a cost of production, and treated the same as machines. This, in turn, leads to the lowering of wages, the prolongation of work hours, and the general suppression of the worker. Not only that, but once the proletariat has received their low wages, they are required to turn around and give it to the other members of the bourgeoisie, such as landlords. No one is exempt from this cycle as all members of society are sucked into the proletariat as production continues to grow. Another grief that Marx has about the capitalistic society is that it takes away all tradition. The expansion of the world market causes the loss of all national culture. As the document states, “All old-established national industries have been destroyed or are daily being destroyed. They are dislodged by new industries, whose introduction becomes a life and death question for all civilised nations”. This introduction of new industry causes the focus on a centralized city, where a few hands can build a vast empire of industry, while rendering the rural areas obsolete. Not only are the traditions of a nation put into question, but so are the values of a family. Because of the capitalistic world, children had been turned into part of the labor pool, and made the relationship of a family one of money. The final problem that Karl Marx points out is the cycle of overproduction that capitalism causes. Too much commerce and industry creates an environment of too much civilization. This has many terrible outcomes; Famine, barbarism, and destructive warfare are all a result of the problem. However, it is after this devastation that communism is allowed to thrive. Marx believes that the minority proletariat will overthrow the