Communism has been among the most polarising and divisive ideologies of the modern era, the fundamental foundations on which some of the most powerful leaders of the 20th century would build their empires. Political and societal ideologies such as democracy were very much organically occurring in nature, and to some extent, communism could be seen in a similar light. However, where Communism differs, is the thorough documentation of the formation of the fundamental principles of such a prominent ideology.
During the mid 19th century, The Communist League, an international association of workers, commissioned Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to develop a text to accurately express and represent the ideological beliefs and agenda of the party.
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While the ‘Manifesto of the Communist Party’ is the most widely regarded as the foremost text with regards to the founding principles of communism, and is undoubtedly a text of great historical importance. A pair of additional draft texts produced by Engels in the form of a catechism, may be undoubtedly more accurate in expressing the true, fundamental principles and values of the Communist ideology.
The two draft publications, titled ‘Draft of the communist confession of faith’ and ‘Principles of Communism’ were authored by Engels during the year 1847, in June and October respectively. The latter of which proves to be a particularly insightful document upon further analysis. While, at the time, for a variety of surrounding factors, the manifesto format was deemed more appropriate for mainstream release, the ‘Principles of Communism’ text provides perhaps the most direct insight into the true fundamental foundations of the communist ideology. The text is structured in a question and answer format, deconstructing the direct principles of Communism and the rationale behind them. It sets out by defining communism as; “The doctrine of the conditions of the liberation of the proletariat” (Engels, 1847). Before going on to define the proletariat as “that class in society which