Communism Unmanifested, Article Review Example

The Communist Manifesto was a document written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels so as to explain the theories fundamental to communism as well as the goals communism aimed at achieving. It was written on February 21, 1848 following its commissioning by the Communist League and laid down the purposes pf the league[1]. The manifesto is an analysis of the class struggle that exists between the different classes of people in society together with the problems that capitalism has caused within society. These struggles result in the exploitation of one group by the other with the relationship between these classes is determined by ownership of the means of production.

The manifesto has four main sections

Bourgeois and proletarians

This section begins with a statement to the effect that most of the European powers have come up against communism demonizing its intentions which have made the communists to write the manifesto so as to dispel these misconceptions. The section address the issue of class conflicts that exist in society between the bourgeois and the proletariat as a result of the economic exploitation of the later[2]. He explains characteristics of both classes and how the bourgeois oppress the proletariat.

Proletarians and communists

This section discusses the relationship that exists between the proletarians and the communists with the assertion that the desires of the communists are the capturing political power by the proletariat, the conversion of the proletariat class into a class, and the complete defeat of the bourgeois superiority. Marx explains how the revolution will look like as the workers become rulers with their aim being the alleviation of poverty. This section also addresses some of the objections that have been raised against communism where he disapproves the critiques of communism in a rather sarcastic manner.

Socialists and Communist Literature

This section contains Marx’s criticism of conservative socialism, reactionary socialism and critical-utopian socialism. It is a review of socialist thought where Marx argues that each of these socialist approaches misses out on key components of communist theory[3]. The Reactionaries are unable to realize the unavoidability of a proletariat rise and of the eventual fall of the bourgeoisie at the hands. The Conservative Socialists, similarly, are unable to see the unavoidability of class hostility, and the  eventual destruction of the bourgeoisie. The Critical-Utopian Socialists are unable to comprehend that social change ought to occur during revolutions and usually takes more than pure dreaming and words.

Position of the Communist in Relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties

This section is a conclusion of the manifesto that explains the role that communists will play as they work together with other ideologies that are opposed to communism. It states that communists should  always fight for the immediate aims and rights of workers bearing in mind the entire communist movement. This implied that it was in the best interest of the movement for its members to work with parties that would advance the communist agendas. They should also continuously make the working class aware of the animosity between the proletariat and the bourgeois with the aim of equipping them with the necessary weapons to overcome them.

Karl Marx’s beliefs and communism

Karl Heinrich Marx was born on May 5, 1818 in Trier that was in the Lower Rhine province of the kingdom of Prussia in present day Germany. His parents were Hirschel, ma lawyer by profession and Henrietta Marx who were Jews. Marx grew as a protestant in Trier despite most of the people being Catholics and would later join Bonn University before being moved to the sedate Berlin University by his father due to his gambling activities that resulted in huge debts. At Berlin University, Marx became influenced by his lecturer, Bruno Bauer, who later introduced him to the works of G. W. Hegel[4]. He would later become a member of the Young Hegelians, which was an atheist and radical movement in Berlin.

The Young Hegelians was a group that was made up of philosophers and journalists that was based on Hegel’s ideologies. Hegel had developed a theory that  referred to the evolving progression of history and which claimed that a thought or item was usually inseparable from its opposite and therefore unity would only reign when all of the opposites would be equal through logical progression of the thesis, synthesis and antithesis involved. Marx wrote many articles that were later banned by the government and thus was expelled from Germany and moved to France, Belgium, and  Britain where he died in 1883 .

Marx’s thoughts and believes

Karl Marx was influenced by the works of a number of philosophers such as;

• Hegel and his theory of historical evolution  theory
• Ludwig Feurbach and his philosophical materialism
• Adam smith and his wealth of nations

Marx developed his idea of historical materialism based on Hegel’s dialectical materialism that believed that history was a paramount event in life that was characterized by a movement from  the fragmentary towards the absolute as well as the real which was a movement as well towards greater rationality. He would later criticize Hegel’s work as he claimed that Hegel’s idealist principles stood the progress of reality on its head instead of on its feet. This was due to his belief that historical and social precise ideologies served as a hindrance which prevented people from observing and recognizing the material circumstances of their lives. He believed that he was capable of learning both society and history scientifically leading to an understanding of the tendencies of history as well as the effects social conflicts[5].

Marx also criticized British political economy and the German philosophical idealism due to the influences from Engel and Feurbach. Engel’s book that talked about the living circumstances of the middle working class in England made Marx to apply his historical dialectic on the working class claiming the existence of a class conflict[6]. He posited that the working class was for the most part the progressive force that would lead to a revolution within the society leading him to study the underlying mechanisms of a capitalistic economy. He made an assumption that human nature involved the transformation of nature with labor being the process of transformation while the ability to transform as the labor power.

His analysis centered on the systematic organization of labor which was dependent on the clear distinction between the production relations and means of production. These two factors were collectively referred to as the modes of production which he used to describe the various eras of European societies such as the feudalistic and the capitalistic societies with the resultant classes of people in these economic eras being a mismatch between social and economic superstructures leading to social conflict.

Reasons why Communism has never truly been manifested

Communism was introduced in the 19^th century as a branch of socialism where property is mainly controlled by the state with nay kinds of classes within society being abolished. It refers to a classless society that is free from any kind of oppression with the means of production being owned by the state. Major decisions, both economic and political, are made democratically with all members of the society being allowed to contribute equally in the process[7]. As such, it aims at offering solutions to the problems that arise as a result of the capitalistic approach that creates classes within society.

Despite its introduction several years back, it has failed to be manifested in most countries in the world while the few that embraced have over the years began to move towards capitalism. This is because communism was a kind of utopianism that was a rational plan on paper but irrational in its applicability since it based on the premise of a fall of the powerful proletariate in society and the empowerment of the bourgeois. Karl Max believed that a society was bound to evolve over the years through a number of stages from an agricultural based society to an industrial society.

Within this society, the landed aristocracy would loose their ownership of major resources which will be centrally controlled with the main production decisions being made centrally. This would then lead to the empowerment of the middle class who would be equal to the proletariate leading to equality between these two classes. Though based on good intentions to create equality within the society, its implementation resulted in the oppression of the people[8]. This is because most of the leaders who embraced communism and tried to use it as their political ideology ended up using economic communism to support their own individualistic greed while the working class were deprived of their rights and property.

Economic downfall

It is human nature to have unlimited wants yet there are limited resources to meet these needs. The fulfillment of these needs takes choice so that one meets the most pressing needs with the limited resources that he or she has while resolving to satisfy the other needs with the passage of time. This requires people to sacrifice one need over the other which ends up in several consequences that end are geared towards the acquisition of wealth so as to ensure material prosperity.

The individual need to amass personal wealth collectively affects the society as well since it is these people who make up society and therefore influence how the society will move forward. The industrial revolution that took place in the 18^thand 19^th century led to the creation of classes within the society as aristocratic class in the society to own the resources necessary to facilitate the increased need goods and services that were needed to meet the ever increasing demand[9]. The resulting idea of colonization was used as a means of getting additional raw materials to match up with the increased production of industrial goods.

The industrial revolution resulted in the production of new goods that had not been existent prior to the revolution creating new demand. As such people began wanting these new goods and thus had to be employed in the industries as laborers so as to get money with which to buy these goods. The aristocratic class that owns the means of production had the power to determine what to produce and in what quantities creating wealth for themselves while the lower class people in society worked in the se industries providing the necessary manpower. The industrial revolution resulted in the current ideology that used in most of the countries today becoming the dominant economic and political forms of leadership.

The few countries that embraced communism, mostly countries in Eastern Europe especially the USSR, ended up as failed states because the main principals behind communism were not realized as the working class that would have been liberated became oppressed. The leaders in these countries abolished all free markets in these states resulting in a market scenario that lacked market prices that would have guided them in coming up with comprehensive production plans and estimations[10]. Instead, planning would be done by a central committee that would determine the production levels of the state based on the population estimates without taking into consideration of the production capacities of individual citizens.

The raw materials, machinery, and manpower in such states are owned by the central government that makes the allocations for production capacities with no authority to make any sale of these resources to individual owners. This creates an economy that lacks prices that will play as the main guiding cornerstone for decision making. As such, the planners lack alternatives to make the correct choices in deciding the right development programs to run in the country since they can not have the costs of each of the desired programs.

In addition, these planners lack the relative values of the raw materials that are needed in the production process and other production factors such as labor costs and thus they may end up using the most expensive alternative to produce a certain good or build necessary infrastructure yet there are cheaper alternatives that could have accomplished the same need. Fore example, the decision to build a bridge may overlook the decision of building a railway line that would serve more people and result in economic development of a region.

This poor coordination of production and development programs in a state leads to the development of the less necessary social amenities while the most necessary ones are not developed[11]. In addition, the individual needs of people are not met as the government tries to meet the standard needs of all of the citizens to achieve equity. Due to the lack of market economy based on market value, most of these states have improper means of collecting the national produce of the country as well as equal distribution of the products equitably in the whole country.

This was the case in the Eastern Europe countries as the communist governments became poor planners of national production and allocation of resources. The middle and lower class citizens who made up majority of the population ended up doing most of the production in these countries yet all of their produce would be taken by the government for equitable distribution to all of the people. These made some people to become lazy doing little or no work while others would do most of the work yet farm produce and other necessities provided by the government would be distributed equally to all.

There also lacked proper collection and distribution mechanisms that resulted in most of the farm produce being lost in the farms as it lacked enough laborers to attend to while the rest would be left rotting in the farms due to lack of adequate harvest equipment. Due to poor infrastructure, most of the produce would lack the best facilities to transport these products to the people who required them on time creating great bitterness among the population as they felt that they were being neglected by the government that had vowed to protect their rights and ensure equity[12].

Corruption

Rampant corruption evolved within the communist society as most of the officials who were charged with the collection and distribution of resources within the countries began to siphon most of these resources keeping them while the rest of the people were faced with scarcity. They also began to direct resources to some parts and groups of people were others were left without if there was any kind of animosity that occurred between the officials and the people. Most of the official began to ask for bribes so as to offer services to the people which were very high and most of the people would not bra be to afford.

Crime and lawlessness

The state of lawlessness that ensued within these countries as people tried to better there lives resulted in high crime rates and the flourishing of big drug cartels that dealt in illegal drugs. Numerous gangs were formed that made the lives of people difficult as they mounted continuous raids on people homes and farms stealing property from people through the use of force. In addition, numerous rebel groups were formed that were aimed to fight the communist government and its undemocratic ideals that lead to the enrichment of a few in government that controlled the states property while the rest of the people were left to wallow in poverty[13].

Most of the rebel groups took captive most of the small villages and neighborhoods controlling most of the resources and activities that took place in them cutting of most of the governments, activities and ties with these areas. The increasing amount of corruption ensured that these gangs and rebel groups received arms and ammunition to fight off the government and other rebels from their territories that they ruled with an iron fist. Most of the young people resulted into joining these gangs and rebel groups as they lacked better incentives to work in the farms and industries owned and run by the state and opted to become members of the gangs which promised redemption once they were able to overthrow the current government.

The people became uncomfortable with this kind of oppression leading to nationwide revolts against the government of the day as they demanded for a change in the forms of government. Eastern Europe countries such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungry, Latvia, Estonia, and Russia experienced these riots that characterized the communist world in the 60’s, 70’s and the 80’s[14]. These people were in favor of a change of government from communism to pro capitalist forms of government that would grant them economic independence, liberalization as well as democracy. They also wanted their human rights addressed since most of them had been imprisoned.

Bibliography

Daniels, Robert Vincent. “A Documentary History of Communism and the World: From Revolution to Collapse“. New Hampshire: University Press of New England,    1994,

Forman, James. “Communism from Marx’s Manifesto to 20th century Reality“. New York, Watts, 1972.

Gale Stokes. The Walls Came Tumbling Down: The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Gordon, Skilling “Interest Groups and Communist Politics”. World Politics 18 (3): (1966): 435–451.

Karl, Ryavec. Russian Bureaucracy: Power and Pathology. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

Leszek Ko?akowski. Main Currents of Marxism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978.

McLellan, David. Karl Marx: his Life and Thought. New York: Harper & Row, 1973.

Scott, Bruce The Concept of Capitalism. New York: Springer, 2009.

Timothy, Garton Ash. The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of ’89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.

Tristram, Hunt. Marx’s General: The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2009.

Walicki, Andrzej. Marxism and the leap to the kingdom of freedom: the rise and fall of the Communist utopia. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press,1995.

[1] Andrzej Walicki, Marxism and the leap to the kingdom of freedom: the rise and  fall of the Communist utopia. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press,1995) 24.

[2] James Forman, “Communism from Marx’s Manifesto to 20th century Reality”. (New   York, Watts, 1972) 76.

[3] David McLellan, Karl Marx: his Life and Thought. (New York: Harper & Row, 1973) 83.

[4] David McLellan, Karl Marx: his Life and Thought. (New York: Harper & Row, 1973) 127.

[5] David McLellan, Karl Marx: his Life and Thought. (New York: Harper & Row, 1973) 142.

[6] Hunt Tristram, Marx’s General: The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels. (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2009) 169.

[7] Ko?akowski Leszek, Main Currents of Marxism. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978) 213.

[8] Andrzej Walicki, Marxism and the leap to the kingdom of freedom: the rise and  fall of the Communist utopia. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press,1995) 97.

[9] Bruce Scott, The Concept of Capitalism. (New York: Springer, 2009) 154.

[10] Stokes Gale, The Walls Came Tumbling Down: The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) 151.

[11] Ryavec Karl, Russian Bureaucracy: Power and Pathology. (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003) 237.

[12] Gordon, Skilling “Interest Groups and Communist Politics”. World Politics 18 (3): (1966): 435–451.

[13] Stokes Gale, The Walls Came Tumbling Down: The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe.( New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) 294.

[14] Garton Ash. Timothy, The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of ’89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague. (New York: Vintage Books, 1993) 187.