Coomunist Manifesto 1848 by Karl Marx, Essay Example

The Communist Manifesto (Marx) is one of the most significant books written in the 19^th century. Its significance is not based on its literary style or substance but on the profoundness of its ideology. The authors of the book, Karl Marx and Freidich Engels were a young men in their 20s when they wrote the book and living in Paris. They had corroborated on two earlier books but the Communist Manifesto was clearly their most significant piece of work, however, contrary to the beliefs of many, the Manifesto had no effect on the various revolutions that broke out throughout Europe in 1848. The actual publication date of the Manifesto was not until February of 1848 and by then the groundwork for the revolutions had been established and, therefore, the ideology professed in the book was not a precipitating cause.

The core of Marx and Engels theory is contained in the first part of the book. It is here that they lay out how the relationship between the bourgeois and proletariat developed and how such relationship operates with the capitalist system of economics. The premise upon which Marx and Engels base their theory is found in the first part of the book when Marx declares that “the history of hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle… (Marx, p. 3).” According to the two authors, class struggle has existed throughout the history of mankind but, due to the development of capitalism and the industrial revolution, there remained only two classes which they identified as the bourgeois and proletariat. The bourgeois were those who possessed political control and the proletariat became those who were exploited by the bourgeois. According to Marx the proletariat must “sell themselves piecemeal,” so that they can “live only so long as they find work, and ….find work only so long as their labour increases capital… (Marx, p. 9)”

The writings by Marx and Engels may seem excessively strong but the views of these men must be examined in the context of their times. Although the development of capitalism brought many benefits such as the creation of jobs and new towns and cities, it also brought with it living conditions that were horrible. The working class, the proletariat, was crowded into slums where the housing was poorly constructed, badly ventilated, and, usually, in a bad state of repair. The plumbing, if it existed at all, was inadequate and unsanitary. The death rate among the working class during this period was extremely high.

The workers who lived in these conditions were also forced to work in conditions that were equally as bad so they never experienced any relief. The hours were long, the factories were hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and the machinery was patently unsafe. So, when you combine these two features of the working class, it is easy to see how Marx could have been so critical of the class that managed and controlled the money in 19^th century Europe.

Marx was also critical of 19^th century governments in Europe which seemingly enacted legislation that came down on the side of the bourgeoisie. The Poor Law of 1834 in England which forced workers and their families into workhouses was one example of the legislation which Marx highlighted and which he based his theory that the proletariat would one day rise up in revolt. Both Marx and Engels were confident that the collapse of capitalism was inevitable and that it was “as certain as a mathematical or mechanical demonstration (Marx, p. 63).”

The focus and basis of Marx’s attack on capitalism were the cotton mills in Manchester, England. The fact that the conditions in Manchester were as deplorable as any manufacturing site in the world was supported by a variety of other writers of the period who had occasion to visit the facilities as well so there is substance to the views expressed by Marx and Engels. From the standpoint of Marx and Engels, concentrating on the conditions in England was only natural in that the Industrial Revolution began in England and, therefore, it had progressed most fully there and, based on the argument that a revolution by the proletariat was inevitable, it was natural that such revolution would begin in England. Thus, England provided the perfect backdrop for Marx and Engels as the conditions there, “…exist in their classical form, in their perfection, only in the British Isles, particularly in England proper (Engels, p. 29).” Whereas, industrialization had begun in other countries by the mid-1800s such industrialization was in its infancy and lagged far behind the conditions in England. At the time that the Manifesto was written only England provided the proper social and working conditions for Marx and Engels to test their theories and upon which to base their analysis.

Complicating the situation and, therefore, the viewpoint of Marx and Engels when they were preparing the manuscript for their book was that not only were the living and working conditions for the working class in England deplorable but England was also suffering through a serious economic downturn that bordered on being classified as a depression. These difficult economic conditions served to accentuate the poor conditions of the working class in England and, therefore, affected the thinking of Marx and Engels.

Finally, Marx and Engels were privy to the class struggles that often accompany labor strikes. Coincidently, the economic conditions in England in the early 19^th century resulted in some violent and prolonged strikes that caused Marx and Engels to see events as a breakdown in the relationship between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. Additionally, they saw the actions of the proletariat during the strikes as a harbinger of things to come once a complete breakdown in the relationship, which they viewed as inevitable, occurred.

In the short term, Marx and Engels were correct in their analysis. Workers conditions during the time that Marx and Engels wrote were ripe for creating a revolution. Marx and Engels believed that the conditions that they witnessed in the 1840s in England were evidence of cyclical downturns that would eventually become worse and worse and lead to a full blown revolution. In the long term, however, Marx and Engels made some miscalculations that forestalled the conditions for revolution ever developing. In time, the bourgeoisie in England recognized the authority of the unions which enabled the working class to improve their working conditions. Social reform measures improved the overall living conditions and improved production gradually raised the standard of living of all British citizens.

Despite the fact that the foreseen revolution did not occur in England as Marx and Engels predicted, the ideas set forth in the Manifesto continued to have a major influence throughout the world for the next century. It had a direct influence in the revolution that led to the establishment of a Communist government in Russia and in several other nations following the end of the Second World War. Additionally, smaller movements advocating Communist ideology brewed in nearly every nation and met with varying results but the ideology remained strong until the fall of the Soviet Union. The fall of the Soviet Union caused many to begin to doubt the underlying theory of Communism and, in today’s world, the ideas of Marx and Engels have largely fallen into disfavor.

In hindsight it is easy to understand how Marx and Engels developed their theory but it is equally as easy to now see why their theory failed to come to fruition. Capitalism has proven to be more stable than Marx and Engels predicted and the revolutions that they foresaw have not occurred. The class differences that were so obvious in 1840s England have become less so and the standard of living enjoyed by the proletariat has improved substantially. In addition, the great experiment in Communism that was once called the Soviet Union failed and with its failure serious doubt has arisen relative to the underlying Communism philosophy. Nevertheless, the Communist Manifesto as a philosophy remains an important piece of work and continues to deserve careful and critical review.

Works Cited

Engels, Friedrich. The Condition of the Working Class in England. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books, 1987.

Marx, Karl. and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1992.