The difficulty with Marx' and Engel's ideas imbedded in the manifesto could be that they were mistaken about which class would ultimately include all the others. They assumed that the proletariat would, in the end, assume the means of production and thus destroy the capitalism. They did not understand that production would become less costly as time wore on due to efficiencies in production. Workers would become entrepreneurs in free, not communist societies. The invention of computers, and the easy access to the tools of a service industry would make small business a driving force (Mattson, 2005).

In his book The Vital Center, Arthur Schlesinger believed this "mistaken analysis" was "responsible for the failure of" Marx's prophecies and the triumph of "bureaucratic collectivism" in the Soviet Union. Crucially, it neglected the possibility of liberal reform." The capitalist state has clearly not been just the executive committee of the business community" (Mattson, 2005).

Besides erring politically, Marx erred sociologically. The standard narrative of postwar history depicts left-wing writers recognizing that Marx's bipolarized view of class -- bourgeois vs. proletariat -- and his belief in imminent capitalist crisis failed to explain America's newfound economic abundance. Workers weren't suffering from being impoverished, the arguments went, they were buying televisions and automobiles and refrigerators (Mattson, 2005).

In The Vital Center, Schlesinger did not reject all talk of class. He rejected Marx's talk of class. He pointed to a long American...

Schlesinger quoted Andrew Jackson condemning "the rich and powerful" for bending "the acts of Government to their selfish purpose" against the best interests of "the humble members of society" (Mattson, 2005).
Concluding Example of Marx' Fallibility

During the Great Depression, and contrary to the logic of Marx's prophecy, Western nations failed to collapse into revolution. Rather, in meeting the challenge of the Depression, these capitalist systems demonstrated remarkable abilities for survival and adaptability to change. Democratic governments began to intervene in the economy to correct the worst abuses inherent in capitalism (Capitalism, 2009).

Bibliography

Brooke, C. (1998). The political science of Karl Marx. Retrieved April 17, 2009, from University of Oxford: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~magd1368/archive/gov98f1/intro.htm

Capitalism. (2009). Retrieved April 20, 2009, from Encarta.msn.com: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576596_2/capitalism.html

Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1998). The communist manifesto: A modern edition. London: Verso.

Mattson, K. (2005). Revisiting the vital center. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from Dissent magazine: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=286

omegaletter.com. (2005, August 1). Karl Marx: "Proletariats have no fatherland." Retrieved April 17, 2009, from The omega letter: http://www.omegaletter.com/briefs/briefings.asp?BID=1332