Manifesto of the Communist Party

Karl Marx and wrote the Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1847 for the Communist League of London. In this Manifesto, Marx first applied his ideas of historical materialism, which he developed in 1846 in The German Ideology.

The Manifesto of the Communist Party describes the emergence of capitalism, and the social classes that develop due to this method of production. According to Marx, capitalism emerges from the context of feudal society. "The feudal system of industry, under which industrial production was monopolized by closed guilds, now no longer sufficed for the growing wants of the new markets. The manufacturing system took its place p. 474)."

Marx goes into detail about the historical events that led to the state of modern industry. He writes, "The place of manufacture was taken by the giant, Modern Industry, the place of the industrial middle class, by industrial millionaires,... The modern bourgeoisie (p. 480)." He explains the transition from feudalism to capitalism by stating that various classes in society often opposed interests over the direction of change, and this class struggle alters the mode of production. Thus, this class conflict is eternal but often hidden. "The history of hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave,... lord and serf... In a word oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight (p. 473)."

Marx believed that the mode of production is key to defining the social classes in any society. "We see therefore, how the modern bourgeoisie is itself the product of a long course of development, of a series of evolution in the modes of production and exchange (p. 474)." Due to the fact that the bourgeoisie emerges from the capitalist mode, and ultimately influences its direction, this class has the power to influence the political, legal and ideological course of any civil society. According to Marx, "the bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society (p. 476)."

Marx and Engles believed that the bourgeoisie class turns all social relations into money relations. Thus is evident in their book. The bourgeoisie class has the power to alter legal relations of society. For example, they may ease legal restrictions on land or set up private property in order to support capitalism. According to Marx, the bourgeoisie class "resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom -- free trade (p. 475)."

As a result of capitalist societies, Marx and Engels stated that the working class is left with poor living conditions and low pay, as the capitalist mode of production provides them bargaining power in the marketplace. The bourgeoisie class, thus, treats the workers like commodities, paying them only enough to live. According to Marx: "hence, the cost of production of a workman is restricted, almost entirely to the means of subsistence that he requires for his maintenance, and for the propagation of his race 9p. 479)."

As the capitalist mode of production grows, small business owners face many challenges, as they can no longer compete with the modern bourgeoisie. According to Marx, "the lower strata of the middle class - the small tradespeople, shopkeepers... all these sink gradually into the proletariat, partly because their diminutive capital does not suffice for the scale on which Modern Industry is carried on... partly because their specialized skill is rendered worthless by methods of production (p. 479)."

Marx and Engels viewed class conflict as inherent in capitalist societies. Thus, they believed that the social, legal and political aspects of the workplace needed to change over time. To promote these changes, the working class would form trade unions. According to Marx, "thereupon the workers begin to form combinations against the bourgeoisie; they club together in order to keep up the rate of wages (p. 480)"

The final stage of the class conflict is the working class' formation of a political voice, as

Marx describes as "the organization of the proletariat into a class, and consequently into a political party... It compels legislative recognition of particular interests of the workers, by taking advantage of the divisions among the bourgeoisie itself (p.481)."

Basically, in a capitalist society, as Marx and Engels describe in the Manifesto of the Communist Party, the rich will exploit the working class to benefit themselves. By forcing the working class to work for little money, the rich make even more money because their costs are minimized. The gap between the rich and poor increases, as it has in the United States. As a result, we have class conflict.

Marx and Engels envisioned a society in which individuals work for the well being of society rather than for personal gain. Society is improved because of a group effort for a higher quality of living. In effect, they believed that communism would eliminate class conflict. Basically, even in a capitalist society, Marx and Engels felt that the working class would eventually overthrow the bourgeoisie and achieve a classless society where the group works for society.