The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...the text behind most of the world's revolutions

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A revolutionary political booklet analyzing the class struggle and the problems of capitalism, published by the German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848 in their language, becoming one of the most important political documents ever, as it was the inspiration for many revolutions around the world, and it has the second best-selling book in the world after the Bible.

Context

Between 1789 and 1848, Europe witnessed what was known as the “double revolution.” Politically, between 1789 and 1799, France witnessed its great revolution, which ended the monarchy and declared the First Republic on September 21, 1792. Among its most prominent results was the establishment of equality and freedom of expression. Truly for every Frenchman.

At the same time, the industrial revolution that Europe witnessed at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century created a lower class of workers who lived in arduous working conditions, while factory owners made huge profits.

All of these factors led to a state of severe polarization within society, resulting in two classes with conflicting interests: the bourgeoisie (the owners of capital) and the proletariat (the workers).

As a result of all of this, and with the increase in the number of factory workers and their increasing suffering, an organized labor movement emerged to defend workers’ rights and demand the improvement of their living conditions, called socialism. It was the founder of the concept of workers’ struggle by calling for the transition from a capitalist society in which wealth is concentrated in the hands of a minority, to a society whose wealth is distributed. Fairly, where everyone lives in equality and prosperity.

Communism also crystallized at the same time as a form of socialism, with a difference between them: socialism only aims to socialize production, while communism aims to socialize both production and consumption.

One of the translations of the book "The Communist Manifesto" into Arabic (Al Jazeera)

German conditions

Germany was at that time witnessing a golden era in the field of science and philosophy, despite its economic backwardness to the rest of the European countries in addition to its political weakness. Georg Friedrich Hegel was the most prominent philosophical name in it, and his philosophy was influenced by both Engels and Marx, who got to know each other in the French capital, Paris, in the year 1844.

The relationship of the two young men was strengthened due to their joint activity and struggle to support the workers and achieve communism, so they joined its group and participated in writing the Communist Party Manifesto, and presented its draft for discussion at the First Congress of Communists, which was held in the British capital, London, in June 1847.

They were asked to adopt this draft in order to formulate a final theoretical and practical document to which all communists would adhere, and it was decided during the conference to call it the “Communist Manifesto.”

The new goal of the Communist League was also announced: “The overthrow of the bourgeoisie, the establishment of the power of the proletariat, the abolition of the bourgeois social system based on class contradictions, and its replacement with a social system in which classes and individual property disappear.”

At its second conference, from November 28 to December 8 of the same year, it decided to issue a statement of its goals and commissioned Marx and Engels to draft it.

The latter decided to abandon his project, which was later called “Teachings of Marxism” or “Teachings of Communism.” He wrote to Marx, saying, “Think a little about declaring the principles of the League. It is better - in my opinion - to abandon the form of the teachings and call it the “Communist Manifesto”... I will carry with me the text that “I prepared it, but it is purely narrative, poorly formulated and hastily written.” Accordingly, Marx alone finalized the Manifesto in February 1848, preparing a new definition of communism.

The statement remained a basic reference for communists over the years, and one of its guides was the Russian Vladimir Lenin (Reuters)

The purpose of the statement

The manifesto aimed to explain new communist beliefs, concluding that capitalism did not offer humanity the possibility of self-realization, but instead ensured that humans would be permanently stunted and isolated.

He pointed out that the class struggle arises in capitalist societies due to contradictions between the material interests of the oppressed and exploited proletariat, and the ruling bourgeoisie that owns the means of production, and leads to a period of short-term crises, and in periods of deep crises, the resistance of the oppressed can culminate in a proletarian revolution that, if victorious, leads to the creation of The socialist mode of production based on social ownership of the means of production, “each according to his contribution.”

He also saw that capitalism could be destroyed and extinct if the proletariat united, and predicted an imminent revolution in Europe that would lead to the emergence of communism, a classless society in which “the free development of each individual is the condition for the free development of all.”

The Communist Manifesto proposed the following transitional policies:

• Abolition of private ownership of land and inheritance.

• Introduction of a progressive income tax.

• Confiscation of rebel property.

• Nationalization of the credit, communications and transportation sectors.

• Expansion and integration between industry and agriculture.

• Enforcing the global commitment to action.

• Providing comprehensive education and eliminating child labour.

He ended with a call for solidarity among the proletarians, under the well-known slogan, “Workers of the world, unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains,” as they all have one interest.

Pictures of Marx and Engels in Beijing in Tiananmen Square on April 29, 1986, two days before May Day celebrations (French)

Results

The Communist Manifesto entered the consciousness of the working forces like no other political action or speech did. The revolutionary spirit surged in their hearts immediately after its announcement, and their threats to the bourgeois class in Europe escalated, so they took to the squares to demand the fulfillment of everything it stated, thus taking the struggle of this class to an unprecedented stage. A precedent that disturbed others.

It also coincided with the period of the "European Spring", which were revolutions that began in the Italian peninsula in 1847 as a result of the accumulation of difficult political and economic factors, and spread to Paris, Vienna, Milan, Rome, Venice, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Budapest, and others.

Some revolutions failed, while others succeeded temporarily. The system of government changed in France, and the royal government of Louis Philippe was overthrown. Then a temporary government was formed, after which Louis Napoleon was chosen to rule. The revolution in Germany and Austria also led to the liberation of slaves, but they continued to work for low wages.

Despite this, the Manifesto remained an essential reference for all communists, including the Russian Vladimir Lenin, who believed in the Manifesto (later called “Marxist theory”) and contributed to its development. He saw that the socialist system and the elimination of private property were the most effective way to achieve social justice, and then in 1917 he led the “Revolution.” Bolshevism, which overthrew the Tsarist regime in Russia and paved the way for the establishment of the Soviet Union.

Source: websites