The Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto remains one of the most influential works of all time. It is about, as its preamble states, class struggles and the necessity for the Communist party to open up about its goals and start a social revolution. Marx states that there are two main social classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. He also argues that history is composed of the struggle of these two classes.

Throughout history, series of revolutions had formed the bourgeois and these revolutions widened the gap between these social classes even more. The role of the proletariat is that of a machine, at the mercy of its bourgeois operator. They are no different than the factories they work in; the class is just another mean of production. The proletariat people do not even have an identity because their ideals trickled down from the bourgeois society that was in control. The bourgeoisie does not think of their counterparts as human, as Marx explains, to them they exist only for the purpose of exploitation. Without the proletariat, the bourgeoisie would not survive.

Marx was under the opinion that since the market was expanding throughout the globe, it is only a matter of time before over-production occurs. It is at this time that continued production would no longer be beneficial to the upper class. To him, the bourgeoisie is no longer compatible with society. He thought it necessary for the proletariat to overthrow the bourgeois. This would happen if private property no longer existed. The bourgeoisie could not use their property of factories, land, and laborers to create capital.

I thought reading the Communist Manifesto was interesting because it remains such an important piece literature. It made me think of the predominance of class struggles even in today's society. I also thought Marx's portrayal of society was interesting in terms of how dark it is. To him, the world is simply a place of exploitation with all of the power in the hands of few. It is depressing to think of historical changes in terms of conflict and that advancement is derived from these struggles.

It was not clear to me exactly what Marx meant when he wrote the world will become over-produced. The Communist Manifesto was written over 150 years ago and production is still growing at a rapid pace. Society is becoming more wasteful and materialistic; even the most useless and unnecessary products sell. This production is exploiting the poor to an even greater degree than in Marx's time. In many third world countries many people survive on less than a dollar a day, increasing the gap between the classes. I do not understand what made him think that overproduction would occur within the near future.