The Communist Manifesto
Uploaded by bulldawg on Oct 27, 2011
This essay discusses the seminal political philosophical work by Marx and Engels.
I Introduction
The Communist Manifesto is a fascinating document. It is the foundation of one of the most important political and social movements on earth, and yet that movement has largely failed. Does this mean that Marx and Engels’ vision was flawed, or that men simply cannot live up to what are extremely difficult precepts? The Manifesto introduced startling new ideas, ideas that required a complete rethinking and readjustment of society. In the end, it seems that men’s nature is less altruistic and humanitarian than is necessary to make Communism a reality.
This paper will discuss this issue: to what extent does the Manifesto succeed in describing the capitalist system as we know it today? We’ll consider the question in terms of politics, economics, philosophy and history; and consider what might be done to improve Marx’s ideas. Finally, we’ll also look at what Marx means by the word “capitalism” and his analysis of it.
II Discussion
In general, it’s amazing to realize that much of what Marx wrote is still valid in describing the way business, particularly large corporations, operates. He described a greedy, vicious and ruthless class of people—the bourgeoisie—who got rich by exploiting the workers—the proletariat. If we care to take a look at some of the more egregious practices by large multinational corporations (Nike leaps to mind) we see that these methods are still widely used, and still enrich those at the top at the expense of those who actually produce the goods. It’s somewhat disheartening to realize that over a hundred years after Marx wrote, things are getting worse.
On the other hand, he got a good many things wrong, too. There has been no general coming together of workers around the world, nor has there been a universal revolution against the oppressive practices of the multinational companies. (Too bad; they could use a good swift kick.) He made other predictions that have failed to materialize, and we’ll return to that in a moment.
In short, we see a world in which money rules absolutely; it’s also a world that poses immense difficulties for anyone who is not wealthy. Unfortunately, because of what now appear to be indissoluble ties between money and politics, with the rich buying the support of the governing class for any and all of...