Synopses & Reviews
Originally published on the eve of the 1848 European revolutions,
The Communist Manifesto is a condensed and incisive account of the worldview Marx and Engels developed during their hectic intellectual and political collaboration. Formulating the principles of dialectical materialism, they believed that labor creates wealth, hence capitalism is exploitive and antithetical to freedom.
This new edition includes an extensive introduction by Gareth Stedman Jones, Britain's leading expert on Marx and Marxism, providing a complete course for students of The Communist Manifesto, and demonstrating not only the historical importance of the text, but also its place in the world today.
Synopsis
A rousing call to arms whose influence is still felt today Originally published on the eve of the 1848 European revolutions, The Communist Manifesto is a condensed and incisive account of the worldview Marx and Engels developed during their hectic intellectual and political collaboration. Formulating the principles of dialectical materialism, they believed that labor creates wealth, hence capitalism is exploitive and antithetical to freedom.
This new edition includes an extensive introduction by Gareth Stedman Jones, Britain's leading expert on Marx and Marxism, providing a complete course for students of The Communist Manifesto, and demonstrating not only the historical importance of the text, but also its place in the world today.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Synopsis
'An astonishing masterpiece ... a political classic ... has an almost biblical force' Eric Hobsbawm
The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels' revolutionary 1848 summons to the working classes, is one of the most influential political theories ever formulated. After four years of collaboration, the authors produced this incisive account of their idea of Communism, in which they envisage a society without classes, private property or a state. They argue that increasing exploitation of industrial workers will eventually lead to a revolution in which capitalism is overthrown. Their vision transformed the world irrevocably, and remains relevant as a depiction of global capitalism today.
Edited with an Introduction by GARETH STEDMAN JONES
About the Author
Born in Westphalia in 1820, Friedrich Engels was the son of a textile manufacturer. After military training in Berlin and already a convert to communism, Engels went to Manchester in 1842 to represent the family firm. A relationship with a mill-hand, Mary Bums, and friendship with local Owenites and Chartists helped to inspire his famous early work, The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844. Collaboration with Marx began in 1844 and in 1847 he composed the first drafts of the Manifesto. After playing an active part in the German revolutions, Engels returned to work in Manchester until 1870, when he moved to London. He not only helped Marx financially, but reinforced their shared position through his own expositions of the new theory. After Marx’s death, he prepared the unfinished volumes of Capital for publication. He died in London in 1895.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Gareth Stedman JonesAcknowledgments
Part I: Introduction
1. Preface
2. The Reception of the Manifesto
3. The "Spectre of Communism"
4. The Communist League
5. Engels' Contribution
6. Marx's Contribution: Prologue
7. The Young Hegelians
(i) Hegel and Hegelianism
(ii) The Battle over Christianity and the Emergence of the Young Hegelians
8. From Republicanism to Communism
9. Political Economy and "The True Natural History of Man"
10. The Impact of Stirner
11. Communism
(i) The Contribution of Adam Smith
(ii) The History of Law and Property
(iii) The Contemporary Discussion of Communism
12. Conclusion
13. A Guide to Further Reading
Part II: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto
A Note on the Text
Preface to the German Edition of 1872
Preface to the Russian Edition of 1882
Preface to the German Edition of 1883
Preface to the English Edition of 1888
Preface to the German Edition of 1890
Preface to the Polish Edition of 1892
Preface to the Italian Edition of 1893
The Manifesto of the Communist Party
1. Bourgois and Proletarians
2. Proletarians and Communists
3. Socialist and Communist Literature
I. Reactionary Socialism
a. Feudal Socialism
b. Petty-Bourgeois Socialism
c. German, or "True," Socialism
II. Conservative, or Bourgeois, Socialism
III. Critical-Utopian Socialism and Communism
4. Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties
Notes
Index