Product Description

This definitive edition of the Communist Manifesto, prepared for its 150th anniversary, includes a foreword by Marxist scholar Paul M. Sweezy, co-editor of Monthly Review, the full text of the Communist Manifesto, in a distinctive and pleasing hand-set typeface, the important catechism Principles of Communism, drafted by Engels in 1847 as a basis for the Manifesto, and "The Communist Manifesto After 150 Years," a far-reaching interpretive essay by Ellen Meiksins Wood, co-editor of Monthly Review.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #767216 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-01
• Released on: 1998-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Amazon.com Review
"A spectre is haunting Europe," Karl Marx and Frederic Engels wrote in 1848, "the spectre of Communism." This new edition of The Communist Manifesto, commemorating the 150th anniversary of its publication, includes an introduction by renowned historian Eric Hobsbawm which reminds us of the document's continued relevance. Marx and Engels's critique of capitalism and its deleterious effect on all aspects of life, from the increasing rift between the classes to the destruction of the nuclear family, has proven remarkably prescient. Their spectre, manifested in the Manifesto's vivid prose, continues to haunt the capitalist world, lingering as a ghostly apparition even after the collapse of those governments which claimed to be enacting its principles.

From Library Journal
May 1 to honor the 150th anniversary of the original publication of Marx and Engels's masterpiece with this quality, affordable hardcover. This edition contains a new introduction by historian Eric Hobsbawn, who insists that the work should be read not only as a great work of literature but that, 150 years later, it still has much to teach us for the next millennium.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Every paragraph breaks over us like a wave that leaves us shaking from the impact and wet with thought. This prose evokes breathless momentum, plunging ahead without guides or maps, breaking all boundaries, precarious piling and layering of things, ideas and experiences. -- The Nation, Marshall Berman

Customer Reviews

An excellent edition of a political classic
My five star rating is based on the quality of this handsome edition of one of the classics of political philosophy. Classics of this magnitude, whether Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF NATIONS, Tocqueville's DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, or THE FEDERALIST PAPERS have achieved a status that makes the assigning of a rating rather silly. Regardless of one's feelings about Marxism or Communism, a work of such gigantic influence is of such a status that rating it is almost silly. It is one of the constitutive artifacts of our culture.

The particular edition I am reviewing is the recent reissue on Verso with an introduction by Eric Hobsbawm. There are a host of editions of THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO, and virtually any of them will do the trick, but I very much enjoyed this edition, partly for the handsome jacket and binding, and partly for the superb intro by Hobsbawm. It is not a new translation, and indeed it isn't clear that there will ever be much of a demand for a new translation. The MANIFESTO was first published in 1848 and this translation in 1888. Moore's translation is the standard one for a simple reason: Engels examined it closely and helped Moore in editing the final draft of the translation.

Although I had read a fair amount in the writings of Marx over the years, this was my first time to read the work from cover to cover. I found it surprising on several levels. First, it was a much easier to read work than I had anticipated. This is upon reflection hardly surprising. The work was intended as a pamphlet for the masses, and it was essential that it be as understandable as possible. Also, the concepts and ideas articulated in these pages have become a part of the intellectual landscape of Western civilization. A host of ideas are commonplace, even among those who do not consider themselves sympathetic towards Marxism. It has become a commonplace of the past decade that Communism and Democracy clashed, and Communism lost. But the fact is that Marxist thought has exerted a massive influence on the way we view the world, and many things introduced by Marx are now central constituents of our world. Just look at the way we write history now. Before Marx a detailed consideration of the economic factors in an era was unheard of; now it is considered essential.

As a credo, I find myself conflicted over its contents, just as I always find myself conflicted in reading Marx. Marx's analyses of the dynamics governing capitalist society have always struck me as dead on. No one writes more presciently or timelessly about the structures of exploitation that are inherent in capitalism. Nonetheless, I find his positive proposals as to how to transcend capitalism to be untenable, and the post-capitalist world he describes to be undesirable. The best way to express this is that I find Marx the critic to be convincing and impressive, but Marx the visionary to be irrelevant. I want us to pay attention to Marx's critiques, but not to his proposals for change.

I was delighted in reading the book to find the word "highfalutin" in the text. The world seems somehow to be a more charming place for the unexpected presence of such a light-hearted word in the midst of a serious text.

Though listed as the work of Marx and Engels, Marx was the primary creator of the work. He also did the bulk of the writing. It isn't sufficiently commented on what a beautiful writer Marx could be when he tried. Too often he adopts the try academic style begun with Christian Wolff and continued by Kant, Fichte, and Hegel. But a host of exquisite phrases such as "All that is solid melts into air" shows that Marx could turn a phrase when conviction didn't prevent him.

Everyone interested in political thought or modern history needs to read this book. Its influence--its ongoing influence--is incalculable. Its critique of the exploitative nature of capitalism remains astonishingly relevant. And its predictions about the future course of history, even if no longer inspiring or convincing, are crucial to grasp if one is to understand many of the political impulses of the past one hundred and fifty years.

A work of historic significance
I remember reading the Communist Manifesto thirty years ago when I was at University. At the time it seemed tedious and impenetrable. Recently I re-read it and was amazed at how clear it seemed and what an effective piece of propaganda it was and how clear was the writing.

Reading through the program one realises the distance that has been travelled since it was written. Some of the major planks are the Abolition of Child Labour, the creation of a progressive income tax and Free Education.

Perhaps one of its major weaknesses is that Marx was a person who tended to carry a grudge. Thus a third of it is devoted to attacks on some of his contemporary enemies and rivals. These disputes have so long passed into history they are incomprehensible.

The modern notion of Communism of course stems not from Marx but from Stalin and Lenin. Marx wrote at a time when the only democratic country in Europe was France. England, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire all had limited franchises and Russia was of course an autocracy. One of the major reforms he battled for was the introduction of democracy. It was his belief that the implementation of his program would flow from that.

Following Marx's death his movement evolved into a parliamentary movement the Social Democratic Party. Communism as a modern political phenomena dates from 1917 when splinter Social Democrats followed Russia's lead and developed small conspiratorial parties who were committed to the seizure of power by force. Stalinism is an offshoot of this system and is a form of state terror aimed at ensuring the survival of unpopular anti democratic regimes.

Reading through the Manifesto one can see the basis of a system which was not only an effective for mobilising political movements, but came to influence intellectual debate for the next century. There is also perhaps a sense of a naive optimism which could not contemplate the sorts of disasters which were to occur over the next hundred years.

Idealistic and prone to failure...but ultimately insightful
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel's ~The Communist Manifesto~ has affected probably more lives then most books of its time had (save maybe Upton Sinclair's ~The Jungle~). Marx and Engel's set forth a series of ideals as to achieving the perfect utopian society and abolishing with the "feudalistic class systems." In so doing, Marx creates probably the most relevant section of the little book, Section I.: Bourgeois and Proletarians. With this section, Marx paints a picture of modern capitalist society for the proletariat (or worker if you will) in order to play up his ideal classless society. Although his society was never achieved, the idea of alienation and exploitation in the workplace is still relevant today.

Marx sums up the situation of the worker in this first chapter very well. Marx first begins by comparing modern Bourgeois society to that of Feudalistic Europe, "The modern Bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of the feudal society has not done away with class antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression..." Just a few, short pages later, Marx introduces us to the Modern working class; the proletariat, "But not only has the bourgeosie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has also called into existence the men who are to wield those weapons - the modern working class - the proletarians." Marx describes the Proletarians as "slaves of the borgeois class" and as being "enslaved by the machine, by the overlooker, and above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself."

Despite Marx's constent bashing of the bourgeosie, he has some interesting things to say about them as well. Marx says that the bourgeoisie "by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all, even the most barbarian, nations into civilisation." Marx even credits the bourgeoisie with another accomplisment: "[he] has rescued a considerable part of the population from the idiocy of rural life." I think what Marx is trying to tell us is that the Bourgeoisie is essential to the progress and development of a nation, but it certainly should not be the end, there must be something beyond the bourgeois society.

Later on in Section II. (Proletarians and Communists), Marx sets down the ten steps that should be taken by the government upon establishing a Communist/Socialist government/economic nation.

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal obligation of all to work (different from Capitalism in which you have two choices: work and get money, or don't work and die). Establishment of industrial armies, especiaaly to agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc.

The only difference in the rules between today's capitalist based economies are rules 1, 3, 4, 5, and number 8. Remember, in a capitalist economy, you have the choice whether to work or not. The thing is, if you don't work, you're pretty much screwed. Marx states in the Communist Manifesto that, "the theory of Communists may be summed up in a single sentence: Abolition of private property."

Marx sets up a series of systems which the state will gradually ease off of into a different economic state. However, in the "Communist" countries we've seen that almost all of them haven't graduated off their strict form of socialism, skipping the fedualistic stages and the capitalistic stages. China however, has been able to gradually ease onto a more capitalistic economy but the nature and spirit of the country remain "Communist." Because of greed and impatience we may never know whether Communism (in its purest form) can actually work and if it leads to a Utopian society, but we do know that Karl Marx was a very, very idealistic man.

I highly recommend the Signet Classics copy of ~The Communist Manifesto~. It's an excellent buy... and a good print of the book (meaning the text is very readable). The Signet Classics copy also contains a very enlightening introduction by historian Martin Malia, and preferences on each edition (two on the various German editions, one on the Russian edition, and one on the English edition) written by Friedrich Engels.