The Communist Manifesto

In "The Communist Manifesto", written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, the authors describe the process by which humanity has become divided into two distinct and opposing social classes: the proletariat (the property-less working class) and the bourgeoisie(the property-owning class). Marx and Engels argue that the relationship between the classes has become agitated beyond repair, laying the foundation for an inevitable proletarian revolution. In the Manifesto, the basic tenets of Communism are described. Ultimately, "The Communist Manifesto" is a call to arms, a prophesy for the future, and an analysis of the past all organized into one flowing document.

"The Communist Manifesto" opens with the assertion that "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles"(p. 57). From this, the essence of the Manifesto is derived. Marx and Engels present humanity as divided most distinctly along lines of social class. As the world has traversed into modernity, the nature of this distinction has simplified. By the mid-19th century, Marx and Engels believed that the breakdown of society between the oppressed and the oppressors was bi-polar, symbolized in the antagonistic existence of "two great classes directly facing each other: bourgeoisie and proletariat"(p. 59).

Traditionally, the bourgeois has been the revolutionary class, overthrowing the established order of things and, whenever possible,