The Individual and Society in the Communist Manifesto Essay

The Individual and Society in the Communist Manifesto The end of 19th century, Western Society was changing physically, philosophically, economically, and politically. It was an influential and critical time in that the Industrial Revolution created a new class. Many contemporary observers realized the dramatic changes in society. Among these were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who observed the conditions of the working man, or the proletariat, and saw a change in how goods and wealth were distributed. In their Communist Manifesto, they described their observations of the inequalities between the emerging wealthy middle class and the proletariat as well as the condition of the proletariat. They argued that the proletariat was†¦show more content†¦As the economy grew, it allowed for the expansion of a new class. In essence, they concluded that the bourgeoisie was the result of industrial capitalism. According to historian Neil Harding, â€Å"[the bourgeoisie] was a class that had been formed by the expropriation of the p easants through the spread of large scale capitalist farming and by the extinction of the artisans and handicraftsmen through the dominance of large-scale manufacture and the wholesale introduction of machinery†.3 As a result, the newfound wealth allowed this emerging class to accommodate and produce more goods. Therefore, this change in production required that the goods be produced in mass quantities. The production of the mass quantities, however, required a mass proletariat. They became the backbone of the economy. Workers in the factories toiled long hours at minimum wages to satisfy the growing needs and demands of the markets. The poor conditions and the inequality in the distribution of goods, however, prompted the proletariat to begin to demand a fair share of the results. It became clear that the bourgeoisie had, â€Å"stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honoured and looked up to with reverent awe. It had converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage labourers†. 4 Workers were relegated to the bottom of the social pyramid.Show MoreRelated The United States Constitution Compared to the Communist Manifesto840 Words   |  4 PagesConstitution Compared to the Communist Manifesto Both the Communist Manifesto and the United States Constitution share some common ideas. They are documents that strive for ideas that in opposition to one another. The Communist Manifesto and The Constitution of the United States both include what the relationship between an individual and society should be about. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto. Marx and Engels talked about in the Communist Manifesto what they thought toRead MoreEssay about The Role of the Individual in Candide1148 Words   |  5 Pagesworld the roles of the individual and of society are completely abstract. As the world changes and develops, the roles of the individual and society change to meet the needs of the people. Voltaires Candide which involves France during the Age of Enlightment Marx Engels Communist Manifesto which involves Germany around 1848 both discuss the roles of the individual and of society in different ways. In both pieces of literature what is expected of th e individuals and of society is very different fromRead MoreThe Manifesto Of The Communist Party Essay1526 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction: The Manifesto of the Communist party is a book written in 1847, by a group of radical workers part the â€Å"Communist League.† Including the radical workers, the group comprised of Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels. They met in London to write a manifesto on their behalf, which would be famously known as the Communist Manifesto. Marx was the principle author, while Engels was mainly focused on editing and assisting. The Communist Manifesto was originally published in London in 1848. TheRead MoreMarx And Friedrich Engels s Manifesto Of The Communist Party948 Words   |  4 Pagesand collaborator Friedrich Engels wrote The Manifesto of the Communist Party as a platform for the Communist League, a society to which they both belonged. This essay will explore the types of societies that this document describes, as well as the effects that Industrial Capitalism had on societal and individual levels. The Communist Manifesto focuses mainly on describing the society that the authors fear or that already exists, rather than the society that the authors wish to create. The majorityRead MoreThe Development Of The Communist Manifesto In The European1083 Words   |  5 PagesThe development of the communist manifesto in the European region has led to the influencing of the different structures present in the area. The communist manifesto has resulted in the formation of holy alliances in the European region. It is due to the effects of the Manifesto that Marx developed the journal to address the issue. The importance of this journal is to highlight the sociological problems that have resulted from the manifesto. The fact that the manifesto has been highlighted by theRead More The Manifesto of the Communist Party Essay1346 Words   |  6 PagesThe Manifesto of the Communist Party Drafted in 1848 by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, the â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party† outlines the views, tendencies, and aims of the communist party through the so-called philosophy of historical materialism (Distante). These views were expressed throughout four distinct sections of the â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party.† The first section describes the relationship between the bourgeois and the proletarians. The next section depicts theRead MoreThe Influence of the Communist Manifesto on the Development of Industrial Capitalism1249 Words   |  5 Pages The Communist Manifesto left a tremendous impact on a society that was rapidly becoming industrialized, and its effects can even be seen on the dominating economic system of the twenty-first century. In the later nineteenth century, however, industrial capitalism was on the brink of ruin. â€Å"On many occasions during the past century, Marxists have thought that capitalism was down for the count . . . Yet it has always come back with renewed strength.† Industrial capitalism succeeded in the faceRead MoreThe Communist Manifesto, By Karl Marx And Friedrich Engels Essay1664 Words   |  7 PagesThe Communist Manifesto The Communist Manifesto was drafted under the commission of the Communist League, a body that consisted of a group of radical workers who were disgruntled by the abject poverty of the working class in industrialized Europe. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the authors of the Communist Manifesto, lived at a time when the gap between the rich and the poor was becoming evidently wide, and the working class was struggling to survive. The Communist Manifesto is a result of contextRead MoreThe Great Philosophies From The 19th Century1386 Words   |  6 Pagessocialist and sociologist. Marx’s different varieties of work influenced his understanding of society and and the economy during his time period. Once Marx got older, he moved to London England where he progressed his ideas and even collaborate with Friedrich Engels with whom he published numerous works. Marx’s most well known piece of work is The Communist Manifesto, which discusses his theories about society, economi cs and politics , together known as Marxism. Through this pamphlet, it highlightsRead More The Death of Communism828 Words   |  4 PagesThe Death of Communism The United States longest and bloodiest war was the Vietnam War, which was fought from 1959 until 1975.(Communist Manifesto 1) In this war 57,685 Americans were killed, and their were over 2 million Vietnamese deaths.(Communist Manifesto 3) One of the main causes of the war was a commonly held American belief called the Domino Theory. This theory stated that if the U.S. allowed one country to fall to communism, those around it would fall, and then those around it, eventually