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, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' The Communist Manifesto is edited with an introduction by Gareth Stedman-Jones in Penguin Classics.
Marx and Engels's revolutionary summons to the working classes, The Communist Manifesto is one of the most important political theories ever formulated. After four years of collaboration, they produced an incisive account of their idea of Communism, in which they envisage a society without classes, private property or a state, arguing that the exploitation of industrial workers will eventually lead to a revolution in which Capitalism is overthrown. This vision provided the theoretical basis of political systems in Russia, China, Cuba and Eastern Europe, affecting the lives of millions. The Communist Manifesto still remains a landmark text: a work that continues to influence and provoke debate on capitalism and class.
Gareth Stedman Jones's extensive and scholarly introduction provides an unique assessment of the place of The Communist Manifesto in history, and its continuing relevance as a depiction of global capitalism. This edition reproduces Samuel Moore's translation of 1888 and contains a guide to further reading, notes and an index.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) was born in Trier, Germany and studied law at Bonn and Berlin. He settled in London, where he studied economics and wrote the first volume of his major work, Das Kapital (1867, with two further volumes in 1884 and 1894). He is buried in Highgate Cemetery, London.
Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), as well as his collaboration with Marx, was the author of The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845), based on personal observations and research.
If you enjoyed The Communist Manifesto, you might like Marx's Capital, also available in Penguin Classics.
'The words of the Communist Manifesto flare like the fiery writing on the wall above the crumbling bastions of capitalist society: socialism or barbarism '
Rosa Luxemburg
Synopsis
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' landmark text that continues to influence and provoke debate on capitalism and class, now in a stunning clothbound edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels's revolutionary summons to the working classes, is one of the most important and influential political theories ever formulated. After four years of collaboration, the authors produced this incisive declaration 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. This vision provided the theoretical basis of political systems in Russia, China, Cuba and Eastern Europe, affecting the lives of millions.
Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing 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
A new series of beautiful hardcover nonfiction classics, with covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith World-changing ideas meet eye-catching design: the best titles of the extraordinarily successful Great Ideas series are now packaged in Coralie Bickford-Smiths distinctive, award-winning covers. Whether on a well-curated shelf or in your back pocket, these timeless works of philosophical, political, and psychological thought are absolute musthaves for book collectors as well as design enthusiasts.
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