The Communist Manifesto

Here is just a brief overview of some of the main points from the Karl Marx reading on The Communist Manifesto.

The relations of production have become obstacles of development of the material forces of production. “The Communist Manifesto” discusses the rising of the bourgeoisie as an event that took place during the time of Marx. It states that, “The place of manufacture was taken by the giant, Modern Industry, the place of the industrial middle class, by industrial millionaires, the leaders of the whole industrial armies, the modern bourgeois” (Marx, 474). This quote describes the bourgeoisie and characterizes it to be of great power. Marx also divides class into two main portions: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat. In short, property owners, and not. Marx believes that all individuals will eventually separate and become part of either class. It also states that, “Modern bourgeois society with the relations of production, of exchange and of property, a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production and of exchange, is like the sorcerer who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether worlds whom he has called up by his spells” (Marx, 478). The fact that the bourgeoisie was rising and having so much authority connects with the conflict because feudal relations began since the property wasn’t compatible with the productive forces that were already there causing them to become fetters.

Marx also discusses the division of labor and how “Owning to the extensive use of machinery to the division of labor, the work of the proletariats has lost all individuals character, and consequently, all charm for the workman” (479). He explains that the proletariat is consumed by the machines and become slaves to the bourgeoisie class, being exploited. The worker becomes alienated from himself and other aspects because he is working and producing products that will realistically never be within his reach. “…As the repulsiveness of the work increases, wage decreases. Nay more, in proportion as the use of machinery and division of labor increases, in the same proportion the burden of toil increases, whether by prolongation of working hours, by increase of the work extracted in a given time or by increased speed, etc” (Marx, 479). It is unfair that the laborer must work extremely long days and have their wages lowered. It is their skill that they have to offer onto the labor market; their specialized task is what will gain them income. But as technology develops, the laborer becomes replaced with machines because they can perform the task more efficiently. As jobs become scarce, many laborers will begin to compete for positions as well.