The historical ups and downs of the Communist Manifesto: From the silence of the 1848 Revolution to global influence

The Communist Manifesto is a programmatic document published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. This article will track its destiny: from the little influence in the European Revolution of 1848, to the revival of the Paris Commune in the 1870s, to the widespread dissemination of it by the Bolshevik Revolution and the Third World Revolution, revealing the historical ups and downs and lasting contemporary values ​​of the world's most widely read political literature.

The Manifesto of the Communist Party is an epoch-making programmatic document written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on the Communist League. This document laid the ideological foundation for the modern socialist and communist movements and had a profound impact on human history.

The core idea of ​​the Communist Manifesto lies in its materialist historical view, that is, the economic mode of production and social structure, which constitute the basis of the political and spiritual history of the era; and emphasizes that class struggle is the history of all existing societies so far.

However, this work, which Engels evaluated as "the same role that Darwinian doctrine plays in biology" has not been smooth since its influential dissemination process, but has experienced many silences and revivals.

1848 The revolution has little influence: a brief flash of "ghosts"

The publication of the Communist Manifesto is the rapid development of industrialization in Europe in the mid-19th century and the increasingly sharp class contradictions.

The Communist Manifesto declares the emergence of communism as a new force, “A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism” . Marx and Engels pointed out that all forces in Old Europe, including the Pope and Tsar, formed a "holy alliance" to drive away the ghost.

The coincidence of publication time and the outbreak of the revolution

The publication of the Communist Manifesto coincides with the outbreak of the French Revolution in February 1848. Subsequently, the revolution quickly spread to the European continent, forming the famous "Revolution of 1848" .

Despite such a coincidence in the timing, the influence of the Communist Manifesto was "very minimal" in the early days of the revolution.

• At that time, the main role played by the Communist League in the revolution only appeared in Cologne .
• Marx and Engels initially expected the bourgeois revolution in Germany to be the "prelude" of the proletarian revolution, but soon, the counter-revolutionary forces quickly suppressed the uprising .
• Through experience in 1848, Marx concluded that the bourgeoisie would not play a progressive role, and the working class must independently fight against feudalism, medieval systems and capitalism.

The initial silence and annihilation

With the wave of counter-revolutionary sweeping, the political ambitions of the European working class temporarily retreated behind the scenes.

• Shortly after its publication, the "Communist Manifesto" gradually faded out of the public's vision and fell into silence .
• In 1852, the Prussian police tried the leaders of the Communist League in Cologne. Seven arrested members were sentenced to three to six years in prison. After the trial, the alliance officially announced its dissolution among the remaining members.
• During the counter-revolutionary period, the Communist Manifesto seemed destined to be forgotten .

Marx and Engels lived mainly in exile during this period, especially in London. During this period, Marx focused on the writing of his major scientific work, Das Kapital, and the first volume was published in 1867.

The "fire" of the Paris Commune: The revival of the 1870s

The first major revival of the Communist Manifesto took place in the 1870s, which was closely related to the re-gathering of strength by the European workers' movement.

The First International and the Reappearance of the Communist Manifesto

• Between 1864 and 1874, Marx participated in the creation of the International Working Men's Association , aiming to unite the working class in Europe and America into a large army.
• Marx drafted the First International program, which was inclusive and allowed it to accept different groups of workers, including the British trade unions, the French Proudhonists and the German Lassalleans. Marx believed that through joint action and discussion, the "intellectual development" of the working class would ultimately accept the ideas of the Communist Manifesto.

Experience and theoretical revisions of the Paris Commune

• The emergence of the Paris Commune in 1871 marked a practice of the working class taking power, which rekindled interest in revolutionary theory.
• The experience of the Paris Commune proves that the basic principles of the Communist Manifesto are correct, but also exposes its shortcomings in practical application.
• In the preface to the German edition of 1872, Marx and Engels made it clear that the practice of the Paris Commune proved that "the working class cannot simply master the ready-made state machine and use it to achieve its own goals."
• This experience made them emphasize that the revolutionary measures proposed at the end of Chapter 2 of the Communist Manifesto need to be transferred and adjusted at any time and anywhere according to the historical conditions at that time.
• Nevertheless, Marx and Engels believed that since the Communist Manifesto had become a "historical document" , they had no right to modify their texts .

The status of the Communist Manifesto

• After the Paris Commune, the Communist Manifesto was revived, and its principles made great progress among workers in various countries.
• In 1872, the book was translated into six languages. As the European working class organized through suffrage and established its own political parties, such as the British Labor Party and the German Social Democratic Party, the Communist Manifesto became the "Bible" of the European socialist movement .

The Bolshevik Revolution and Global Communication in 1917

The Communist Manifesto truly reached the peak of global influence and became the global revolutionary program , after the success of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 .

The center of revolution shifts eastward

• The success of the Russian October Revolution brought communism theory to the national level for the first time, allowing the "ghost of communism" to truly begin to wander around the world.
• Lenin and the Bolsheviks believed that the experience of the Russian Revolution showed that the focus of the world revolution was shifting from Europe to the East .
• Therefore, they adjusted the famous slogan of the Communist Manifesto, adding the slogan of "Workers of the world, unite!" ( Workers of the world , unite!").

The banner of the Third World Revolution

• This shift in slogan highlights that the focus of the revolution is not only on the proletariat, but also on the oppressed peoples of colonial and semi-colonial countries including Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America .
• By supporting the struggle for national self-determination and independence and liberation by the colonized people, the Communist Manifesto is no longer just a document of the European proletariat, but a program of global revolution .
• Between 1917 and 1950, with the rise of the National Liberation movements , the Communist Manifesto gained wider reading and dissemination in the so-called "third world" than in European and American countries.
• Young people and leaders seeking social justice and resisting colonial rule began to read the Communist Manifesto, which was translated into all languages ​​in the world.

The influence of time and space: the contemporary value of the Communist Manifesto

More than 170 years after the publication of the Communist Manifesto, its ideological light still penetrates time and space, and is still recognized as one of the most influential political documents in history .

Capitalist Criticism and Contemporary Resonance

• The Communist Manifesto is still regarded by many as an important tool for analyzing the ills of capitalism and the path of human development .
• Marx and Engels' analysis of the capitalist system, such as: it simplifies the relationship between people to "naked self-interest, callous 'cash payment '" and the foreshadowing of economic crisis , still have practical significance today.
• For example, after the global financial crisis broke out in 2008 , interest in Marxist thought recovered, and sales of the Communist Manifesto soared as the crisis exposed the dangers of inadequately regulated markets .

The cornerstone of scientific socialism

• The core contribution of the Communist Manifesto lies in its proposal of Scientific Socialism , which is in sharp contrast to the Utopian Socialism of Saint-Simon, Fourier, Owen and others.
• Utopian socialists often call for social rationality and try to convince the ruling class to improve society, but Marx and Engels firmly believe that the only way to achieve socialism is to overthrow the ruling class through class struggle and revolution .
• The theoretical core of the Communist Manifesto can be summarized as one sentence: "Abolition of private property" . But here specifically refers to the elimination of bourgeois private property , that is, the kind of exploiting other people's property by employing wage labor , rather than personal labor income.

A perspective on understanding ideology

As a historical document, the "Communist Manifesto" analyzes and criticizes various political stances, which is precisely the basis for understanding the divisions of modern ideologically. In Chapter 3, Marx and Engels criticized various forms of socialism such as reactionary/conservative/unimaginable .

The analysis and criticism of various political stances is precisely the basis for understanding the division of modern ideological, which is also reflected in the ideological genealogy depicted by modern political tendency analysis tools such as the 8values ​​Political Values ​​Prone Test . By gaining insight into the historical origins and theoretical frameworks of these ideologies, users can more accurately locate their 8values ​​of all results of ideological tendencies .

The Communist Manifesto finally depicts the picture of the future society: an "association" that replaced the old bourgeois society, in which "the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all."

The conclusion of the Communist Manifesto ends with its most exciting slogan: "Let the ruling class tremble in the face of the communist revolution. What the proletariat lose in this revolution is only chains. What they will gain will be the whole world. Proletariat in the world, unite!" (Working Men of All Countries, Unite!). This fully reflects its internationalism spirit.

Overall, The Communist Manifesto is a historical document with extraordinary vitality. Although its details need to be adjusted according to changes in the times and historical conditions, its general principles are still considered to be completely correct overall and continue to inspire people to think about social justice and human liberation. For more content, please continue to browse our official blog