The Communist Manifesto

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The Communist Manifesto Book Review
For several decades, countries in the world have aligned themselves with various models of development. The two major theories include Communism and Capitalism. Leaders in various European countries discussed widely before and after the Second World War issues relating to Communism. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were the main architects of the communist theory during the 19th century. They started propagating their theory in Germany before other nations such as Russia welcomed the idea. The two men wrote a politically motivated book that outlined their philosophy. The book titled The Communist Manifesto was published in or around 1848. The book was a summary of the theories propagated by the two men regarding politics, society and the economy of a nation.
The book was an excellent masterpiece that outlined the philosophical thoughts of Karl and Friedrich. The book has given ways of how the ideas prescribed in the book should be implemented. Communism advocated for the abolishment of Capitalism due to the shortcomings that were raised by the system. The book first identifies some problems in the society. For instance, it was claimed that the world had become very unfair to the common person. Industrialists were taking advantages of the employees by controlling factors of production (Marx and Friedrich 6). Secondly, the rich and ruling class conspired to destroy the institutions that regulated the existence of the people.

Moreover, the philosophy also identified that private property existed but limited to the rich people only.
The solution of these problems was outlined in the Communist agenda. Violent revolutions were expected to take place as a result of the unfair treatment of the majority in the society. Communism advocated the overthrowing of the suppressive regime leading to a transformation. During the transformation, Communism would be used bring back sanity by destroying the corrupt institutions in place. The book also lays down some changes that required consideration to have a society that is acceptable to all.
First, Communism advocated for the abolishment of private property that may lead to the oppression of others. They also called for the elimination of nuclear families, which were to be replaced by social families where all people lived together without some oppressing others. Communism also sought to end the culture of monogamy in the society. Instead, a community of women who were not tied to a man was advocated for. Communism also sought to eradicate nationalities and countries. This was propagated by the fact that presence of different countries led to exploitation. Strong nations would attack the weaker ones for no justifiable cause leading to conflicts and deaths. In addition, the book advocated for the elimination of philosophical, ideological and religious ideas that conflicted with Communism. According to the philosophy, anything that inhibited achievement of Communism goals was bad. Finally, Communists philosophers recognized that the economy was an essential element in the existence of any nation. As a result, they advocated for the state control of the economy. Under this scenario, the state would centralize all means of production, communication, transport, and finance to reflect its aspirations.
In their book, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels have contributed immensely to the direction the world has taken for many years. They presented an alternative theory that was adopted by countries that were not comfortable with Capitalism. This led to the creation of two different spheres of the world after the Second World War. Nations that subscribed to the Capitalism model were mostly found in America and Western Europe. On the other hand, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and various Asian countries adopted Communism as a form of social, political and economic governance. The African countries were at crossroads during these times of transformation. Except for Ethiopia and Liberia, all other countries were colonies of various Western European nations. As a result, these countries were forced to choose either Capitalism or Communism leading to bloody conflicts and assassination of their leaders by opposing sides. As a student of history or an interested reader, the book lays down the basics of all the incidences discussed above.
The book also elaborates how the Communist philosophers intended to achieve their ambitions. This enables readers to understand how Communists states have existed since its inception. For instance, Communism adopted by the Soviet Union was very instrumental in the economic development of the nation. In fact, the USSR was the second largest economy after the United States for many years. They followed the steps outlined in the Communist Manifesto. Without the subsequent economic problems such as overprotection by Capitalism states, Communism would have been the most successful model of governance ever implemented. For instance, Capitalist states have cases whereby some citizens have too much wealth whereas others have too little. This leads to serious gaps in earnings and wealth. This scenario is caused by the fact that individual citizens are allowed by the state to own factors of production. The result is that the poor continue being poor and employees of the rich, whose wealth continues amassing uncontrollably. Communism comes to reduce these gaps by focusing on the distribution of resources equally among the people by allowing the government to own the factors of production.
The Communist Manifesto was an exemplary manuscript by the standards of the days it was published. The book was written at a time when the world needed a change in how people co-existed amongst themselves. The arguments raised by the two philosophers were concrete evidence of their creativity. They identified a problem in their nations and went further to subscribe an alternative to bridge the gap. From my analysis, it is important to note that the book covers all aspects of the human life. The book identifies the rights of the people by calling for equality before anything else. The book identifies the importance of economic empowerment before resulting to consider other issues such as politics and religion. However, I disagree with the Communists’ idea towards criticism and opposition from other members of the society. It would not be appropriate for the Communist leaders to ban opposition. Survival and strengthening of the ideology would be achieved only if criticism was allowed to identify the weak points in the system.
Conclusion
People who have a common heritage and aspirations that coincide form a nation. As a result, it is important for the nation to adopt an ideology that allows it to accomplish its agenda. Communism is one of the philosophical ideologies adopted by various countries in a bid to successfully achieve growth. In their book In The Communist Manifesto, Friedrich Engle and Karl Marx gave an account of how their model would be applicable in order to correct the disjoints in their country. Although the number of Communist countries has reduced significantly, the success part of the philosophy cannot be avoided due to the input it had on the lives of millions of people.
Work Cited
Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. The communist manifesto. Penguin, 2002.