Comparing the Communist Manifesto’s and the Romantic Movement’s Views on Capitalism, Class, and Creativity Essay

The Communist Manifesto and Its Vision for Social Development

The Communist Manifesto is a political concept that examines the financial and social problems created by capitalism and offers a solution based on establishing a society without classes. The goal of the communist manifesto is nothing less than guiding humanity toward development. It offers a broad view of history and development, saying that some societal changes were preferable to others; in essence, there are excellent and poor types of development.

Capitalism, Class Struggle, and the Role of the Proletariat

The manifesto explicitly examines societal changes created by capitalism to ascertain which ones reflect actual development, that is, which are beneficial to humanity and which ones move humanity in the wrong direction. The claim that Marxists make is an appeal to advancement that gives the bourgeois (working class) more ability to influence how society is conducted. According to the communist manifesto, the proletariat, or working class, is exploited by the bourgeoisie (capitalist class) (Marx and Engels 15). This exploitation fuels class conflict and, therefore, revolution. Therefore, this essay will discuss the response to the communist manifesto using the readings and the lectures.

The Romantic Movement’s Critique of Industrial Capitalism

The Romantic Movement was a school of painting that developed in Europe in the late 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. It stressed emotion, creation, and personality as a reaction to the Renaissance. The movement supported individual liberties and opposed industrial capitalism for helping humans to do things and subjecting them to their demands.

Capitalism’s downfall can result in a better, more advanced society because it has dramatically encroached on daily life. The authors argue, “The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honored and looked up to with reverent awe” (Marx and Engels 34). To transform the previous into the latter, the proletariat must be empowered. Alternatively, change is merely the bourgeoisie innovating to keep things as they are.

Shared Opposition to Established Orders in Romanticism and Marxism

The notion of opposing the established order is present in both the communist manifesto and the Romantic Movement. The Enlightenment’s emphasis on logic and science, which even the Romantics felt minimized the significance of feelings and personality, was one of the issues the Romantic Movement tried to address (Bernbaum 180). The capitalist system, which Marx and Engels argued oppressed the working class and led to social and economic inequalities, was also criticized in the Communist Manifesto.

The value of nature was underlined in both the Communist Manifesto and the Romantic Movement. The Romantics gave nature very high regard and considered it a wellspring of religion and the Enlightenment. Marx and Engels maintained that a socialist system would permit the proper care and preservation of the environment since they saw nature as wealth capitalism had exploited and commercialized.

Nature, Industrialization, and the Call for Social Reform

Furthermore, both the Romantic Movement and Marx and Engels criticized their day’s financial and social conditions. The Romantics viewed industrialization as a degrading phenomenon that robbed people of their uniqueness and creativity (Bernbaum 110). They revered the Ancient World and considered it a period in which individuals were more in tune with the environment and one another.

Marx and Engels shared this view, viewing capitalism as a system separating workers from the results of their labor. They held that a revolution was required to destroy the capitalist class and establish a more equitable and just society. Additionally, both movements promoted uniqueness and individual independence. The Romantic Movement emphasized the value of the individual and the unique characteristics that characterized each person. The Communist Manifesto made a similar case for establishing a socialist state where everyone could pursue their interests and maximize their abilities.

Works Cited

Bernbaum, Ernest. “The Romantic Movement.” The English Journal, vol. 18, no. 3, 1929, p. 221. Web.

Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Russell & Russell Pub, 2005.