This political pamphlet was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The two German philosophers published it for the first time during the upsurge of revolutions in 1848. Several countries have used this pamphlet to develop their leadership structures. The authors gave their analytical viewpoint on the challenges of capitalism and discrimination based on one’s social class. They voiced their discontent with the capitalist mode of production instead of focusing on the possibilities of adapting a political theory that will favor collectivism in a classless society. Marx presents his own theories that explain various disconnections in the society characterized by capitalist ideologies. In addition, he explains the way societies can switch from capitalism to communism.
In the third chapter of the manuscript, Marx examines the thoughts expressed about the communist theory. At the time when this document was written, most countries thrived in a deep-rooted culture of capitalism. For example, Marx is very critical of the economic system applied by countries such as the United States of America, which advocated for state ownership of resources. He examines the troubles of workers in the country who had to endure policies that denied them their rights. Slavery resulted in the creation of social classes, whereby colonial masters always looked down upon their servants. According to Marx, there were two categories of social classes, namely bourgeois and proletariats.
Bourgeois was the individuals who owned property, while proletariats were people in the working class. Bourgeois always exploited people in the working class because they provided cheap labor for their industries. They forced workers to take up social roles that did not match their interests. At the time, the United States of America and several European countries were at the center of the slave trade. Workers were often denied social benefits because their masters wanted to retain control over them. Marx was right about the certainty of an uprising by proletariats. History backs all the claims made by Marx as evidenced by the social rights movement that highlighted the process of social and economic restructuring in America.
Views expressed by Marx in this manuscript depict money as the main driving force for the behavior shown by the colonial masters, who aimed at exploiting their workers for greater economic gains. Production was highly monopolized due to the fact that only a few individuals had enough resources and easy access to cheap labor. However, as the world continued to grow, people started developing newer ways of making money and increasing the efficiency of the production process. People developed machines that were used for production. This had a direct impact on the labor market because the demand for laborers was highly reduced, while those who retained their jobs received low wages.
Money was viewed as the main determinant factor in the growth of industries. Money was also used to determine one’s social class, as people associated with those that match their economic pedigree. Colonial masters were obsessed with getting money to the extent of ruining family relations with an orientation that compromised the sentimental value attached to it. Due to the developments made in the production process, the bourgeois had to expand their market in order to create demand for their products. Their strong desire for expansion led to the development of a global economic system. Marx argues that the bourgeois was effective in using monetary resources to develop the world by creating urban centers in all the areas they moved to sell their products.
The arguments presented by Marx have both moral and political implications. Morally, it is wrong for anyone to be discriminated against because of their social class and financial incapacities. Capitalist and socialist ideologies should be discouraged in favor of communism in order to abolish private ownership of investments. Marx argues that there is an urgent need for social reconstruction as a way of building a classless society. People need to interact freely without being forced to fulfill certain roles that do not serve their interests. In addition, such ideologies can have a prolonged negative effect on the political system of a country. It is important for political leaders across the world to promote a culture that gives everyone equal opportunities to own property. Another political implication is the lack of democracy. Marx argues that capitalist and socialist ideologies often compromise the ability of communities to adopt communism. The reason for this is that a communist political system reduces the authority of leaders over the people’s resources. This will limit the ability to fulfill their selfish interests using public capital.