Manifesto of the Communist Party : Karl Marx

by Manifesto of the Communist Party, Samuel Moore (Translator)

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Economics

Kindle Edition

Published August 3, 2021

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick 90 minute read (or audiobook listen). Marx provides a comprehensive review of ‘recent’ European history to highlight why communism came into existence.

80-90% of the book slams other forms of politics: there’s a lot of talk of the proletariat vs bourgeoisie and ruling classes and how all forms of politics (including liberalism and socialism—oft compared to communism) are basically set up to support capitalism and the exploitation of working classes. Even as these systems mature and change, their own demise is of their own making. All systems are rigged and set up the ruling class to gather wealth and capital (even if they feign that they are caring for the working class).

Only 10-20% of the book actually explains communism.

That said, it provides a great short overview of politics at the time and is similar to other works such as The Art if War and The Prince.

[Kevin Florez · Rating 2 out of 5]

good to add to my perspective but theory all but ignores the nuances of human nature

[Aurelia Krenrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

My basis for how I’ve chosen to rate this work is (1) my enjoyment of reading it and (2) how much I would recommend it, with recommendation being the main factor.
I would be lying if I said I enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoy reading novels or stories. And frankly, I think, is quite understandable. It doesn’t offer the same experience as a great work of fiction or a telling of an extravagant event from history, which are the types of things I tend to prefer to read. And for that, I don’t rate it quite as high as the other books I’ve rated in the past. However, none of this is to say that I had a bad experience reading it, or even that I didn’t enjoy it. Evidently, entertainment is not the purpose of reading something like this, but rather to expand one’s thinking and give new insights to ponder. And at that, this surely succeeded for me.
I found the work as a whole to be very fascinating. The persuasive tone throughout it was striking to me, and it made for an intriguing reading experience. And frankly, I felt like a lot of pretty good points were made, at least in my opinion. At any rate, the points made were thought-provoking, and at least prompted careful consideration. At any rate, it made me think, which is a good thing for it.

I don’t have all that much more to say about the work, at least in this format. I feel like I would do better to say more in the form of a discussion among people. But I feel, or perhaps hope, I’ve shared a decent amount of feedback. Frankly, I feel like this is the sort of thing that more or less speaks for itself, and that its best to just read it for yourself and form your own opinion on it. And with that being said, I would heavily suggest reading it. I can definitely see why it’s regarded as something everyone should read at least once, and fully agree with that. I feel like it’s a sort of thing that just helps widen one’s worldview, whatever opinion on it they take away, which is surely beneficial. To summarize and conclude, this was a work that I’m very glad to have read, and I would definitely recommend it to others.

[Prabidhik KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book describing the sweeping history of class struggles and focusing on the two classes formed as the product of the industrial revolution. As the working class, what Marx calls the proletariat, their sole life depends on the sales of the product. So humans convert to a commodity just like other products where he has to sell themselves hourly and daily only for the sake of their existence as their only wage is their price of labor which equals the cost of the production. On the other hand, the bourgeoisie owns the capital and thus the laborers enjoy the profit obtained by this process. The manifesto was written in order for the liberation of the proletariat. I greatly admired how Marx observes inequality and extreme exploitation in society, however, I do not fully agree with the solution that he came up with regarding state ownership of all the properties. In my opinion, this comes as a very contradiction to his theory as it goes against the liberation of the citizens.

[Jack Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sauntering trip through the rationale that the significant portions of profits and production of technological production should provide upward mobility spread to the bottom social rungs of society. Capital should be dissuaded from being solely hoarded and aggregated in the hands of the ruling class.

The concepts inside provided insight into the true thoughts of communism and the way it is often misrepresented as making all people equal in their efforts and reward for effort, it does not suggest this.

[Aishu Gyawali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading The Communist Manifesto gave me a deep appreciation for its core ideology. The vision of equality, classless society, and justice for the working class is powerful and, in many ways, inspiring. I genuinely respect the intention behind the ideas—it aims to uplift the oppressed and challenge systemic inequality.

However, while the theory sounds ideal, I couldn’t help but realize how differently it has been practiced in the real world. In many cases, the implementation has led to authoritarianism, violence, and suppression—contradicting the very ideals the manifesto promotes.

[Boaz Maor · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is definitely a worthwhile very short pamphlet to read. After all, it is one of the books that made the most impact on society ever in history. I found the analysis of classes and their relationships is very deep, though the portions that talked about the actions to rest the sickness of society (as concluded from the analysis) were far more brief than I expected. At the same time, the ridicule of other socialism movement felt a bit petty.

[Patrick Bowes · Rating 4 out of 5]

When people say Marx had lots of great ideas, I wonder if they have read this work. Empowering the state to take children from families because they were in the wrong "class" is about as reprehensible as it gets and he's just getting started. Eye opening and worth the read.

[Yan Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this would curios George goes to the hospital but instead like curios George goes to the gulag. Next time I think I will read something easier like war and peace. Good luck to anyone trying to read.

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

in a slump

[raven ♡˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

will airdropped this to me in class 😭😭 would've been better with less prefaces
i liked the interview

[Constance Creswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

fire

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this for my engl 001b class, learned some new things

[Jan Fieseler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read even if you're not a communist imho

[Tre Brickley · Rating 1 out of 5]

What this lacks in sense, it makes up for in zeal.

[Rivan Akhsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society.”
There are great ideas about the socialism, communism, proletariat and the bourgeois. The book's main argument is taken from the Das Kapital, especially the first one i believe. Interesting and short book if you want to know the basis of communism.

[Tegan Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow this is so much more useful when you actually pay attention while reading it (who would have thought). I hope Mrs littlewood is proud - however do I remember anything from it no - will I need this in my life probably not BUT it’s such a cool brag to say I’ve read the communist manifesto🙌🙌🙌