The Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, was first published in 1848. It formed the basis for the modern communist movement as we know it, arguing that capitalism would inevitably self-destruct, to be replaced by socialism and ultimately communism. The Manifesto opens with the dramatic words, "A spectre is haunting Europe-the spectre of communism," and ends by declaring: "The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world, unite!" The Communist Manifesto summarises Marx and Engels' theories concerning the nature of society and politics, namely that in their own words "[t]he history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles".