Provisions of Success

During the mid 1800’s, the continent of Europe erupted with a series of revolutions including the French Revolution of 1848. In the midst of the chaos, on February 12th 1848, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels published one of the world’s most influential political manuscripts, the Manifesto of the Communist Party.  Throughout this document, the authors called for a proletarian revolution to overthrow the bourgeoisie class and bring Communism into the world. Marx stated the ultimate goal of the communists, but was not as specific on the actions that were necessary to reach it. The means of production produced by the bourgeoisie, the unity of the proletariat, and the emergence of the Communist powers were all essential to the creation of Karl Marx’s idea of a perfect society.

In the Communist Manifesto, Marx frequently refers to the bourgeoisie as the oppressor; however, they are vital for the success of communism. Firstly, the bourgeoisie would not have come into power if not for the means of production created by feudal society. The bourgeoisie was able to emerge as a primary ruler through the production of the feudal system. “…the means of production and of exchange, on whose foundation the bourgeoisie built itself up, were generated in feudal society.” Marx makes it clear that the bourgeoisie was itself a product of its oppressor, and applies the same concept with the situation of the proletarians. Second, the bourgeoisie is more than capable of generating the means of production with which the proletariat can come into power. According to Marx, during a mere one hundred years, the bourgeoisie created more “massive and more colossal” means of production than all of the previous generations combined. He even compares the bourgeoisie to “the sorcerer who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells”. The production of the bourgeoisie class would ultimately serve as a weapon for the proletarians, and therefore they were crucial to the success of Karl Marx’s plan.

The proletariat is the class who Marx calls upon to overthrow the bourgeoisie, therefore it was critical that they should unionize.  It is clear that the only way the proletarians could have a chance at victory against the bourgeoisie was with a universal system of unity.  “… the workers begin to form combinations (Trades’ Unions) against the bourgeois; they club together in order to keep up the rate of wages; they found permanent associations in order to make provision beforehand for these occasional revolts. Here and there, the contest breaks out into riots. Now and then the workers are victorious, but only for a time. The real fruit of their battles lies, not in the immediate result, but in the ever expanding union of the workers.” Marx explains how even in a large union, victories were rare due to the fierce exploitation by the bourgeoisie, but when the proletariat did succeed, the greater reward was further unionization of the class as a whole. In addition, a unionized proletariat in power is ideal for a communist society. “The Communists are distinguished from the other working-class parties by this only: 1. In the national struggles of the proletarians of the different countries, they point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of all nationality. 2. In the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie has to pass through, they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole.” Marx claims that aside from a few differences, proletarians are in essence already communists. Because of this, if the proletarian class is unionized, they have a much better chance of winning against the bourgeoisie. If this revolution is successful, the communists could finally come into power.