#the communist manifesto

by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx

What’s it about?

Largely the work of Engels, it’s an analysis of human history as a series of class struggles. For some reason, this approach had never occurred to anyone before. 

Stalin was bad. 

Yes, I know.

Glad we’re on the same page. Continue.

Thanks. In this book, published in 1848, Marx and Engels accurately predicted the consumer culture of the twentieth century, and that as an inevitable consequence of capitalism, corporate interests would seek to disempower labour using any means necessary, 

So they were right about everything?

No. They could not have predicted outsourcing slavery to developing nations (called “globalisation”) or the extent to which labour could be bought off in a strongly materialist consumer-driven economy. 

This is making me feel uncomfortable. Go back to saying Stalin was bad. 

Stalin was bad. Although if you’ve read Game of Thrones and you can’t handle being uncomfortable occasionally, you should present yourself to the relevant authorities at first light.

What should I say to make people think I’ve read it?

“Workers should control the means of production.”

What should I avoid saying when trying to convince people I’ve read it?

“Stalin.”

Should I actually read it?

Yes. This is a book full of simple, logical arguments motivated by nothing more than compassion. If it doesn’t make you re-think your ideas on the relationship between capital and labour, you’re not reading it properly.

Capitalism is not freedom. Capital is a condition of freedom under capitalism.

What does that mean?

In order to have “freedom” of choice, you must have capital (wealth/property).

For example, those with capital can choose not to work.

Those without capital must find employment in order to buy food, clothes, shelter, etc. or to maintain acceptable living standards, although workers often live in poverty anyway. This means they have to sell their ability to work. The capitalist exploits the worker.

Employment does not provide workers with a wage that would allow them to accumulate enough capital to leave employment. This is a form of coercion, which holds the capitalist economy together.

In other words, the purpose of the wage is to ‘keep the labourer in bare existence as a labourer’.

This is known as ‘wage slavery’.