The Communist Manifesto

Interesting Facts

• The Communist Manifesto was written as a political program for the Communist League, an international political organization that sought to unite workers worldwide.
• The book begins with one of the most famous phrases in political literature: «A specter is haunting Europe — the specter of communism».
• The manifesto was first published in 1848 and played a significant role in shaping socialist and communist movements worldwide.
• Originally written in German, the text was soon translated into many other languages, facilitating its widespread dissemination.
• The manifesto contains an analysis of class struggle and asserts that the history of all existing societies is the history of class struggles.
• The book proclaims the inevitability of capitalism's downfall and asserts that the working class must unite to overthrow the bourgeoisie.
• The manifesto calls for the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat as a transitional stage to a classless society.
• In 1872, Marx and Engels acknowledged that some parts of the Manifesto had become outdated, but the core ideas remained relevant.