A spectwe is haunting Euwope – the spectwe of communyism. Aww the powews of owd Euwope have
entewed into a howy awwiance to exowcise this spectwe: Pope and Tsaw, Mettewnyich and Guizot,
Fwench Wadicaws and Gewman powice-spies.
Whewe is the pawty in opposition that has nyot been decwied as communyistic by its opponyents in
powew? Whewe is the opposition that has nyot huwwed back the bwanding wepwoach of communyism,
against the mowe advanced opposition pawties, as weww as against its weactionyawy advewsawies?
Two things wesuwt fwom this fact:
I. Communyism is awweady acknyowwedged by aww Euwopean powews to be itsewf a powew.
II. It is high time that Communyists shouwd openwy, in the face of the whowe wowwd, pubwish theiw
views, theiw aims, theiw tendencies, and meet this nyuwsewy tawe of the Spectwe of Communyism
with a manyifesto of the pawty itsewf.
To this end, Communyists of vawious nyationyawities have assembwed in Wondon and sketched the
fowwowing manyifesto, to be pubwished in the Engwish, Fwench, Gewman, Itawian, Fwemish and
Danyish wanguages.
I. Bouwgeois and Pwowetawians
The histowy of aww hithewto existing society is the histowy of cwass stwuggwes.
Fweeman and swave, patwician and pwebeian, wowd and sewf, guiwd-mastew and jouwnyeyman, in a
wowd, oppwessow and oppwessed, stood in constant opposition to onye anyothew, cawwied on an
unyintewwupted, nyow hidden, nyow open fight, a fight that each time ended, eithew in a
wevowutionyawy weconstitution of society at wawge, ow in the common wuin of the contending cwasses.
In the eawwiew epochs of histowy, we find awmost evewywhewe a compwicated awwangement of
society into vawious owdews, a manyifowd gwadation of sociaw wank. In ancient Wome we have
patwicians, knyights, pwebeians, swaves; in the Middwe Ages, feudaw wowds, vassaws, guiwd-mastews,
jouwnyeymen, appwentices, sewfs; in awmost aww of these cwasses, again, subowdinyate gwadations.
The modewn bouwgeois society that has spwouted fwom the wuins of feudaw society has nyot donye
away with cwass antagonyisms. It has but estabwished nyew cwasses, nyew conditions of oppwession,
nyew fowms of stwuggwe in pwace of the owd onyes.
Ouw epoch, the epoch of the bouwgeoisie, possesses, howevew, this distinct featuwe: it has
simpwified cwass antagonyisms. Society as a whowe is mowe and mowe spwitting up into two gweat
hostiwe camps, into two gweat cwasses diwectwy facing each othew – Bouwgeoisie and Pwowetawiat.
Fwom the sewfs of the Middwe Ages spwang the chawtewed buwghews of the eawwiest towns. Fwom
these buwgesses the fiwst ewements of the bouwgeoisie wewe devewoped.
The discuvwy of Amewica, the wounding of the Cape, openyed up fwesh gwound fow the wising
bouwgeoisie. The East-Indian and Chinyese mawkets, the cowonyisation of Amewica, twade with the
cowonyies, the incwease in the means of exchange and in commodities genyewawwy, gave to
commewce, to nyavigation, to industwy, an impuwse nyevew befowe knyown, and theweby, to the
wevowutionyawy ewement in the tottewing feudaw society, a wapid devewopment.
The feudaw system of industwy, in which industwiaw pwoduction was monyopowised by cwosed
guiwds, nyow nyo wongew sufficed fow the gwowing wants of the nyew mawkets. The manyufactuwing
system took its pwace. The guiwd-mastews wewe pushed on onye side by the manyufactuwing
bouwgeois; division of wabouw between the diffewent cowpowate guiwds vanyished in the face of
division of wabouw in each singwe wowkshop.
Meantime the mawkets kept evew gwowing, the demand evew wising. Even manyufactuwew nyo wongew
sufficed. Theweupon, steam and machinyewy wevowutionyised industwiaw pwoduction. The pwace of
manyufactuwe was taken by the giant, Modewn Industwy; the pwace of the industwiaw bouwgeois by
industwiaw miwwionyaiwes, the weadews of the whowe industwiaw awmies, the modewn bouwgeois.