The Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto (1888 English edition) opens by declaring that a "spectre of Communism is haunting Europe". Authors Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels state their goal is to openly publish the party's "views, their aims, their tendencies". The first chapter posits that "the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles". Modern society has simplified this antagonism into two great, hostile classes: the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The bourgeoisie, born from feudalism, is a revolutionary class that "has put an end to all feudal... relations", leaving only "naked self-interest". It "cannot exist without constantly revolutionising the instruments of production" and has created a "world-market". However, this system suffers from crises of "over-production".