The Manifesto of the Communist Party is often considered to be one of the world’s most influential political works. The preamble of the text emphasizes the importance for the Communists to publish and express their views in aims of giving a voice to the Proletariat. Marx states that the spectre of communism is haunting Europe, giving an immediate impression or foreshadowing of the message to come: communism will replace capitalism, abolishing all forms of class struggles and conflicts. But could it really be possible?

The first line in chapter one depicts quite clearly the dominating thought throughout the manifesto: “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” Essentially, the main argument in the manifesto is that changes in society are motivated by the collective struggle of groups who are seeking similar economic goals and interests. This however creates a problem of power since the economic interests of the dominant classes are favored over the interests of the subordinate classes. The struggles of the dominant classes have historically, as Marx explains, taken precedent over all other subordinate classes and thus, created a significant division. It is precisely this imbalance in struggle that Marx condemns since he believes that such a capitalist system will continue to dominate the workings of contemporary society in a destructive way.

Marx provides us with a historical view of the Bourgeoisie’s journey to power and control, explaining how they managed to overthrow the dominance of the feudal nobility. He states: “We see, therefore, how the modern bourgeoisie is itself the product of a long course of development, of a series of revolutions in the modes of production and of exchange.” The bourgeoisie’s personal struggle against the feudal aristocracy soon disappeared through its exploitation of the world market, its improvement of instruments of production and its facilitated means of communication. The bourgeoisie revolutionized the means of production and eventually established itself globally as the dominant class in the industrial world. In fact, it is through constant struggle and perseverance that the bourgeoisie succeeded in overthrowing the power of the feudal aristocracy and now, to a certain extent controls society based on its own personal interests. Ironically, despite this seemingly happy ending, the struggles and difficulties of the bourgeoisie have now been passed down to the proletariat. It is essentially another manifestation of dominant classes overpowering the subordinate classes, only the bourgeoisie no longer occupies the subordinate position. Class struggle has not at all been eliminated but simply replaced with another class, precisely the proletariat. It appears that this is what Marx strongly opposed as it produces a vicious cycle of class struggle where equality can never be achieved.

As a result, the bourgeoisie’s hunger for accumulation has allowed them to take over the modern industrial world, adopting a capitalist way of life. “The accumulation of wealth in private hands, the formation and increase in capital” creates a problematic situation for members of the working class who must compete against one another for meager wages. Since ownership of production is privatized and controlled by the bourgeoisie, members of the proletariat are essentially slaves who are being exploited by the bourgeoisie for profit and forced to work for cheap wages. What is quite disturbing about this situation is that the bourgeoisie is putting the proletariat through the same torture they went through with the feudal society. Marx thus believes, using the same logic before, that the proletariat will eventually rise to power through a revolution quite similar to that of the bourgeoisie. Nonetheless, this will simply initiate another class struggle, highlighting Marx’s point that it is only through communism that class equality can be achieved. However, could such a utopian ideal truly be achieved? Is communism as described by Marx truly what other countries such as China or Russia has tried implementing? Although I am not stating that capitalism is purely beneficial or that Marxist communism should be dismissed, but it appears to me that communism, as envisioned by Marx, has yet to be implemented.