“If you are curious and open to the life around you, if you are troubled as to why, how and by whom political power is held and used, if you sense there must be good intellectual reasons for your unease, if your curiosity and openness drive you toward wishing to act with others, to ‘do something,’ you already have much in common with the writers of the three essays in this book.” — Adrienne Rich With a preface by Adrienne Rich, Manifesto presents the radical vision of four famous young rebels: Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto, Rosa Luxemburg’s Reform or Revolution and Che Guevara’s Socialism and Humanity.
No other Marxist text has come close to achieving the fame and influence of The Communist Manifesto. Translated into over 100 languages, this clarion call to the workers of the world radically shaped the events of the twentieth century. But what relevance does it have for us today? In this slim book Slavoj Zizek argues that, while exploitation no longer occurs the way Marx described it, it has by no means disappeared; on the contrary, the profit once generated through the exploitation of workers has been transformed into rent appropriated through the privatization of the ‘general intellect’. Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have become extremely wealthy not because they are exploiting their workers but because they are appropriating the rent for allowing millions of people to participate in the new form of the ‘general intellect’ that they own and control. But, even if Marx’s analysis can no longer be applied to our contemporary world of global capitalism without significant revision, the fundamental problem with which he was concerned, the problem of the commons in all its dimensions – the commons of nature, the cultural commons, and the commons as the universal space of humanity from which no one should be excluded – remains as relevant as ever. This timely reflection on the enduring relevance of The Communist Manifesto will be of great value to everyone interested in the key questions of radical politics today.
The Communist Manifesto and Other Writings, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Largely ignored when it was first published in 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’s The Communist Manifesto has become one of the most widely read and discussed social and political testaments ever written. Its ideas and concepts have not only become part of the intellectual landscape of Western civilization: They form the basis for a movement that has, for better or worse, radically changed the world. Addressed to the common worker, the Manifesto argues that history is a record of class struggle between the bourgeoisie, or owners, and the proletariat, or workers. In order to succeed, the bourgeoisie must constantly build larger cities, promote new products, and secure cheaper commodities, while eliminating large numbers of workers in order to increase profits without increasing production—a scenario that is perhaps even more prevalent today than in 1848. Calling upon the workers of the world to unite, the Manifesto announces a plan for overthrowing the bourgeoisie and empowering the proletariat. This volume also includes Marx’s The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852), one of the most brilliant works ever written on the philosophy of history, and Theses on Feuerbach (1845), Marx’s personal notes about new forms of social relations and education. Communist Manifesto translated by Samuel Moore, revised and edited by Friedrich Engels. Martin Puchner is Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, as well as the author of Stage Fright: Modernism, Anti-Theatricality, and Drama and Poetry of the Revolution: Marx, Manifestos, and the Avant-Gardes (forthcoming).
The experience of modernization -- the dizzying social changes that swept millions of people into the capitalist world -- and modernism in art, literature and architecture are brilliantly integrated in this account.
"The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest (people) of the past centuries." - Descartes "Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries unite!" ― Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto. The Communist Manifesto (officially Manifesto of the Communist Party) is an 1848 political manifesto by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that laid out the program of the Communist League. Originally published in German (as Manifest der kommunistischen Partei) just as the revolutions of 1848 began to erupt, the Manifesto has since been recognized as one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. It presents an analytical approach to the class struggle (historical and present) and the problems of capitalism and the capitalist mode of production, rather than a prediction of Communism's potential future forms. The Communist Manifesto contains Marx and Engels' theories about the nature of society and politics, that in their own words, "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles". It also briefly features their ideas for how the capitalist society of the time would eventually be replaced by socialism, and then finally Communism. "A room without books is like a body without a soul." - ... A 19th century classics literature edition.
Humanity is at a dead end. We have exhausted all possible methods and social structures to create a peaceful balance between our differences. The world is in decline and everyone knows it. This world needs unity, but how do we unite if we are all so different? This book was written to aid humanity in its vital pursuit to come to this sensation of unity. For millennia, a small few has known about a method that can unite us all but the general public had no desire for it…until now. The world senses how we are all connected. Science and technology have given us deep insights into this interconnected reality. However, our attitudes and behaviors don’t reflect this reality. If we did, the old axiom of “love thy neighbor as thyself” would reign supreme in our hearts and perceptions of each other. If you desire to come closer to your fellow man, above the differences, with the feeling of unity dominating your thoughts and emotions, this manifesto is written for you.
L.M. Findlay’s elegant new translation is a work of textual and historical scholarship. Few books have had as much of an impact on modern history as The Communist Manifesto. Since it was first published in 1848, it has become the rallying cry for revolutionary movements around the world. This new Broadview edition draws on the 1888 Samuel Moore translation supervised by Engels—the standard English version in Marxist discourse—and on the original Helen Macfarlane translation into English of 1850. Throughout, Findlay draws on a variety of disciplines and maintains a broad-ranging perspective. Among the appendices are Engels’ “Draft of a Communist Confession of Faith,” correspondence and journalism of Marx and Engels, ten illustrations, and eight additional influential political manifestos from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
"What is globalization? Here is one of the best answers. It is the 'constant revolutionizing of production' and the 'endless disturbance of all social conditions.' It is 'everlasting uncertainty.' Everything 'fixed and frozen' is 'swept away,' and 'all that is solid melts into air.' Yes, you have read this before. It is from The Communist Manifesto, by Messrs. Marx and Engels."--The New York Times Here, at last, is an authoritative introduction to history's most important political document, with the full text of The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels. This beautifully organized and presented edition of The Communist Manifesto is fully annotated, with clear historical references and explication, additional related texts, and a glossary that will bring the text to life for students, as well as the general reader. Since it was first written in 1848, the Manifesto has been translated into more languages than any other modern text. It has been banned, censored, burned, and declared "dead." But year after year, the text only grows more influential, remaining required reading in courses on philosophy, politics, economics, and history. "Apart from Charles Darwin's Origin of Species," notes the Los Angeles Times, the Manifesto "is arguably the most important work of nonfiction written in the 19th century." The Washington Post calls Marx "an astute critic of capitalism." Writing in The New York Times, Columbia University Professor Steven Marcus describes the Manifesto as a "masterpiece" with "enduring insights into social existence." The New Yorker recently described Karl Marx as "The Next Thinker" for our era. This book will show readers why. Phil Gasper is a professor of philosophy at Notre Dame de Namur University in northern California. He writes extensively on politics and the philosophy of science and is a frequent contributor to CounterPunch.
