The Communist Manifesto

DISCOVER THE WORK THAT LAUNCHED REVOLUTIONS AROUND THE WORLD

Although it was published in 1848,The Communist Manifesto is as controversial and provocative as ever. Its stirring and poetic language helped spread Marx and Engels' socialist message far and wide, unleashing a century of political revolution.

In an age of great inequality, the Manifesto's message of an exploited and suffering working class that must rise up and claim the means of production and wealth continues to resonate. This deluxe edition features an insightful introduction from Tom Butler-Bowdon which explains how the text came to be written, and why it remains popular.

Karl Marx was born into a Jewish family in imperial Prussia. Considered too radical to be given an academic post at university, he became a crusading journalist at a left-wing newspaper before being exiled to Paris, then to Brussels, and finally settling with his family in London. As the intellectual father of communism, Marx's impact on history is massive. It began withThe Communist Manifesto.

Friedrich Engels worked in his family's cotton manufacturing business, but in his private time mixed with radicals. His bookThe Condition of the Working Class in England was an exposé of the terrible factory conditions and child labour of the time. Engels was Marx's lifelong collaborator, and he edited the unfinished volumes ofDas Kapital after Marx's death.

Tom Butler-Bowdon is Series Editor of the Capstone Classics series, and has provided Introductions for Plato'sRepublic, Adam SmithsWealth of Nations, MachiavellisThe Prince, Florence Scovel ShinnsThe Game of Life and How to Play It, and Kahlil GibransThe Prophet. A graduate of the London School of Economics, he is also the author of50 Economics Classics (2017) and50 Politics Classics (2015).

www.butler-bowdon.com

An Introduction by Tom Butler-Bowdon vii

About Tom Butler-Bowdon xxix

The Communist Manifesto 1