THE COMMUNIST
MANIFESTO
KARL MARX AND FREDERICK
ENGELS
GROUP MEMBERS
• Richard Ekumah
• Ibrahim Abdullah
• Michael Saneke
• Alieu Jallow
• Hazel Ntombizile Mlandwa
• Lilian Awuor
• Selasi Afi Gborglah
BIOGRAPHY
Karl Heinrich Marx
• He was born on May 5, 1818 in Trier, Germany to a Jewish
family.
• He later died on March 14, 1883 at London, England.
• He was a German philosopher, journalist, economist and
revolutionary sociologist.
• He was a expelled from Belgium, deported from France, and
Prussia refused re-naturalize him and London to grant him
citizenship.
BIOGRAPHY
ENGELS FREDERICH
• He was a German by Nationality.
• He was born on November 28, 1820 in Barmen Prussia, now
Wuppertal, German.
• He then died on August 5, 1895 in London, England at the age of 74.
• He attended the University of Berlin and never graduated.
• He was a social scientist, a philosopher, journalist and a communist.
TERMS TO CONSIDER
• Proletariat
• Bourgeoisie
• Communist
• Socialists
• Feudalism
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlZuZprPXhg
BOURGEOISIE AND THE PROLETARIANS
• There existed numerous social class hierarchies in the
feudal society
• Feudalism existed before the bourgeoisie.
• Feudalism was overtaken by the bourgeoisie society
• Relationship between the bourgeoisie and proletarians
PROLETARIANS AND COMMUNISTS
• Formation of a proletariat into a class and overthrow the bourgeoisie
• In the abolishment, the communists aimed at eliminating class
character.
• Communists wanted to abolish the power of acquiring private
property and the familial relations.
• Some people argued that if private property was abolished no one
would work.
• Communists also wanted to abolish the sense of belonging to a
country and/or nationality
• Communism challenged the philosophy of the bourgeoisie
SOCIALISTS AND COMMUNISTS LITERATURE
Subsets of the Socialist and Communist Literature by Karl Marx are
1) REACTIONARY SOCIALISM
• Feudal Socialism
• Petty-Bourgeois Socialism
• German or 'True' Socialism
2) CONSERVATIVE / BOURGEOIS SOCIALISM
3) CRITICAL-UTOPIAN SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM
POSITION OF THE COMMUNISTS IN RELATION TO
THE VARIOUS EXISTING OPPOSITION PARTIES
• The agenda of the communist party
• Wellness of the entire society.
• Support for all regardless of political differences for greater
good of society especially proletariat.
MAIN MESSAGE
• Marx discusses about the existence of class struggle in the
history of humanity.
• The lower class was exploited by the bourgeoisie.
• Communists and proletariat had similar interest.
• The progress of history was in terms of materialism and the way
society was viewed was a reflection of underlying economic
realities.
• Development is inevitable and capitalism is inherently unstable.
• He advocated for the abolishment of the social classes.
ARGUMENTS
• The upper class verses the lower class.
• Laborers were generally being taken advantage of by the
bourgeoisies.
• The irrelevance of private property.
• Why the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.
• Changes occur in society as a result of the struggle of groups of
people to realize economic and material interests .
CRITIQUE OF THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO
THE POSITIVES
Marx hammered on the realities of the capitalism system of
governance such that, the manifesto acknowledged;
• Negative implications of the class struggle (between the bourgeoisie
and the proletariat) on the working class.
• Laziness of the elite and its effect on society and productivity.
• Confusion and conflict will be created as a result of class struggles.
• Exploitation of the working class by the bourgeoisie.
CRITIQUE OF THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO
THE DOWNSIDE
Could not keep up with increasing population. This is because
people become more individualistic and self centeredness.
• Existence of class struggles even in modern times. There existence
of classes in society in modern times reveals impossibility of
classless society.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE GOOD SOCIETY DEBATE
• Equality-
This is main component he advocated for and was
concerned with the equality of all in society especially the
proletariat.
• Efficiency-
Marx was very silent about efficiency
• Liberty-
Marx stressed on the liberty of the proletariat where
they will be free to own and enjoy the fruit of their labor.
• Community-
He supported the idea of all being one and working
towards a specific goal and enjoying property as well.
IMPLICATIONS FOR CONTEMPORARY LEADERS
• Leaders should focus on liberty, community, equality and efficiency because
all of them work hand in hand to make a good society
• There is the need to create an environment that promotes hard work,
savings, and investments among others .
• Labor laws should not unduly favor entrepreneurs against their workers
• There is the need to encourage everyone to be on board in the development
of the nation where fairness should be exhibited .
• Leaders should try as much as possible to focus on serving society as a whole
and not focus on a sections of society.
IMPACT ON LEADERSHIP THINKING
• The communist manifesto challenges our perception of
leadership and give us the insight that, equality and liberty plays
a significant role in society.
• However, as a group we propose based on the impact on our
thinking that, there should be a balance among the four major
component of the good society debate to bring about the
desired development.