The Communist Manifesto
by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx
Read by Mark F. Smith
The Communist Manifesto was conceived as an outline of the basic beliefs of the Communist movement. The authors believed that the European Powers were universally afraid of the nascent movement, and were condemning as "communist," people or activities that did not actually conform to what the Communists believed. This Manifesto, then, became a manual for their beliefs.
In it we find Marx and Engel's rehearsal of the idea that Capital has stolen away the work of the artisan and peasant by building up factories to produce goods cheaply. The efficiency of Capital depends, then, on the wage laborers who staff the factories and how little they will accept in order to have work. This concentrates power and money in a Bourgeois class that profits from the disunity of workers (Proletarians), who only receive a subsistence wage.
If workers unite in a class struggle against the bourgeois, using riot and strikes as weapons, they will eventually overthrow the bourgeois and replace them as a ruling class. Communists further believe in and lay out a system of reforms to transform into a classless, stateless society, thus distinguishing themselves from various flavors of Socialism, which would be content to have workers remain the ruling class after the revolution.
The Manifesto caused a huge amount of discussion for its support for a forcible overthrow of the existing politics and society. (Summary by Mark F. Smith)
Chapters
Select a chapter to play
| 1 - Bourgeois and Proletarians | 35:59 | Read by Mark F. Smith | |
| 2 - Proletarians and Communists | 23:22 | Read by Mark F. Smith | |
| 3 - Socialist & Communist Literature; 4 - Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties | 28:34 | Read by Mark F. Smith |
Reviews
Excellent Reading, Regardless of View
hello
Regardless of whether you agree politically or not, this is an excellent reading of a historically significant text, which should be applauded.
Alriiiiiiight!
Huggleduggle
An essential philosophical text for our time - whether or not one agrees with the content, Marx&Engels have been and remain one of the most influential social philosophical forces for the global economic north-west, in just about every sphere of life. And this recording is clear, well-modulated and a great listen. Interesting to hear it in a South Carolina accent, I dig it
lulu
The audio quality is excellent. The reader is great, at times expresses too much emotion in my opinion. But hey, this is a manifesto!
Jrcastking
well read I disagree with just about everything in it but. The points are interesting and I enjoyed the intellectual journey I had while listening to an idea that I disagree with.
John Smith
As an overview for this book The communist seek to disburse all wealth among all the people evenly, but the truth of what happens when you implement the communist system The enslavement of all classes but the politically powerful. This book by its very nature is confusing and manipulative seeking to twist the readers into alignment with the writers distractive and dysfunctional point Of View. For examples of how the communist system has failed completely look at USSR and Venezuela. The reader is very good.
best version I've heard so far
dooj
the narrator does a great job and isn't monotonous,making the book a bearable listen,definitely worth the time👍.
Very well read and easy to understand
Nan
The narrator was of professional quality. The book wasn't as hard to grasp as I'd thought
Really a Unifesto
JimmieC
Of course, a great read by Mark Smith. Given that, much of this reads as if written in the 19th century instead of the 18th. Many similar struggles between workers and owners continued especially into the middle of the 20th century. Much of that was due to the great depression. For the greatest part, workers hold a great amount of power and are not usually seriously trifled without a cost. Marx however, as he was the primary composer, had a very limited world view and understanding of world events. He certainly did not know the common man of America. That man had a great amount of freedom and discretion. Even more so was his lack of understanding regarding the Christian church. He was greatly biased and apparently willfully ignorant of Biblical doctrines in that he dismissed it out of hand. The entire writing is based on great generalizations and absolute solutions or remedies for what he saw as the basic challenge for man to become the whole and perfect man. He seems to believe that this can only be accomplished by a group or groups of people's. His most fundamental problem is that he thinks that man is basically good or can develop into something that is basically good. Quite naive but understandable when you do not take an honest look at history and have drawn up your conclusions without an objective mind.