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Summary: It's Not a Question IF you are a Commie, but By how much...
Review: It's a good read, but it is too short. The whole underlying theory to socialism/communism is that when there is no private ownership, people are happier and will no longer steal or kill. I'm a registered Republican. I read a book by them (I bought it and read it but I forget the title!) and they proposed in 1995 that we simply have a 17% income tax across the board except for the poverty level. It would be something like sending in a post card without all the beauracacy. You know. "Now add 17a to 17b and then figure the true meaning of pie or 3.14). So Republicans only believe in the first few pages of this book. Democrats are a little higher on the "Commie Level". About 30 or 40%. The Libertarians are about 3% Communistic (the presidential candidate wants to let welfare be for 9 months and install a missle system with YOUR money)! Let's hear the boo's. The only pure "anti-commie" is an Anarchist Libertarian. So read this book and try to understand why 99% of the population are Communists (but they are afraid to say). I still might vote for Gore or Browne or Nader or Bush. I am sure that my vote shall mean a great deal in how it all turns out this November.
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Summary: Read it to see what kind of idiots they were
Review: Having spent my youth in a Socialist country, I have had to study this book thoroughly more than once. The Communists consider it a kind of a bible. It's truely amazing, because when you read it, you can't help noticing that only people of very low intellect are able to write such text. I'm not talking about the acceptability of ideas. I've read books that make me seethe with rage. The Communist Manifesto doesn't. It's disjointed babble. Even if you hate Communism as much as I do, this book won't make you angry. It's impossible to critisize the contents of the book, because it has no contents, except making obvious that the emperor is naked. I have never seen a Communist work of such incapability.
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Summary: BEAUTIFUL LITERATURE, FORGET THE THEORIES!!!
Review: Was Marx right about any of what he said? Who knows? Who cares? Just think about how beautiful those first words of the Manifesto are: "A specter haunts Europe." I've been told by German speakers that this can be translated as "A ghost walks through Europe," which is great too.The C.M. does a good job of capturing the feeling of isolation and alienation that one experiences in modern society. For example, "All fixed relationships evaporate before they can ossify. All professions that were once held in reverent awe are subjected to the relentless demands of capital leaving no nexus between man and man save naked self interest and callous cash payment. All that is sacred is profaned; all that is solid melts into air." This relates back to Marx's earlier work on alienation in The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (which is also tremendous). THIS is feeling that you get when you realize that your computer, or phone, or self has been left behind the blinding pace of capital, and the C.M. captures it perfectly. Read the C.M. Don't worry too much about the actual communism, because that's actually secondary. Don't be influenced by other reviewers who talk about the horrors of Stalinism. If thinkers are really to be held responsible for the outrages that are commited in their name, then we should certainly, certainly burn the Manifesto. But if that's the case, we should start the bonfire with the Gospels.
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Summary: Long Live Marxism!
Review: The Communist Manifesto is the only single document that has revolutionized the world's working class and has created mass progressive movements worldwide. "We have nothing to lose but our chains, we have a world to win!"
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Summary: Important contribution to political theory
Review: Before I get nasty emails accusing me of being a "card carrying" member of some left-wing poltical organization, let me state: No, I'm not a member of some left-wing political organization. Marx's "Manifesto" is an important contribution to political theory world-wide. He makes predictions about capitalism that, although untrue in 1850, are becoming true now: for example, Marx writes of the global economy, the reduction in power of the nation-state, and other features of modern capitalism that were unknown in Marx's time. It is these features of capitalism (i.e., powerful multi-national conglomerates) that cause anti-capitalist sentiment. If people want to preserve the current free-market system, then they should be looking at the statements of the opposition. Although the Manifesto cannot be said to be an accurate (or even full) critique of capitalism, it can show where capitalists need to move: protecting workers from exploitation, for example. People that attacked this book based on their opposition to Communism missed the point, the Manifesto offers more to capitalism than Communism because it can show why (in a small part) people think evil things about the free-market. Capitalists of the world unite, indeed.
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Summary: Communism¿ Dead? Wrong! Capitalists of the World Unite!
Review: The ideas in this book served as a catalyst for jump-starting a totalitarian ideology that left over 100,000,000 dead. I'd recommend that freedom-loving individuals examine this document, just as I would recommend that they read the Bill of Rights or the Declaration of Independence. Quite a few of planks of the Communist Manifesto are public policy for the nations of the "free world" today - from the central bank to graduated income tax to the estate tax. What remains disturbing is how many liberal apologists and stern advocates of Marxism remain after the "alleged" collapse of communism. Revisionists can't separate Karl Marx from the atrocities of communist regimes - following his plan to collectivism inevitably stamps out individual freedom in favor of the omnipotent collectivist state. The lessons of history make this self-evident to all, but the blind and dogmatic Marxist ideologue. Let us remain weary of collectivism in all its form whether it is the Sickle-and-Hammer brand or the racial collectivism of Nazi Germany. We should be ever watchful of the deceptively cute-and-fuzzy liberal brand of collectivism that whittles away free-markets and individual liberty inch by inch. The American founding fathers warned that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance - heed their warning by gaining a basic understanding of Marxism and opposing its agenda which still covertly remains in action. Also, recommended: The Black Book of Communism, The Gulag Archipelago, The Road to Serfdom, and The State within the State.
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Summary: Critiques must take context into account
Review: Communism may be outmoded, outdated, and even dangerous, but Marx's COMMUNIST MANIFESTO is an important document in the fields of economic and political history. The ripple effects of this work can still be seen today. A 150 year-old document which still has such widespread significance in our world should not be easily dismissed. Marx's COMMUNIST MANIFESTO is, as has been mentioned in other posts, a work of propaganda. As such, it is much lighter reading than some of Marx's other works. It was originally intended for industrial workers and was written to be understood by them. Therefore, the style is remarkably accessible to the modern reader. As many have said in previous posts, if you are looking for a concise, readable summary of socialist/communist ideology, this is probably your best bet. If you are interested in a more heavy-duty discussion of the Communist world-view, you might want to consider reading one of Marx and Engels' bulky theoretical works. It is easy to overplay the negative effects of the COMMUNIST MANIFESTO on the modern political landscape. Attributing Stalin's purges solely to Marx is patently unjust. Many factors, not the least of which was Stalin himself, led to those tragic events. The atrocities perpetrated by abusive communist/socialist regimes cannot fairly be attributed to a pair of nineteenth-century authors. We must also acknowledge the positive effects this work has had on our world. When Marx wrote this pamphlet, the industrial revolution in England was causing tremendous suffering and injustice. Laissez-faire capitalism had created vast inequality. Even the representative governments in power around the world at the time were far less democratic than those we see now. The impact of socialist ideology was very great: labor movements emerged, egalitarianism became a more central part of democratic ideology, and the lower classes became more significant to the political system than they had ever been before. In short, a significant part of what we, in the 21st century, call "democracy" can be indirectly traced to Marx. This is not to say that Marx's argument is fool-proof. On the contrary, he fails to foresee a number of important developments, including the emergence of the middle-class. Nevertheless, THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO deserves to be taken on its own terms.
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Summary: Forgot to say.
Review: I forgot to say about this book's positive effects in history. It did not change the world that it was suppose to change at all, which are the countries that were already industrilized like England, France and America, but it changed the counties like Russia and China where there were almost no workers, no captalists and no industries back than, but only had the really really bad old feudal governments with tons of poor farmers. So what communism or this book really did was that it helped to transform the countries that were very undeveloped, very poor into counties with industries, with enough food for the people, and even a better governmenr! This really doesn't sound like making too much senses at all, but you have got to learn how bad things were 70 years ago in China and Russia, how impossible it was for there to be a democratic government, and how much improvment it was to the people to have communist government instead of all the other governemts that they had before. Look at China and Russia, they are very poor even now compare with the U.S., but do you realize how much they have improved? They have been going up ten times as fast as the U.S.. They are still worse than the U.S. does not give you the right to say communism is bad! (I am come from China)
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Summary: Great book, but I disagree with it.
Review: Very well written, full of emotion, no wander why so many people feared this book so much in the past, it is so powerful. "The workers have nothing to loss but their chains!" I believe if I was a worker who was suffering so much back than, I would be a deep believer in Marx too!----------------It talked about thefundamental conflicts between different classes of people, and the problem is caused by private property, so without private property, everybody can be happy as oppose to some people very rich some very poor. And the deffinition for communism is "destory all private properties.------------------I disagree with this book because, first, The poor conditions of the workers are not caused by the people who own the means of production but caused by the limited amount of products we have. We were not advanced enough that we could efford to give everybody enough! But the workers did not care, all they saw was that their bosses could live well but they could not, so of course they wanted to revolt. There is no way you can be reational when you do not even have enough to eat. Second, the only way to solve this problem is to make more products and improve efficency, and the compitetion caused by the will to earn more money by the people who have the means of production causd that. Anyway, this was a great book.
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Summary: A Book for the Proletariot that needed an Editor
Review: Not as good as duck soup by his nephew Groucho Marx. The book contained too much talk and no action. Would have prefered car chases and other aspects. Second he needed to get out of the house and had a few shots of malt liquor. I recommend this only for understanding the roots of communism by not for entertainment. Truely a Sleeper! However Duck Soup in the remastered version is a must see!
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