The Communist Manifesto: Historical Context and Impact
Origins in the Communist League
The Communist Manifesto originated from a commission given to Marx and Engels in December 1847 by the “Communist League.” Their task was to clearly and comprehensively articulate the ideological principles upon which the proletariat should base their struggle against the bourgeoisie. The Manifesto was published in February 1848, coinciding with the widespread outbreak of revolutions across Europe. While the work initially went relatively unnoticed amidst the turbulent European landscape, it gained significant prominence from 1864 onwards with the establishment of the International Workingmen’s Association (First International), serving as a rallying cry for the global working class.
Pre-1848: Economic, Social, and Political Factors
To understand the events of 1848, it is crucial to examine the preceding economic, social, and political conditions.
Economic Transformations
Since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, there had been an accumulation of wealth that fueled investment in early mechanized factories, displacing traditional production methods. The advent of railways and naval transport facilitated the rise of global trade. This economic shift was intellectually underpinned by the emerging theories of economic liberalism. For instance, Adam Smith identified the key to increasing wealth as reducing labor costs and enhancing output with the same amount of work.
Social and Political Changes
Economic changes reshaped society and the living conditions of the population. The nobility began engaging in business, while a new social class, the proletariat, emerged. Economic freedoms and free contracts led to the consolidation of working days ranging from 12 to 18 hours, without vacations or social insurance. Consequently, the proletariat became increasingly impoverished due to the very laws of economic liberalism.
By the late 18th century, the bourgeoisie had solidified its power. The 19th century witnessed two significant reactions:
- The desperate response of an aristocracy seeking to regain its lost power. The first two decades of the 19th century were dominated by the Restoration. Key figures in the political philosophy of the Restoration included Novalis, De Maistre, and Burke. They challenged Enlightenment ideals, emphasizing tradition, tolerance, the supremacy of authority over reason as the organizing principle of life, and spiritualism. This aligned with the age-old concept of the alliance between throne and altar, as if the Enlightenment and Napoleon had never existed. The Holy Alliance, anchored in Russia where old powers remained intact, formed the basis of this movement.
- The Restoration Europe established by the Congress of Vienna began to fragment in the mid-1820s. This led to a resurgence of the nationalist movement, which, combined with the rise of liberalism, propelled Europe towards a new revolutionary era, marked by the revolutions of 1820, 1830, and 1848.
The Revolutions of 1820, 1830, and 1848
These revolutions represented the bourgeoisie’s response to the Restoration’s attempts to revert to the old order. Initially, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat were united. However, while the revolutions of the 1820s and 1830s were primarily bourgeois-driven, the 1848 revolution had a distinctly working-class character. This last revolution was the most representative, convulsing Europe, particularly in France, culminating in the Paris Commune of 1871.
The Paris Commune and its Aftermath
Following the failure of the Paris Commune, Marx and Engels recognized the need to study not only civil society and the economy but also the state apparatus as a superstructure. A burgeoning labor movement emerged, seeking to improve working conditions. This movement drew inspiration from earlier worker and petty-bourgeoisie movements like the Chartists and the Blanquists, who, in turn, were influenced by utopian socialists such as Saint-Simon, Fourier, and Owen. However, it was only after the 1848 revolution that the Communist League’s program became central to the broader labor movement.
Intellectual and Cultural Climate
Beyond these political, social, and economic transformations, the intellectual climate of the period was shaped not only by labor movement theorists. The first half of the century was dominated by Hegelian philosophy, while positivism, championed by Auguste Comte, prevailed in the second half. Positivism advocated for unstoppable progress, supported by scientific advancements in fields like physics (Ampere and Faraday), chemistry (Guy-Lussac and Mendeleev), and biology (Darwin and Lamarck).
Culturally, the first part of the 19th century was characterized by Romanticism. In contrast, the second half saw a shift towards Realism.