Marx Communist Manifesto Flashcards

POL 202

What is the central argument of The Communist Manifesto?

That all history is driven by class struggle between oppressors and oppressed, culminating in the conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

According to Marx and Engels, what distinguishes the bourgeois epoch from previous societies

The bourgeoisie has simplified class antagonism into two groups bourgeoisie and proletariat — and create a global capitalist system

How did the bourgeoisie emerge from feudal society?

Through the growth of commerce, colonial expansion, and industrialization, which broke feudal bonds and centralized economic power

What is meant by “all that is solid melts into air”? 

It captures capitalism’s tendency to revolutionize production, destroy traditions, and create constant social change 

What is the main contradiction within capitalism that leads to its crisis?

The system produces more goods than workers can afford to buy, causing overproduction and economic collapse

How does capitalism create the proletariat?

Industrial production concentrates workers, de-skills them, and forces them too sell their labour for survival, leading to class consciousness

What role does class consciousness play in revolution?

it transforms workers from an exploited mass into an organized class capable of overthrowing the bourgeoisie

What does Marx mean when he calls the proletariat the “gravediggers” of capitalism?

capitalism’s own development produces the class that will destroy it - the workers. 

What is the primary aim of communists?

The abolition of bourgeois private property — the ownership of means of production by the capitalists

How do Marx and Engels distinguish personal property from private property?

Personal property is for use; private property enables exploitation. Communism targets only the latter

Why do the bourgeois accuse communists of wanting to destroy individuality?

They equate individuality with property ownership, but Marx argues capitalism already degrades individuality to mere market value

What are two examples of transitional measures communists propose?

Progressive income tax and abolition of inheritance tax (pp.36-38(

What is meant by the “withering away of the state”? 

Once class divisions disappear, the state — an instrument of class domination — will cease to exist 

What does Marx mean by “The ruling ideas of each age have ever been the ideas of its ruling class”?

Ideology reflects material power: dominant classes shape ideas to maintain control

Why do Marx and Engels reject “feudal socialism”?

it defends feudal privilege and opposes capitalism (feudal socialism was from aristocrats and nobles and basically desire to return to old social systems and property relations, threatened by rising bourgeoisie but opposed proletariat revolution because did not want to lose their own power)

What is the main flaw of “petty-bourgeois socialism”?

It idealizes small-scale production and resists industrial progress, making it backward looking

Why is “German socialism” considered unscientific by Marx?

It moralizes economic problems, translating French materialism into abstract philosophy (nationalist socialism underpinned anti-semetic/nazi ideas)

What characterizes “Bourgeois socialism”?

A desire to reform capitalism’s injustices (through charity or welfare) without abolishing its class basis

How does “utopian socialism” differ from Marx’s “scientific socialism”?

Utopian socialism imagines ideal societies; scientific socialism is grounded in class struggle and material analysis

What do thinkers like Saint-Simo, Fourier, and Owen contribute to socialism?

They exposed class exploitation and envisioned cooperation but lacked a revolutionary framework

Why does marx call communism a “real movement”

because it arises from material conditions and class conflict, not from abstract ideals

What is the role of the communist party within the proletarian movement?

It articulates and unites workers’ collective interests across nations

What does max mean by the proletariat being a “universal class”?

The liberation requires ending all forms of exploitation, freeing humanity as a whole

How do the Communists view nationalism

The working class has no con=untry, class solidarity transcends national borders

Why do the communists sometimes support the bourgeoisie?

In countries like 1840s Germany, they support bourgeois revolutions against feudalism as a step towards proletarian rule 

What is meant by “permanent revolution”?

The continuous process of revolutionary change until class divisions are abolished

What does Marx mean by “the executive and the modern state is not but a committee for managing common affairs of the bourgeoisie

The state functions to protect capitalist interests and property relations

What does alienation mean in Marx’s analysis

Workers are separated from the product of their labour, from creative fulfillment and from each other

How does capitalism undermine itself

By concentrating wealth, creating crises, and producing the class that will overthrow it

What is the end goal of the communist revolution?

A classless, stateless society based on common ownership of the production means 

What does the “Workers of all countries,”signify?

The universal struggle of the proletariat transcends borders — solidarituy is essential for revolution

How does the communist manifesto define “freedom”

Tur efreedom requiers abolishing economic dependence, not merely political rights

What analytical methods underpins Marx and Engels’ approach?

Materialist analysis — understanding society through economic/productive forces rather than ideas alone

How does Marx’s concept of history differ from idealist philosophy

He views history as driven by material production and class conflict, not human thoguhts/morality 

What is the moral implication of the Manifesto’s argument?

Human liberation depends on restructuring material conditions — morality follows from social change, not vice versa

What is the Manifesto’s enduring political message

Capitalism is historically necessary but transnational , communism is its successor and humanity’s next stage