Thesis Statement
The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels was claimed to argue about social division and class exploitation. In spite of the fail of communistic regimes in most parts of the world, and the democratization of the former Socialistic camp, the division of the society is still present.
Discussion
It is necessary to emphasize that the manifesto itself starts from the essence of the word problem (as Marx saw it). The class struggle was regarded as the basis of social relations all over the world, and, Marx considered that every epoch in the world is featured with the exploitation of the lower classes by the upper. Marx felt that the end of this process is quite possible, and the working class will be able to eliminate all the other classes, which exploit it. If there is only one class in the society, there will be no more exploitation, and the progress would be much faster. Originally, Marx was right as for the social division and class exploitation, however, he misunderstood the further process, and gave wrong forecast as for the dominating class.
As for the nowadays, it is necessary to mention that the social division is clear and fully coincides with the tendency, which was described by Marx in his manifesto. Marxism is one of the leading schools in the International relations theory, and the followers of this paradigm claim that social division is inevitable for the progress. Moreover, neo-Marxism by Wallerstein has also gained popularity within the social and political theorists. This theory argues that the world is divided into three areas: Center, Semi-periphery and Periphery. This paradigm is essentially relevant in the conditions of world globalization, appearing of the transnational corporations, international outsourcing etc. Thus, representatives of the Center create the industrial areas in Periphery and Semi-periphery. These two areas strive to become a center of the world system, while the finances (capitals) are flown into the center from Periphery and Semi-periphery. It is also necessary to mention that the world division according to neo-Marxism presupposes the buffer role of the semi-periphery (classical Marxism does not have any notion of the buffer), and protects center from periphery. Furthermore, the Semi-periphery is used as the source for highly-estimated working power, which will be working in the center, and increase the financial flows from periphery and semi-periphery to the center. This division is more contemporary in comparison with classical Marxism, however, it proves the essence – Marxism is still relevant to the political and economic challenges of our time. As the highly developed countries aim to take the industrial production off their own territories, create the possibility to get protected from the countries of the third world, and search for talented workers in the developing countries.
Conclusion
The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels can still be regarded as relevant to the nowadays political social and economic situation; however, there is no more class struggle. In spite of this absence, the class division may still be observed. The Marxism theory developed into neo-Marxism, which is even more relevant to the contemporary world situation. The country of the Center is the contemporary bourgeoisie, which exploits the working class of Periphery, and uses the brain sources of semi-periphery. The overall picture has changed, however, the essence stayed the same.
References
Love, Nancy, S. Understanding Dogmas And Dream. CQ Press, 2006