Introduction
Despite the intentions of people to live in an equal society, there will always be some social differences. In the middle of the 19th century, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, the two well-known German philosophers and social scientists introduced their vision of class struggles through the prism of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. In this essay, the analysis of the first chapter of their Manifesto of the Communist Party will be offered to understand the essence of communism and capitalism.
Summary
There are no clearly defined sections in the chapter under evaluation, but the reader can divide it into four parts like class struggles, the bourgeoisie, the proletariat, and the bourgeois-proletarian relationships. Marx and Engels explained that there are many antagonisms that are rooted in feudal society. Although people strived for development and industrial growth, new classifications, oppression conditions, and forms of relationships were created in regard to available resources, values, and interests. Society cannot avoid the outcomes of their actions, which enhanced the promotion of the bourgeoisie and proletariat.
The bourgeoisie is a product of social development that controls the production and distribution of materials. Its expansion around the globe was explained by the necessity to share products and discover new wants. The main bourgeois principles were the use of force against production and the challenge of property relations. The proletariat was another significant weapon in the social class struggle.
It played a critical role in development, but it gained no power to control the production of materials. The representatives of this group could only sell their labor to the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie used machinery, which led to a decrease in wages for the working class. In addition, gender inequalities disappeared because the less-skilled workers could replace the skilled ones and have lower salaries. The proletariat had nothing to fortify but must work hard, and the bourgeoisie should insure private property without making hard efforts, which resulted in the development of a veiled civil war.
Critical Evaluation
The relationships between freemen and slaves are frequently discussed in modern society to find out the roots of social inequality. After reading The Manifesto of the Communist Party, I got a good chance to understand why Marx and Engels chose the bourgeoisie and the proletariat as the main groups for analysis. I agree with the authors that the presence of closed guilds enhanced the monopolization of industrial production and the inability of ordinary working people to gain some power.
When the demand rises, the bourgeoisie has to keep the markets growing. Machinery revolutions are supported by the bourgeoisie to make sure their needs and expectations are met. However, these people are the authors of the ideas, and the proletariat is the group of people who actually produce the necessary things. I support the approach of Marx and Engels to define both classes as the architects of the weapons that destroy themselves.
Finally, the authors introduced a thought that industrial progress has positive and negative characteristics and impact on the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Marx and Engels stated that the use of machinery aimed at facilitating a working process and improving the quality of working life at the beginning. With time, machinery removed the distinctions in labor, as well as the reasons to increase wages. In the end, new revolutions, crises, and public discontent occurred, focusing on new working conditions and changes. I believe that this idea depicts the true nature of modern society. Despite the already obtained level of knowledge and experience, people are still not able to understand how not to harm themselves with their own achievements.
Conclusion
Being one of the most complex readings in the course, The Manifesto of the Communist Party reveals a number of interesting aspects of modern life. People cannot forget their goal to obliterate inequality, but all their steps forward removed the idea of human freedom far away. The chosen reading explained the worth of the bourgeois and proletarian activities in communist society and showed how human labor could challenge either rich or poor people.