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marioncromb's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I guess i'm too bourgeois but this is mainly interesting as a historical document. It heavily relies on an in-depth understanding of political history, particularly french and german revolutionary history that I just don't have. Its infpuence however is clearly undeniable, although the optimism of the authors of an inevitable worldwise proletarian revolution is comic and heartbreaking in retrospect. This edition also had an additional essay about Napoleon III which again i didnt have the requisite historical context for.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Misogyny
cinhein's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
This is a difficult book to review given what it is. Reviewing it on the basis of it's predictions and policy proposals feels less like a review and more an unwanted ramble on global socioeconomic history. At the same time, that is the content; that is all there is to review.
In short, despite having some issues with the content of it, this book remains a valuable insight into nineteenth century politics. I am glad for having read it, and it's a quick and easy read. If you're at all interested in left-wing politics, this is still a good read.
In long: in the intervening 175 years since Marx and Engels published their manifesto, there has been ample time to demonstrate the accuracy (or the contrary) of the predictions that they made.
Some of it is so accurate as to seem prescient, such as the need of capitalism for constant growth or expansion with which to feed itself; this expanded across national boundaries until all would serve the capitalist class. It is not difficult to see the accuracy in these statements when you look out at the world and see the capitalist system dominant everywhere, and a market that is happiest when a line graph trends upwards, regardless of the material economic conditions that actually affect people in their everyday lives.
Others, such as certain policies around private property, the abolition of the family, and the continued urbanisation of green-space, are less positive. At time of writing, Marx describes that private property was a thing of only the wealthiest 10% of society, leaving 90% of the population without anything to their name; this has obviously changed massively in the modern day, and it would be a hard sell to convince people that you are going to better their lives by taking away everything they own.
Marx also proposes an expansion of urban spaces so that the distinction between town and city will be eliminated, for a population that lives in equal density across the country. Clearly, the destruction of green space, cultivated or wild, for the claimed goal of equitable population density would be a disaster for the planet. At the same time, Marx mentions an apparent plan to invent some kind of miracle soil that would allow for uncultivated 'wastelands' to be made fertile for agricultural production.
In this book, Marx and Engels were routinely poignant in their criticisms of the society in which they lived, criticisms that in some cases extend to the 21st century. It is a shame, then, that their proposed solutions could often be ripped apart by anybody who had put the five minutes of thinking about it that apparently eluded the two of them.
In short, despite having some issues with the content of it, this book remains a valuable insight into nineteenth century politics. I am glad for having read it, and it's a quick and easy read. If you're at all interested in left-wing politics, this is still a good read.
In long: in the intervening 175 years since Marx and Engels published their manifesto, there has been ample time to demonstrate the accuracy (or the contrary) of the predictions that they made.
Some of it is so accurate as to seem prescient, such as the need of capitalism for constant growth or expansion with which to feed itself; this expanded across national boundaries until all would serve the capitalist class. It is not difficult to see the accuracy in these statements when you look out at the world and see the capitalist system dominant everywhere, and a market that is happiest when a line graph trends upwards, regardless of the material economic conditions that actually affect people in their everyday lives.
Others, such as certain policies around private property, the abolition of the family, and the continued urbanisation of green-space, are less positive. At time of writing, Marx describes that private property was a thing of only the wealthiest 10% of society, leaving 90% of the population without anything to their name; this has obviously changed massively in the modern day, and it would be a hard sell to convince people that you are going to better their lives by taking away everything they own.
Marx also proposes an expansion of urban spaces so that the distinction between town and city will be eliminated, for a population that lives in equal density across the country. Clearly, the destruction of green space, cultivated or wild, for the claimed goal of equitable population density would be a disaster for the planet. At the same time, Marx mentions an apparent plan to invent some kind of miracle soil that would allow for uncultivated 'wastelands' to be made fertile for agricultural production.
In this book, Marx and Engels were routinely poignant in their criticisms of the society in which they lived, criticisms that in some cases extend to the 21st century. It is a shame, then, that their proposed solutions could often be ripped apart by anybody who had put the five minutes of thinking about it that apparently eluded the two of them.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny
When writing on the treatment of women, there are often mentions of the misogynistic tendencies of nineteenth century industrial society.
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