A review by mcwyss
The Communist Manifesto and Other Writings by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels

4.0

A seminal work both in the international canon, and in communist literature, The Communist Manifesto is a book that every person should read. With excellent story-telling and sound reasoning, Marx and Engles recount the origins of Capitalism and project the future where workers overthrow the social order and replace it with Communism. Although I disagree with many aspects of their solutions and their account of history is incomplete and simplistic, the Manifesto is still a great work. It is clearly understandable by the average proletarian due to both its jargon-free word choice and its story-telling form. I believe this form, telling the story of Capitalism, the Bourgeoisie, and the Proletariat, is its greatest strength. The introduction by Martin Puchner makes this argument well, and I am convinced by it. Socialist writers like Malatesta could have done well to study the Manifesto's style. However, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte included in this edition is a boring, dull work which does not stand the test of time. Where the Manifesto benefits from age more than it suffers, the proximity to the origins of capitalism do it a greater service than the disservice of referencing now-defunct political parties and ideologies, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte only suffers. It is full of dates and figures of the French February Revolution of 1848 which make it indigestible for anyone who is not a French historian. There are pieces of insight and wit that make it a bearable read, but I have a hard time saying it’s worthwhile to do so. While this text adds some volume to The Barnes and Noble Classics Edition, it is of little use to those in the twenty-first century.