Judgement: The Communist Manifesto

Title: The Communist Manifesto

Date: 1848

Nationality: United Kingdom

Creator: Karl Marx

Medium: Print

“The distinguishing feature of Communism is not the abolition of property generally, by the abolition of bourgeois property.  But the modern bourgeois private property is the final and most complete expression of the system of producing and appropriating products, that is based on class antagonism, on the exploitation of the many by the few” 

--Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto (Strong and Davis 571).

The learning application of judgment is rarely seen with more clarity than in Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto.  The industrial revolution was in full swing and laissez faire capitalism was demonstrating its inherent inconsistencies—the rich became richer, the poor became poorer, working conditions worsened, and frequent economic recessions meant that “up to half of all workers could find themselves out of work” (Strong and Davis 552).  Moreover, the awful conditions began to inspire the people to recognize a violation of their human rights.  Marx, aware of the conditions around him, began to assess the causes of society’s apparent failure to provide and protect the majority of its people.  In doing so, he judged the inherent weaknesses of capitalism and the impending progression of class warfare.  He did this partly by taking the Hegelian idea of historical progression, categorized the basic schema to be true, but rejected the substance—where Hegel saw the world as a history of the struggle of ideas, Marx saw the world as a history of the struggle of economic and social classes.  Thus, out of his judgments regarding the social conditions and philosophies of his day, Marx was able to develop his own theory of socio-economic development and action as well as project it into the future.  This ability to discern and evaluate society’s path into the future is a lesson that all must learn—particularly a civilization hoping to establish itself with security.

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