The Communist Manifesto

by Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich

• ISBN13: 9780451527103
• ISBN10: 0451527100
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-10-01
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Summary

This Norton Critical Edition offers a complete historical and philosophical introduction to Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party. It will assist students making their first approach to Marx's thought as well as those ready to study the Manifesto in more depth. For beginning students, this edition provides a carefully annotated text of the Manifesto and two introductory sections by Frederic Bender, a "Chronology of Events Leading to the Communist Manifesto" and "Historical and Theoretical Backgrounds of the Communist Manifesto." More experienced students will benefit from selections on the sources of Marx's thought, the significance of the Manifesto in the history of Marxism, and recent interpretations of the work.

Author Biography

Born in Westphalia in 1820, Friedrich Engels was the son of a textile manufacturer. After military training in Berlin and already a convert to communism, Engels went to Manchester in 1842 to represent the family firm. A relationship with a mill-hand, Mary Bums, and friendship with local Owenites and Chartists helped to inspire his famous early work, The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844. Collaboration with Marx began in 1844 and in 1847 he composed the first drafts of the Manifesto. After playing an active part in the German revolutions, Engels returned to work in Manchester until 1870, when he moved to London. He not only helped Marx financially, but reinforced their shared position through his own expositions of the new theory. After Marx’s death, he prepared the unfinished volumes of Capital for publication. He died in London in 1895.

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface
Foreword
The Communist Manifesto	p. 1
Principles of Communism	p. 63
The Communist Manifesto 150 Years Later	p. 87
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.