What main ideas did The Communist Manifesto present?

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The Communist Manifesto (1848), written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, serves as a foundational platform for the Communist League. Its core ideas include:

  • Historical Materialism: The authors argue that the history of all existing society is the history of class struggles. They posit that economic structures—specifically the material forces and relations of production—form the foundation of society, determining its political and legal superstructures.123
  • Capitalist Contradiction: The text analyzes the transition from feudalism to capitalism, asserting that capitalism is inherently contradictory. It creates two opposing classes: the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production, and the proletariat, or working class.143
  • Revolution and Communism: Marx and Engels declared that the bourgeoisie produces its own grave-diggers. They argued that the proletariat would inevitably overthrow the ruling class, abolish private property, and establish a society where the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.14