Aug 1, 2026 · 29 min · 9 segments
Kicking off section 2 of The Communist Manifesto, Luke digs into some of the specific changes to our economic system that Communists are demanding. In a word; Abolish private property! If you'd like…
Luke BrooksHost
In what relation do the Communists stand to the proletarians as a whole? The Communists do not form a separate party opposed to other working class parties.
They have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole.
They do not set up any sectarian principles of their own by which to shape and mold the proletariat movement.
The Communists are distinguished from the other working class parties by this only: One, in the national struggles of the proletarians of different countries, they point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of all nationality.
Two, in the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie has to pass through, they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole.
The Communists, therefore, are, on the one hand, practically the most advanced and resolute section of the working class parties of every country, that section which pushes forward all others.
On the other hand, theoretically, they have over the great mass of the proletariat the advantage of clearly understanding the line of march, the conditions, and the ultimate general results of the proletarian movement.
The immediate aim of the Communists is the same as that of all the other proletarian parties: formation of the proletariat into a class, overthrow of the bourgeois of supremacy, conquest of political power by the proletariat.
The theoretical conclusions of the Communists are in no way based on ideas or principles that have been invented or discovered by this or that would-be universal reformer.
They merely express, in general terms, actual relations springing from an existing class struggle, from a historical movement going on under our very eyes.
The abolition of existing property relations is not at all a distinctive feature of communism.
And now I think we need to take a pause here and go over a lot of these pretty big declarative statements as to what communism even is.
Number one, talking about how communism must inherently be an international movement.
Communists are in all ways seeking to have solidarity with the proletariat over other divides like nationality.
It doesn't matter if you're a worker in the United States, Germany, France, China.
Everyone is laboring under the bourgeoisie, and therefore we are all allies of each other.
Which I think is really solidified in point two as well, when he's talking about how, in all ways, the communists are going to represent the working class movement as a whole.
As in, it doesn't matter what the exact conditions are when it comes to the way that the working class is struggling against the bourgeoisie.
In every case, the communist is going to be on the side of the working class because they are on the side of the oppressed and not the oppressor.
Marx and Engels go on to talk about what honestly, I think could be a third point in this list, which is that in every case, communists are going to be on the leading edge of any proletariat movement.
While there may be other socialist parties who are trying to advance the proletariat, who are fighting back against the bourgeoisie, and communists are not special in that regard, communists are committed to being the ones who are pushing hardest, who are pushing all of these other parties to go further and harder in the pursuit of overthrowing the bourgeoisie.
Theoretically, someone could hold socialist ideals, but then still cooperate and organize with capitalist factions in order to achieve their short-term goals.
In what relation do the Communists stand to the proletarians as a whole? The Communists do not form a separate party opposed to other working class parties.
They have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole.
They do not set up any sectarian principles of their own by which to shape and mold the proletariat movement.
The Communists are distinguished from the other working class parties by this only: One, in the national struggles of the proletarians of different countries, they point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of all nationality.
Two, in the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie has to pass through, they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole.
The Communists, therefore, are, on the one hand, practically the most advanced and resolute section of the working class parties of every country, that section which pushes forward all others.
On the other hand, theoretically, they have over the great mass of the proletariat the advantage of clearly understanding the line of march, the conditions, and the ultimate general results of the proletarian movement.
The immediate aim of the Communists is the same as that of all the other proletarian parties: formation of the proletariat into a class, overthrow of the bourgeois of supremacy, conquest of political power by the proletariat.
The theoretical conclusions of the Communists are in no way based on ideas or principles that have been invented or discovered by this or that would-be universal reformer.
They merely express, in general terms, actual relations springing from an existing class struggle, from a historical movement going on under our very eyes.
The abolition of existing property relations is not at all a distinctive feature of communism.
And now I think we need to take a pause here and go over a lot of these pretty big declarative statements as to what communism even is.
Number one, talking about how communism must inherently be an international movement.
Communists are in all ways seeking to have solidarity with the proletariat over other divides like nationality.
It doesn't matter if you're a worker in the United States, Germany, France, China.
Everyone is laboring under the bourgeoisie, and therefore we are all allies of each other.
Which I think is really solidified in point two as well, when he's talking about how, in all ways, the communists are going to represent the working class movement as a whole.
As in, it doesn't matter what the exact conditions are when it comes to the way that the working class is struggling against the bourgeoisie.
In every case, the communist is going to be on the side of the working class because they are on the side of the oppressed and not the oppressor.
Marx and Engels go on to talk about what honestly, I think could be a third point in this list, which is that in every case, communists are going to be on the leading edge of any proletariat movement.
While there may be other socialist parties who are trying to advance the proletariat, who are fighting back against the bourgeoisie, and communists are not special in that regard, communists are committed to being the ones who are pushing hardest, who are pushing all of these other parties to go further and harder in the pursuit of overthrowing the bourgeoisie.
Theoretically, someone could hold socialist ideals, but then still cooperate and organize with capitalist factions in order to achieve their short-term goals.
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