Communism: A Perfect Concept, Ruined by Greed

The opinion of communism in American culture has been negative for as long as com-munism has been around. Throughout history, the United States, has told its citizens that com-munism is evil, taught children in schools that it is a dangerous idea, and has even gone to war to prevent the spread of it in foreign nations. But is it really that "evil" of an idea? In The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the idea of communism is painted in a much different picture than what is depicted in the United States. Although it was a controversial concept at the time, Marx published this work in 1848, and he provided a convincing case for the benefits of communism. He does this by comparing and criticizing the social classes of citizens throughout history while utilizing different types of appeals to convince the reader that this type of govern-ment should be put into action. Marx believed very strongly in the ideas he put forth in this mani-festo and it shows by how aggressively he conveys the benefits and defends the criticism towards his concept; he is in fact so persuasive in the style of his argument that his theories are still relevant today.

Although this manifesto is small, it emanates one of the most recognized and well thought out political arguments in history. The basis of Marx’s reasoning for the use of this type of gov-ernment is seemingly straightforward. He believed all resources in a nation should be distributed equally to all citizens, so that the division of social classes would cease to exist and to make sure there was no exploitation of any citizens. Marx also wanted the abolition of owning private prop-erty, which is the main contributor to the bourgeoisie’s source of wealth. Marx broke this manifes-t...

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...veryone including the bourgeoisie, that the communist government would fall just the same as capitalism does, he logically shows how any government will fail without the support of everyone. The goal of the communist movement was made very clear by Marx, stating, "...formation of the proletariat into a class, the overthrow of the bourgeois supremacy, and the conquest of political power by the proletariat." (467) Here he shows that he wants the proletariat to come out on top and invokes a strong sentiment in the working class appealing to both ethos and pathos. He appeals to both of these by showing the proletarians that they can trust the communist movement, it may take some time, but it certainly the working class' best interests at heart. The last statement also invokes a sense of hope and happiness about what the future possibly has in store for the proletariat.