In, The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx is reacting to the quest for an ideal society by describing his vision of a perfectly balanced soci

However, in order to institute communism, (which is the greatest good according to Marx) a revolution is necessary. Revolution does not necessarily mean violence. However, in this case violence will be difficult to avoid, and Marx states that violence may be necessary. Marx wrote several passages regarding this. What is being described here is clearly nothing less than a revolution, a complete reversal in thought and society. Marx describes the first step in this revolution. "We have seen above, that the first step in the revolution by the working class, is to raise the proletariat to the position of ruling class, to win the battle of democracy" (Marx 64). So it is clear that the first step is to raise the proletariat to the ruling class, but how is this done? Marx writes that "…we traced the more or less veiled civil war, raging within existing society, up to the point where that war breaks out into open revolution, and where the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie lays the foundation for the sway of the proletariat" (Marx 56). He speaks directly of violence when he says that, "If the proletariat during its contest with the bourgeoisie is compelled, by the force of circumstances, to organize itself as a class, if, by means of a revolution, it makes itself the ruling class, and, as such, sweeps away by force the old condition of production…" (Marx 75). If the proletariat is forced to violence, then violence should be taken, because it is for the greater good. Marx puts it all together in one final statement. "In short, the Communists everywhere support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order of things." (Marx 86).

ety, a communist society. Simply put, a communist society is one where all property is held in common. No one person has more than the other, but rather everyone shares in the fruits of their labors. Marx is writing of this society because, he believes it to be the best form of society possible. He believes that communism creates the correct balance between the needs of the individual, and the needs of society. He also believes that sometimes violence is necessary to reach the state of communism. This paper will reflect upon these two topics: the relationship of the individual and society, and the issue of violence, as each is portrayed in the manifesto.

After all this, however, it is clear that Marx makes some rather remarkable assumptions regarding human nature. First, he believes that it is inevitable that the proletariat will realize that things are not as they should be, and that something needs to be done about it. Secondly, he believes that people will know the correct amount of violence necessary to achieve their goals, and will not exceed that. Finally, he assumes that once the state of communism is reached, that there will be no dissenters that will try to take advantage of the situation and raise themselves up. The rule of Stalin and Lenin are good examples of people taking an opportunity to exploit and oppress. The idea of communism would appear to be just that, an idea, an ideal. It may not necessarily be bad to try to approach it, but because human nature is necessarily flawed in all likelihood communism will never be reached in full.

With these thoughts in mind, a more defined view of the individual classes can be attained. First, the proletariat: in several places Marx speaks of how the proletariat is oppressed. He speaks of past societies and the current society when he says, "Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed…" (Marx 41). Bourgeoisie and proletariat could quite comfortably be added to this list of oppressor and oppressed. In every way the proletariat is oppressed, with no hope of improving the lot they have been given, or of raising themselves up. Rather, they are forced to march on hopelessly, knowing that they will not

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Approximate Word count = 2766
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)