February 21: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel published the Communist Manifesto in 1848, officially Manifesto of The Communist Party.

Cover of the Communist Manifesto's initial publication in 1848 in London by a group of German political refugees.

The Communist Manifesto has been one of the most widely read publications of political theory and sociology, it presents an analytical approach to the history of class struggle and the problems of capitalism of the nineteenth century. According to Marx and Engels, the history of mankind has been a continuous struggle of classes between the exploiters and the exploited.

First cover with the names of Karl Marx and Frederick Engel

The Manifesto introduces an approach to the historical class struggle as well as the present one. It also analyses the problems of the capitalist system and its mode of production. According to Marx and Engels’ theories about the nature of politics and society, they wrote: “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”.

The Communist Manifesto has a Preamble: “A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Pope and Tsar, Metternich and Guizot, French Radicals and German police-spies.”

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

The primary objective of communists and the revolutionary proletariat is the abolition of private property, for it is this that keeps them enslaved.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

The abolition of private property, the appeal to the workers of the world to unite and a new means of production are taken to concentrate them in a socialist world that eventually will develop into communism.

Marx coined the phrase: "Workers of the world unite! " to overthrow the capitalist society to be replaced by socialism, and then finally to communism.