The Communist Manifesto is missing a Shakespearean Love Affair
October 18, 2022
By Emmie Cromwell - Recent references to Marxism by some of our country’s more courageous journalists have led me to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Unlike many colleges, the engineering school from which I graduated did not deem this vital to being successful in my career. Thus, Marx and Engels were names I’d only heard in passing. But as someone who feels stuck inside a metaphorical MMA Octagon amidst a bloody and ruthless battle, reading this publication seems a bit more pertinent. As much as I dreaded reading something with Manifesto in the title, I couldn’t avoid curiosity.
The Communist Manifesto is a tale of the bourgeoisie (middle to upper-class capitalists) and the proletariat (working class). I am reminded of the Jets and Sharks from West Side Story or the Montagues and Capulets from Romeo and Juliet. While reading Shakespeare is a bit tedious in my opinion, I find comfort in his belief that love can supersede hateful opposition. But rest assured, there are no star-crossed lovers in The Communist Manifesto.
So… what lies within a book that has an undeniably dark history? After reading the first few paragraphs, my concerns about being radicalized were swept away by a theme of anger on the cusp of unhinged. The first line of this manifesto is as follows:
“A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism.”
Way to go Karl and Friedrich! One sentence in and I already have the heebie jeebies. Marx goes on to say that this pamphlet was written to disprove the “nursery tale” of how communism is portrayed. Sadly, while the effort of Marx and his buddies to improve their reputation had no effect on me, their Utopian dream must have appealed to some because history shows real-life examples of communism and the inevitable death and destruction left in its wake.
As Marx and Engels espoused a terrifying philosophy that likens people to robots, I ponder the intrigue it cultivates in academia. Marx writes:
“… 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.”
I’d love to ask those tenured professors who clutch this manifesto like a binky if the plight of the working class is their true motivation for treating the words of Marx and Engels as scripture.
As a citizen of democracy, even in its current state of skin and bones, I recognize that its blessings create a problem for current communists (aka wokesters) chomping at the bit to convert the United States. The working class that Marx pronounced victims in 1848 are the very people communists now demonize. As someone who has held several blue-collar jobs, most notably one in which I collected trash on a production floor, it was clear that a functioning democracy had meaning to many working-class people. I am reminded of the childlike elation upon shift’s end when employees exited into the parking lot where late afternoon gave breath to their blessed freedom.
The futility of preaching socialist ideals to working-class citizens of the US is well understood. This population is no longer of use to them as they seek the creation of an opposition army in step with the Marxist blueprint for overthrowing a government.
The demonization of our country’s working class was an unexpected twist resulting from an updated playbook that gave birth to a different group of victims. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels made clear, that the philosophical utopia of communism relied on people who felt victimized. Current communists have made an effort to manipulate groups who were previously oppressed or who feel in danger of oppression. This is what I deem part of the “despotic inroads” Marx refers to in his effort to ensure all are stripped of their personal property and that which human nature thrives upon; hard work, family, religion, and hope.
It seems that present-day communists have revised their original manifesto to eliminate real-life vulnerabilities discovered while in pursuit of their Utopian nonsense. One notable change is the outlook on religion. Perhaps I am biased based on the historical efforts of communists, but I sensed the approach recommended by Marx and Engels hinted at compliance through force. But tearing down churches, threatening people, or murdering them does not result in one’s abandonment of their religion and subsequent pledging of allegiance to the communist ideals. So… what does one do to create more peaceful compliance? Well, I am beginning to recognize a slow and methodical infiltration of politics into churches which has opened the bible up to radical philosophical interpretation. This endeavor is clearly effective.
Another notable change is the way by which the emotional ties between parents and children are cut; a necessity for the prevention of outside connections that could interfere with the communist endgame of utopia. Socialized education has presented children with an agreed-upon virtuous doctrine with the understanding that parents will likely challenge what their kids now deem unchallengeable. The result is either tension or an end to their relationship. While the spread of wokeism on college campuses has been a poorly disguised reality for some time, the repercussions are a production line of young, angry activists with no actual knowledge to back up their beliefs and no tolerance for oppositional opinions. The most obvious example is the collegiate manufacture of journalists who veil their wokeness and manipulate an audience to believe they are wholesome, democracy-lovers. They spread the word of communism with brilliant eloquence while igniting hatred that is conveniently directed at conservatives. It is a war waged by the media and government leaders on a group of people who just want to be left alone. But what amazes me most about these journalists is their ability to convince audiences that an entire group of people are their enemy without presenting any proof. It’s quite disturbing to see that the very people who despise a group are the only people who can speak for this group.
But when considering this despicable game from the perspective of wokesters, it’s easy to recognize the importance of maintaining their heroic facade. Conservatives are the biggest threat to this because they know the secret. Democrats have been on the wrong side of history during some of our darkest times and would lose face should their followers discover for example; that the KKK was founded and run by democrats, or that the president responsible for abolishing slavery was a white republican named Abraham Lincoln.
What this book clearly lacks is an understanding or perhaps just disinterest in the uniqueness of each human. This has always been the disconnect between those who want to control others and those who want to be left alone. The controllers believe we can assimilate into oneness as evidenced by a calculated effort to blur the line between male and female genders. A significant group of young people in our country lack self-awareness, a critical characteristic for maintaining democracy. I never imagined there would be so many college professors lacking any sense of morality and willing to conjure a leviathan of woke college-age students. The good news is that many parents with younger children recognize this effort and have begun adjusting accordingly. This is a perfect example of our differences. As much as communists change the playbook, there will always be a group of democracy lovers who are smarter and more resilient.
The Communist Manifesto is the work of narcissists. Marx and Engels believed themselves intelligent enough to know what was best for an entire population with a level of certainty that, in their opinion, warranted forced compliance. But was utopia really their endgame? Perhaps, but this would suggest that Marx and Engels were morons, a characteristic that their writing did not portray. So, if stupidity is off the table, then I can only assume that the actual purpose for embracing communism was to appease their OCD and/or to achieve power.
There you go; I have officially read The Communist Manifesto. It is a distressing rant espousing ideas that have been implemented on multiple occasions with predictably dangerous repercussions. There is undoubtedly a scent of Marxism permeating our present world. For those who consider Communism a great idea, I hope they will take the time to meet people from other states, with different financial situations, different views on the world, and unique knowledge. Clearly, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels didn’t do a lot of co-mingling with those they thoroughly despised.
Hmmm… expressing disgust for people to whom one has never actually spoken… Sounds like some of our leaders are taking notes from The Communist Manifesto.