Communist Manifesto

Communist Manifesto Glossary

Bourgeoisie

"[B]y bourgeoisie is meant the class of modern Capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage labor" (79). The bourgeoisie developed out of feudalism and will be destroyed by the proletariat, whom they necessary exploit on account of their economic position.

Capital

Money, or the bourgeois form of private property used to produce wealth. Exchange of capital replaces the exchange of commodities in feudal economies. Labor is valued in terms of capital, and workers receive monetary wages in compensation for their work.

Capitalism

An economic system based on the exchange of capital.

Communism

A form of socialism proposed by Karl Marx which intends to effect socialist reforms by advocating a revolution of the proletariat.

Dialectic

A process by which one element, the thesis, is contradicted by an opposing element, the antithesis. This contradiction is resolved by a synthesis of the thesis and antithesis. The synthesis then becomes the new thesis and the sequence repeats. This is the process by which Marx believes history proceeds, a dialectic of class antagonism. The proletariat victory will be an end to the dialectic and thus an end to history.

Proletariat

"[B]y proletariat [is meant] the class of modern-wage laborers who, having no means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live" (79). The proletariat developed as a result of bourgeois capitalism, but their economic condition deteriorates as the bourgeois economic condition improves. This reciprocal relationship will eventually cause the proletariat to rise up and destroy the bourgeoisie.

Socialism

A social system which favors collective ownership of the means of economic production and distribution