Preface

I chose to create a word cloud from the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. As a junior nearing the end of college, I have been thinking a lot about the economy. When discussing economic systems, Marx is sure to come up. Written shortly after the industrial revolution, this piece discusses the class struggle and the issues with capitalism.

What is the Communist Manifesto about? The easy answer would be communism, however, the easiest answer is not always the best or only answer. Although communism is a central theme; it is clear from this word cloud that Marx spends a majority of the text discussing the class struggle. Marx frequently uses the terms bourgeois and bourgeoisie, proletariat, and class. The emphasis on the classes and struggle between them is demonstrated visually in the word cloud. This emphasis is central to understanding the goal of the text. A discussion of economic systems boils down to the class system. Another word that appears at a decent size in the word cloud is feudal. The feudal system encompasses the relation between economic and class systems. Although feudalism has mostly died out, that idea is still present in the conflict between communism and capitalism. The bourgeois class controls the means of production (both “means” and “production” are prominent in the word cloud). Marx argues that the bourgeois reap the rewards of the hard work done by the proletariat class. The word cloud is a perfect visual representation of the arguments and underlying themes in the Communist Manifesto.

Word Cloud made via wordle.net