German philosopher Karl Marx is best known for co-writing The Communist Manifesto alongside Frederich Engles. The Communist Manifesto is a political pamphlet that laid the base for modern communism. In the political pamphlet, Marx argued that the capitalist system would eventually destruct within itself and be replaced by socialism and communism. Marx breaks down society into four classes and establishes his opinion on each of them throughout the text. The four classes consist of; the bourgeoisie, petty bourgeoisie, proletariat, and peasants. The bourgeoisie owned the means of production and constantly exploited the proletariat. Concerning the petty bourgeoisie, they consisted of small business owners, for example, merchants and shop owners. The peasants were not a key component in The Communist Manifesto. However, they were still a mentioned class. The proletariat made up the majority of the population of Europe and was a product of the industrial revolution. According to Marx, the proletariat was the working class who owned no means of production and were exploited by the bourgeoisie. He viewed the system of laborers working for low wages while the manufacturers exploited and profited from them, an unfair class differential and gave more power to the ruling class. In Marx’s view, the proletariat was the most significant class when it came to implementing communism among societies because of their large population; they could unionize together and overthrow the ruling classes.

In terms of material interest for the proletariat, there is little to none due to the fact the only way they can survive is through the wages for their labor. The proletariat did not want to own land, and they wanted to abolish the fact that people could own land.The manufacturer’s exploitation of the proletariat caused them to have less of material interest and rather a larger political interest. Marx argued that the proletariat’s oppression from the manufacturers fueled their desire to unite against the ruling classes. The industrial revolution was a time of change amongst Europe and changed the means of production as a whole. More people began to lose their jobs due to the industrial revolution creating machines that could do it for them. With the industrial revolution taking effect over Europe, the working class continued to grow in population. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx states, “The real fruit of their battles lies, not in the immediate result, but in the ever-expanding union of the workers.” (The Communist Manifesto, 19). This statement made by Marx indicates that the growing working class will not have an immediate result due to their necessity for the wages they are given. However, over time as the population and political interest grow of the proletariat, the cause for a reason to unionize will grow as well. Marx values the steady growth of the working class because it will help lead to a revolution over the ruling class and encourages the bourgeoisie to continue how they are working their means of production so that it can lead to a revolution. The proletariat will only put up with the low wages and labor for so long, and their political interest will grow along with their union; they have the power to overthrow the ruling class due to their large population.

Similar to darwins theory of evolution, Marx developed an idea concerning history. Marx’s theory of history is that all things are subject to constant change. An example of some things subject to continuous change is the proletariat’s political interests and stability in relation to the intensive labor they partake in. Marx writes, “The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working Men of All Countries, Unite!” (The Communist Manifesto, 34). This is undoubtedly one of the most notable quotes from the communist manifesto. Marx implicates to the working class that they genuinely have nothing to lose but the chains that keep them under the ruling class. He encourages them to unionize against the ruling class to start a revolution. The ultimate goal of this revolution was to eliminate the social classes and the ruling class owning the means of production.

Karl Marx had negative emotions and comments towards the bourgeoisie; however, he wanted them to continue their means of production so that the proletariat could unionize against them. In Marx’s view, The proletariat was the most significant class when it came to the implementation of communism among societies because of their large population. With the theory of history, the proletariat’s political interests will continue to grow and eventually overpower the bourgeoisie.