Karl Marx, the author of the Communist Manifesto, was a well known philosopher, activist, revolutionary, social theorist, and economist. He is regarded as having very influential theories in regards to capitalism and communism. In his pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto, Marx goes on to focus and explain four economic classes; the bourgeoisie, the petty bourgeoisie, the proletariat, and the peasants. One in particular will be discussed in this essay, the bourgeoisie. Marx does not like the bourgeoisie, he believes that they are not good for society. The bourgeoisie control the means of production and exploit the working proletariat. This class, shared by Marx, is made up of, “…modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage labour” (The Communist Manifesto, 14). The bourgeoisie is the social class that came to own the means of production during modern industrialization and have deep concern in regards to their value of property and the preservation of capital to ensure the perpetuation of their economic supremacy in society.The bourgeoisie and the proletariat are often in conflict with one another. The material interests of the bourgeoisie were to have total control over the proletariat, in order to make as much financial gain as they possibly could. Along with that material interest, Marx mentions, “the bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionising the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society” (The Communist Manifesto, 16). Marx goes on to share that in order for the bourgeoisie to be successful, they must show great desire and interest into newly revolutionized products, which can benefit them and their business. In a book written by Karl Marx, “The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte”, Marx goes on to state, “but unheroic as bourgeoisie society is, it nevertheless took heroism, sacrifice, terror, civil war and battles of peoples to bring it into being” (The 18th Brumaire, 16). Karl Marx makes sure to use the word “unheroic” in his description of what the bourgeoisie had done because he still wants to get his point across about how he still despises them.

Marx believes that the political interests of the bourgeoisie is imperialism. This is because in The Communist Manifesto, Marx states, “it has created enormous cities, has greatly increased the urban population as compared with the rural…” (The Communist Manifesto, 17). Imperialism is defined as a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force, and in this case, extending the power of the bourgeoisie class. The bourgeoisie would extend their power by, “…[creating] more massive and more colossal productive forces than have all preceding generations together” (The Communist Manifesto, 17). With the mass population of these work forces, which were made up of the proletariat, it allowed them to create huge means of production, which grossed tons of money, and money meant power. Not only were the political interests of the bourgeoisie thought to be imperialism by Marx, but also capitalism. This is shows in The Communist Manifesto when Marx states, “Modern bourgeois society, with its relations of production, of exchange and of property, a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production and of exchange…” (The Communist Manifesto, 17). Capitalism is defined as an economic and political system in which trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. In this case, all means of trade and production in the country were controlled by the bourgeoisie, not by the government. If the government were to try to intervene with this, by either implementing taxes or trying to gain a part of the benefits, the bourgeoisie would end up revolting against the government.

The political interests of the bourgeoisie advance its material interests for many reasons. One being that their capitalist interests make the bourgeoisie have a market-centered focus. This mentality helped with the control of commerce and capital, which made the bourgeoisie a potent rival to the aristocracy in a number of European countries. Along with this political interest, their material interest in the labor of the proletariat also increased, mainly in part because of how easily they could be exploited. And lastly, the belief in Free Trade came about because of how much this class as a whole could benefit from it

In conclusion, Karl Marx writes The Communist Manifesto, along with “The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte” to explain how bad the bourgeoisie class is, and goes on to encourage the proletariat to overthrow them returning to the previous society they had.