The Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto is the most influential political pamphlet in history, a work whose opening declaration — "A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism" — and closing rallying cry — "Workers of the world, unite!" — have reverberated across nearly two centuries of political struggle. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels articulated a theory of class conflict and historical materialism that would reshape the political landscape of the entire world, leading directly to the formation of the Soviet Union, Maoist China, and the global confrontation of the Cold War.

Issued in February 1848, on the eve of the wave of revolutions that swept across Europe that year, The Communist Manifesto provided the theoretical framework for radical political movements that would transform the twentieth century. Its influence extends from the Paris Commune of 1871 through the Russian Revolution of 1917 to the establishment of communist states across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, making it arguably the most consequential political text since the Bible.