166th Anniversary of the Communist Manifesto

The Proletarian Front Appears

in All Its Determination and Splendour!

Revolutionary leaders Frederick Engels and Karl ar!" authors o# the $ommunist ani#esto" %hich decisively
summed up the communists& e!perience and outlook" and the historic role o# the %orking class'
The Communist Manifesto published in February 1848 declares, "A spectre is hauntin !urope "" the
spectre of communism# $###%
"&t is hih time that Communists should openly, in the face of the 'hole 'orld, publish their vie's,
their aims, their tendencies, and meet this nursery tale of the (pectre of Communism 'ith a manifesto
of the party itself# $###%
"The Communists disdain to conceal their vie's and aims# They openly declare that their ends can be
attained only by the forcible overthro' of all e)istin social conditions# *et the rulin classes tremble
at a Communistic revolution# The proletarians have nothin to lose but their chains# They have a 'orld
to 'in#
Workers of All Countries, Unite!"
The heroic 'ords of the Manifesto summed up the practice of the +roletarian Front and fashioned its
aim for the emancipation of the 'or,in class and elimination of social classes and class society# -ith
breathta,in scope, the Communist Manifesto 'ritten by the t'o most active and leadin
revolutionaries of !urope, .arl Mar) and Frederic, !nels, analy/ed the current conditions and
revie'ed the history of classes and class strule# The Manifesto issues a clarion call for the proletariat
to deepen the orani/ation of itself into a political front capable of the con0uest of political po'er to
constitute itself the nation and free it from boureois rule#
"The immediate aim of the Communists is the same as that of all other proletarian parties1 formation of
the proletariat into a class, overthro' of the boureois supremacy, con0uest of political po'er by the
proletariat#
"The theoretical conclusions of the Communists are in no 'ay based on ideas or principles that have
been invented, or discovered, by this or that 'ould"be universal reformer#
"They merely e)press, in eneral terms, actual relations sprinin from an e)istin class strule, from
a historical movement oin on under our very eyes#" 23nless cited other'ise, all 0uotations are from
the Communist Manifesto#4
Mar) and !nels presented to the 'orld a livin dialectic of history and the tas,s ahead usin as uide
the philosophical considerations of dialectical and historical materialism only recently elaborated in
their 5oint 'or, The German Ideology#
6oth men for years consciously participated in revolutionary acts to orani/e the proletarian movement
for emancipation on the political, economic, social and theoretical fronts# They 'ere leadin members
of the Communist *eaue, 'hich held its (econd Conress in *ondon from 7ovember 89 to :ecember
8, 184;# The (econd Conress 'as a reat victory for the +roletarian Front, and upon its instructions,
Mar) and !nels 'ere as,ed to sum up the movement and ive 'ritten form to its revolutionary
outloo, and theoretical and practical proram in a Manifesto of the Communist +arty#
The result is a livin dialectic that 5umps from every
pae 'ith its rich analysis of the conditions, tas,s and
aims of the proletarian movement for emancipation#
The present dialectic is the title of "Chapter <ne ""
6oureois and +roletarians#"
"The history of all hitherto e)istin society is the
history of class strules#
"Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and
serf, uild"master and 5ourneyman, in a 'ord,
oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition
to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, no'
hidden, no' open fiht, a fiht that each time ended,
either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at
lare, or in the common ruin of the contendin
classes# $###%
"The modern boureois society that has sprouted from
the ruins of feudal society has not done a'ay 'ith
class antaonisms# &t has but established ne' classes,
ne' conditions of oppression, ne' forms of strule
in place of the old ones#
"<ur epoch, the epoch of the boureoisie, possesses,
ho'ever, this distinct feature1 it has simplified class
antaonisms# (ociety as a 'hole is more and more
splittin up into t'o reat hostile camps, into t'o
reat classes directly facin each other "" 6oureoisie
and +roletariat#"
7ever before has the oppressed class of any society had such clarity of direction to overthro' its

$over o# the #irst edition o# the $ommunist ani#esto"
in (erman'
oppressor, never before has the reality of the ob5ective 'orld and a 'ay for'ard been presented 'ith
such precision# The ob5ective class contradictions drive society either to their resolution or into ruin#
-ith the Communist Manifesto, 'ith Contemporary Mar)ist"*eninist Thouht, the 'or,in class has
been iven the tools of developin its sub5ective conditions on par 'ith the ob5ective conditions to
drive history for'ard 'ith conscious unity and determination#
"&n boureois society, livin labour is but a means to increase accumulated labour# &n Communist
society, accumulated labour is but a means to 'iden, to enrich, to promote the e)istence of the labourer#
"&n boureois society, therefore, the past dominates the present= in Communist society, the present
dominates the past# &n boureois society, capital is independent and has individuality, 'hile the livin
person is dependent and has no individuality#
"$The% proletariat must first of all ac0uire political supremacy, must rise to be the leadin class of the
nation, must constitute itself the nation# $###%"
The Manifesto not only states the aim of the +roletarian Front, it embodies dialectical and historical
materialism, the philosophy of the 'or,in class# &t sho's ho' to analy/e the ob5ective conditions of
the present and use the past to add clarity to the contradictions of the present and ho' to resolve them#
&n this 'ay, the Manifesto is a livin breathin document that ains sinificance as conditions chane#
As the proletarian front analy/es the current conditions as they present themselves, the Manifesto
encouraes this attempt as it sho's in practice ho' it can be done#
As a livin dialectic, the content of Mar)ism continually evolves 'ith the unfoldin conditions and
their analysis# "The present dominates the past#" And so it is 'ith the Manifesto as it evolves 'ith the
developin class strule into somethin even more compellin# T'enty"three years after its
appearance, Mar) and !nels alluded to the endurin 0uality of the Manifesto as lon as the +roletarian
Front bases itself on a concrete analysis of the concrete conditions# &n their +reface to the 18;8 >erman
!dition of the Manifesto, they specifically point to a development in their thin,in correspondin to the
ob5ective conditions1
"The practical application of the principles 'ill depend, as the Manifesto itself states, every'here and
at all times, on the historical conditions for the time bein e)istin, and, for that reason, no special
stress is laid on the revolutionary measures proposed at the end of (ection &&# That passae 'ould, in
many respects, be very differently 'orded today# &n vie' of the iantic strides of Modern &ndustry
since 1848, and of the accompanyin improved and e)tended orani/ation of the 'or,in class, in
vie' of the practical e)perience ained, first in the February ?evolution $1848%, and then, still more, in
the +aris Commune $18;1%, 'here the proletariat for the first time held political po'er for t'o 'hole
months, this proramme has in some details been anti0uated# <ne thin especially 'as proved by the
Commune, vi/#, that @the 'or,in class cannot simply lay hold of the ready"made state machinery, and
'ield it for its o'n purposes#@ 2(ee The Civil War in France: Address of the General Council of the
International Working Men's Association, !", 'here this point is further developed#4"
The Manifesto teaches the 'or,in class to be viilant to defend the proletarian outloo,, theory and
practice under all conditions# The Manifesto presents clearly and succinctly the various political
tendencies of the time in competition 'ith the +roletarian Front, 'hich attempt to bloc, the 'or,in
class from becomin a thin,in orani/ed force in its o'n interest and capable of resolvin the
ob5ective class contradictions# The Manifesto analy/es the main socialist tendencies of the present and
past to arm the +roletarian Front for the strule it faces1
"Chapter &&&# (ocialist and Communist *iterature
"1# ?eactionary (ocialism
"8# Conservative or 6oureois (ocialism
"A# Critical"3topian (ocialism and Communism"
This content teaches the +roletarian Front to be conscious and a'are of the political subterfues of the
boureoisie# The class enemy consciously and spontaneously orani/es roups and tendencies callin
themselves socialists and Mar)ists to undermine the proletariat on the political, theoretical and
ideoloical fronts# &n this reard, the boureoisie becomes ever more e)perienced even posin as
Mar)ists# !nels repeats a comment 'here Mar) famously said of a self"proclaimed "Mar)ist" roup in
France1 "-hat is ,no'n as @Mar)ism@ in France is, indeed, an altoether peculiar product "" so much so
that Mar) once said to *afarue1 @Ce #u'il y a de certain c'est #ue moi, $e ne suis %as Mar&iste'#" 2"&f
anythin is certain, it is that & myself am not a Mar)ist#" "" !nels@ letter of 7ovember 1888 to !duard
6ernstein4

)arricade esta*lished *y the %orkers at the Paris commune" arch +," +,-+'
European Socialism Revises and De#ames the $ommunist
ani#esto
The importance of a thin,in +roletarian Front that is conscious of socialist tendencies and the
necessity to defend the purity of Mar)ism intensified in the period after the deaths of Mar) and !nels
durin the rise of imperialism at the turn of the century# !uropean socialism sub5ected Mar)ism and the
Communist Manifesto to a revision of its ideoloy to ma,e it acceptable to the imperialist boureoisie#
The 'orst e)ample of revisionism and its betrayal of the Communist Manifesto 'as the capitulation of
!uropean socialism to the imperialist 'ar of 1914#
Bladimir *enin 'rites of the deeneration of !uropean socialism into revisionism and social"
chauvinism1
"(ocial"chauvinism is advocacy of the idea of @defence of the fatherland@ in the present 'ar $--&%#
Further, this idea loically leads to the abandonment of the class strule durin the 'ar, to votin 'ar
credits, etc# $###% The social"chauvinists repeat the boureois deception of the people that the 'ar is
bein 'aed to protect the freedom and e)istence of nations, and thereby they o over to the side of the
boureoisie aainst the proletariat# $###% (ocial"chauvinism, bein actually defence of the privilees,
advantaes, robbery and violence of one@s @o'n@ 2or every4 imperialist boureoisie, is the utter betrayal
of all socialist convictions and of the decision of the 6asle &nternational (ocialist Conress# $###% The
manifesto on 'ar that 'as unanimously adopted in 6asle in 1911 had in vie' the very 'ar bet'een
!nland and >ermany and their present allies that bro,e out in 1914# The manifesto openly declares
that no plea of the interests of the people can 5ustify such a 'ar, 'aed @for the sa,e of the profits of the
capitalists@ and @the ambitions of dynasties@ on the basis of the imperialist, predatory policy of the reat
po'ers# $###% The 6asle Manifesto lays do'n, precisely for the present 'ar, the tactics of revolutionary
strule by the 'or,ers on an international scale aainst their overnments, the tactics of proletarian
revolution# The 6asle Manifesto repeats the statement in the (tuttart resolution that, in the event of
'ar brea,in out, (ocialists must ta,e advantae of the @economic and political crisis@ it 'ill cause, to
@hasten the do'nfall of capitalism,@ i#e#, to ta,e advantae of the overnments@ embarrassments and the
aner of the masses, caused by the 'ar, for the socialist revolution#
"The policy of the social"chauvinists, their 5ustification of the 'ar from the boureois"liberation
standpoint, their sanctionin of @defence of the fatherland,@ votin credits, enterin cabinets, and so on
and so forth, is do'nriht treachery to (ocialism, 'hich can be e)plained only, as 'e 'ill see lo'er
do'n, by the victory of opportunism and of the national"liberal labour policy in the ma5ority of
!uropean parties# $###% 7ot a sinle Mar)ist has any doubt that opportunism e)presses boureois policy
'ithin the 'or,in"class movement, e)presses the interests of the petty boureoisie and the alliance of
a tiny section of boureoisified 'or,ers 'ith @their' boureoisie aainst the interests of the proletarian
masses, the oppressed masses# $###% <pportunism and social"chauvinism have the same ideoloical"
political content1 collaboration of classes instead of class strule, renunciation of revolutionary
methods of strule, helpin one@s @o'n@ overnment in its embarrassed situation instead of ta,in
advantae of these embarrassments for revolution# $###% <pportunism has @matured,@ is no' playin to
the full its role as emissary of the boureois in the 'or,in"class movement# $###% 'nity 'ith the
opportunists actually means today, subordinatin the 'or,in class to @its@ national boureoisie, alliance
'ith it for the purpose of oppressin other nations and of fihtin for reat"po'er privilees, it means
s%litting the revolutionary proletariat in all countries# $###% $!uropean socialists% rob Mar)ism of its
revolutionary livin spirit= they reconise everything in Mar)ism e&ce%t revolutionary methods of
strule, the preachin of and preparation for such methods, and the trainin of the masses precisely in
this direction# $###% The 'or,in class cannot play its 'orld"revolutionary role unless it 'aes a ruthless
strule aainst this reneacy 2apostasy4, spinelessness, subservience to opportunism and une)ampled
vulari/ation of the theories of Mar)ism# $###% $!uropean socialism is% a combination of loyalty to
Mar)ism in 'ords and subordination to opportunism in deeds#" 2(ocialism and War )) The Attitude of
the *ussian (ocial)+emocratic ,a-our .arty To/ards the War, 191C4

.'I' /enin declares Soviet po%er at the historic meeting o# the Second All0Russia $ongress o# Soviets at )olshevik
head1uarters 2the Smolny Institute3" St' Peters*urg" Russia" 4ovem*er -" +5+-' Pictured alongside /enin are other
mem*ers o# the )olshevik leadership6 7oseph Stalin" Feli! D8her8hinsky and 9akov Sverdlov 2le#t to right3'
(Detail from "Lenin proclaims Soviet power" by la!imir Serov, "#$%&
The adherence of the ?ussian (ocial":emocratic *abour +arty 26olshevi,s4 to Mar)ism in 'ords and
deeds and to the principles of the Communist Manifesto allo'ed the 'or,in class in ?ussia to play its
'orld"revolutionary role 'ith the victory of the +roletarian Front in alliance 'ith the peasantry in the
191; >reat <ctober (ocialist ?evolution# The formation of the first nation"buildin pro5ect of the
'or,in class proved the revolutionary thesis in the Communist Manifesto# The <ctober socialist
revolution 'as the livin testament of the Manifesto and advanced it to a ne' stae of Mar)ism"
*eninism in conformity 'ith the ob5ective conditions of monopoly capitalism#
Settling Scores %ith odern Revisionism and the Fight to
)ring Into )eing the :uman Factor;Social $onsciousness
A specific feature of modern revisionism 'as its introduction of boureois politics and outloo, into the
communist and 'or,ers@ movement 'hereby ossip about individuals and events and character
assassination of the fiure of D#B# (talin replaced the critical tas,s of sortin out the problems society
faced in the present, most importantly, the need for the theoretical elaboration of a path for'ard under
socialism# &n this 'ay, modern revisionism diverted attention a'ay from the heroic efforts and victories
of the (oviet peoples in buildin socialism and defendin the nation"buildin pro5ect of the 'or,in
class from imperialist invasion and subversion# The (oviet 3nion under the authority of modern
revisionism deenerated into (oviet social"imperialism in competition 'ith 3#(# imperialism, plunin
the 'orld into the daner of nuclear 'ar# The main feature of this revisionism 'as to bloc, the
+roletarian Front from solvin the problems of developin the socialist revolution to a ne' stae and
e)tendin it throuhout the 'orld#
Eardial 6ains led the formation of the anti"imperialist youth and students@ movement, The
Internationalists, in 196A in Bancouver to settle scores 'ith modern revisionism and rebuild the
+roletarian Front# To uphold the thesis and principles of the Communist Manifesto and to settle scores
'ith modern revisionism re0uire orani/in and buildin the +roletarian Front and developin modern
definitions of the political, economic, cultural and social affairs of today accordin to the ob5ective
conditions# &t demands conscious participation in individual acts of findin out ho' to advance the
proletarian movement for emancipation= it entails collective 'or, and individual responsibility to build
the institutions of the +roletarian Front and to deepen and disseminate Contemporary Mar)ist"*eninist
Thouht#
Eardial 6ains in a preface 'ritten for the 1998 !dition of the 0ecessity for Change pamphlet states1
"$The pamphlet by The Internationalists% puts for'ard the analysis that lays do'n ideoloical
remouldin as the ,ey to the uninterrupted advance and victory of revolution# 6asin themselves on the
concrete contemporary situation and the problems of the 'or,in class movement, The
Internationalists too, up the 0uestions of oranisation and the role of the individual in the
revolutionary transformation 'ithin the conte)t of the 'or, of the collective# To achieve this, The
Internationalists launched their most resolute offensive aainst the prevailin culture in ideoloical and
social forms, so as to prepare the sub5ective forces for revolution in the course of 'ain the
revolutionary class battles#
"The creation of a ne' class, such as the 'or,in class, has brouht forth its o'n ideoloy and social
form 'ith its o'n coherence# The ascendancy of the 'or,in class has left its imprint to the e)tent it is
fihtin for its o'n interests and its o'n ne' coherence# The most distinuishin feature of the
'or,in class, ma,in it so distinct and radically different from all other classes, is that it cannot
emancipate itself 'ithout emancipatin the entire humanity# Thus, its ne' coherence has to be
consistent 'ith its aim of emancipatin the 'hole of humanity#
"The capitalist class, the old class, as it is passin a'ay, has introduced its o'n notions of
emancipation, its o'n corruption into the 'or,in class movement# &t calls upon the 'or,ers to fiht
for @a bier slice of the pie,@ for a redistribution of 'ealth, 'hile ,eepin the old society intact# &t has
created an untenable situation 'hereby the 'or,in class finances its o'n leaders to fiht aainst its
o'n interests#
"6y 196;, these boureois tendencies had also entrenched themselves in the communist movement and
brouht it to the point of li0uidation, aainst 'hich a hue movement developed# A number of
tendencies 'ere ta,in shape in this strule, from purely intellectualisin about 'hat the @most correct@
position should be, to merely lin,in 'ith some centre 'hether in Mosco', 6elrade, 6ei5in, !urope
or any other#
"The Internationalists lin,ed the ideoloical strule and the strule aainst boureois culture 'ith
the concrete 'or, to build and strenthen an oranisation# The 0ecessity for Change 27FC4 analysis
'as directed to'ards ma,in people conscious about this approach# -ith its broad s'eep, the analysis
presented a vision that aroused everyone to underta,e ideoloical 'or, and ta,e up the social forms
consistent 'ith their tas,s# &t 'as a clarion call for the activists, communists and those aspirin to be
communists to brea, 'ith the old conscience, the anti"consciousness, the @particular pre5udices of
society, transmitted throuh parents and social institutions#@ This call 'as lin,ed directly 'ith @see,in
the truth to serve the people#@ The 7FC analysis forcefully provided a 'orld outloo, based on Mar)@s
dialectical and historical materialism as a uide to action and provided a solution to tac,le the problems
of ideoloical strule and social forms# $###%
"The 7FC analysis beins 'ith 'hat is iven# &t analyses the iven to overcome it and to establish 'hat
really is 'ithin those conditions# &t establishes a valuable approach and provides a concrete 'ay to
tac,le reality# &t beins by ta,in up the important 0uestion of history# 3nder the section Eistory"As"
(uch, the 7FC puts for'ard the profound role of history, as opposed to 'hat merely e)ists at the
present time#
"Eistory, accordin to our historicism, beins from the present# &t reveals in precise terms the problem,
'hich has been brouht forth for solution# &t is the solution of this specific problem, 'hich creates
history# &f the problem, as a historical problem, or, if the contradictions 'hich are historical are not
resolved, there 'ill be no for'ard march, and thus no history# $###%
"The 7FC actually made history# &t revealed ho' revolutionary forces could march from point A to

$over o# the Second Edition o# the 4ecessity #or $hange! pamphlet pu*lished in +55,' The design sho%s :ardial
)ains addressing the 4ecessity #or $hange $on#erence o# 9outh and Students in August +5<- and addressing the
Party $on#erence in $hertsey" =ue*ec in August +5,5'
point 6, ensurin that each step becomes a cornerstone in the development of history# Today, as 'as the
case in the si)ties, the ideoloical strule and culture in social form have assumed the first position in
the buildin of a revolutionary oranisation and in the creation of sub5ective conditions for revolution#
For instance, can a communist party be strenthened if it 'ithdra's from the ideoloical strule
aainst the class enemy or 'aes it in an unprofessional, amateurish and spontaneous mannerF The
ans'er is no, it cannot strenthen itself# $###% A Communist +arty, if it is to realise its tas,s in a mature,
professional and on"oin manner, must develop revolutionary culture in ideoloical form, on the one
hand, and the revolutionisation of culture in social form, on the other# The 7FC analysis precisely
establishes the frame'or, for doin so# $###%
"The prevailin factor, 'hich is everythin that the capitalist class hopes 'ould safeuard its future,
can be summed up in its anti"human factorGanti"consciousness# $###% Accordin to the capitalist class,
neither human beins nor their social consciousness play any role in solvin problems# &t places in the
first place private property and the institutions created to defend it, alon 'ith the ideoloy of
irrationalism# The boureoisie subordinates human beins and the human factorGsocial consciousness to
them# The capitalist class uses the anti"human factorGanti"consciousness as a 'eapon aainst all social
forces for chane, development and motion# $###%
"&n all its 'or,, C+C2M"*4 pays first"rate attention to the human factorGsocial consciousness# 7o 'or,
can be realised 'ithout brinin it into play# C+C2M"*4 must be seen as the political party 'hich has as
its main interest to raise the ideoloical, theoretical and political level of the 'or,in class and people
so that they themselves can 'or, out and build that system 'hich 'ill enable them to e)ercise control
over their lives# -hether it is consolidatin an aspect of the 'or, of C+C2M"*4, fihtin the anti"social
offensive or 'innin the battle for a pro"social aenda, the first problem 'hich arises is of the human
factorGsocial consciousness# -hat is the state of the human factorGsocial consciousnessF -hat is needed
to brin it on par 'ith 'hat is re0uired to ma,e the 'or, successfulF ?aisin these 0uestions and
findin the 'ays and means of doin 'hat is necessary is the beinnin of the development of the
human factorGsocial consciousness# The 7FC analysis provides this problem 'ith a solution#"
At the historic meetin in Chertsey, Huebec in 1989,
Eardial 6ains declared, "-e say very openly that 'e
'ant the rule of the 'or,in class and no one else $###%
because it is the 'or,in class 'hich is the producin
class and is the most thorouhoin revolutionary class
'hose aims cannot be achieved 'ithout overthro'in
capitalism throuh revolution# $###% Today it does not
matter 'hich 0uestion is ta,en up $###% the boureoisie
cannot find a solution# <nly the 'or,in class can find a
solution# &t is the 'or,in class 'hich is at the centre,
and our vie's are the vie's of the 'or,in class#"
&n his speech Comrade 6ains emphasi/ed that the most
important problem in terms of specific 'or, is to 'in the mass of 'or,ers over to the side of history1
"<ne should o 'ith a passion, li,e one oes to'ards a loved one because this beloved of ours, the
'or,in class, is the only social force 'hich can save the 'orld, save human,ind# $###%"
Comrade 6ains said, "This is not the era of ,nihts and individual heroes# &t is an era of the collective
'or, of the 'or,in class and its allies# &t is the era of the +arty, the era of imperialism and the social
revolution of the proletariat, as Comrade *enin said# (o in this meetin 'e celebrate the developments,
the proressive movement, the strenthenin, stabili/in and consolidation of a political movement#
And 'e have that political movement here, our +arty, its allies, its mass orani/ations, especially the
mass party press of 'hich 'e are very proud# $###%"
Contemporary Mar)ist"*eninist Thouht is a sinle sheet of steel stretchin from the present bac, to
the Communist Manifesto and beyond to all that humanity has produced in its strule to be# The
'or,in class is one class 'ith one proram around 'hich it mobili/es the people to defend the rihts
of all and prepare itself sub5ectively, especially ideoloically, as an orani/ed, determined and united
force to deprive the rulin monopoly capitalist class of its political, economic and ideoloical po'er to
deprive the 'or,in class of its riht to assume its modern role to constitute itself the nation, vest
sovereinty in the people and let flo'er the human factorGsocial consciousness#
Eistory and life itself demand that the thin,in proletariat enae in acts of conscious participation in
acts of findin out to settle scores 'ith modern revisionism and solve the problems of orani/in the
+roletarian Front throuhout the country# The Canadian 'or,in class as a continent of the
international proletariat is the inheritor of the Communist Manifesto and the >reat <ctober (ocialist
?evolution# The +roletarian Front pledes not to besmirch that treasured leacy# Thin,in 'or,ers
consciously orani/ed and enaed in acts of findin out are determined to play their 'orld"
revolutionary role to overthro' imperialism and advance humanity to'ards the complete emancipation
of the 'or,in class and the elimination of social classes and class society#

*on *ive the Manifesto of the Communist +artyI
*on *ive the >reat <ctober (ocialist ?evolutionI
*on *ive Mar)ism"*eninismI
*on *ive the Communist +arty of Canada 2Mar)ist"*eninist4I
-or,ers of All Countries, 3niteI