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The Communist Manifesto and the Lure of Scientific Socialism

Author

Listed:
  • Pedro Schwartz

    (President of Mont Pélerin Society.)

Abstract

The Communist Manifesto (1848) was an explosive pamphlet written by Karl Marx with the help of Friedrich Engels, where he predicted the inevitable of downfall of capitalism and the coming dawn of communism. The seduction of this powerful piece of rhetoric lay in the combination of three elements: the assertion that its arguments were scientific, the tone of moral indignation, and the rousing call to arms for a social revolution. Of course, he failed in his prediction of the immiseration of the working classes, and the inevitable march of the free market towards allembracing monopoly. But the mistakes with the crueller outcomes were another two: that capitalist growth was based on the primitive accumulation of value extracted from the working class; and that scientific and technical progress was not brought about by free competition but was an automatic result of material conditions. Here were implicit an excuse for oppression and a hatred of individual freedom.

Suggested Citation

  • Pedro Schwartz, 2018. "The Communist Manifesto and the Lure of Scientific Socialism," Iberian Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Dpto. Historia e Instituciones Económicas I., vol. 5(2), pages 103-111.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucm:ijohet:v:5:y:2018:i:2:p:103-111
    DOI: 10.5209/IJHE.62428
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marx; Scientific socialism; Economic systems; Communist Manifesto.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B14 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Socialist; Marxist
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian

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