On Karl Marx's "The Communist Manifesto"
New Books in Western European Studies
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Introduction
For nearly 600 years, europe had a feudal economy. Landowners provided land and protection to tenants in exchange for their loyalty and labor. This system created extremely rigid social classes and huge inequalities. But as industrial capitalism spread throughout europe, karl marx observed an all too familiar site. The new capitalist economy was creating a rigid social hierarchy similar to that of the feudal system. He proposed a radical idea, a classless society, where all property is publicly owned, and each citizen contributes based on their abilities.
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