nists and the proletarians. The third section addresses the flaws in other,
             previous socialist literature. The final section discusses the relationship between the
             SP SPARK ARKNO NOTES TES : Smar Smarter ter Better Faster aster
             In 1847, a group of radical workers called the "Communist League" met in London. They
             commissioned Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who had recently become members, to
             write a manifesto on their behalf, soon known as the Communist Manifesto. Marx was
             the principle author, with Engels editing and assisting. The Communist Manifesto was
             originally published in London in 1848. Of all the documents of modern socialism, it is the
             most widely read and the most influential. It is the systematic statement of the philosophy
             that has come to be known as Marxism.Marx (1818-1883) was a German philosopher,
             economist and sociologist, as well as a political revolutionary. He met Engels (1820-1895)
             when he moved to Paris after 1843, and they worked together on several essays. Marx and
             Engels are best known for their revolutionary writings about Communism. One of Marx's
             primary intellectual influences was the work of G.W.F. Hegel. Hegel's theory presents
             history as a process in which the world becomes conscious of itself as spirit. Marx took
             this idea and furthered it, arguing that as man becomes conscious of himself as spirit, the
             material world causes him to feel increasingly alienated from himself. Escape from this
             alienation requires a revolution.Marx and Engels were not simply content with theorizing
             about revolution in the abstract, however. They thought that theorywas only useful insofar as
             it promotes social change, clarifying the proper means and ends of revolution; they were thus
             not only authors, but activists, and believed that by theorizing they were actively influencing
             history. The Communist Manifesto can be understood as one attempt to influence history by
             spread...