recently had occasion to re-read Karl Marx's seminal Communist Manifesto. It had been nearly twenty years since my first reading of the text in graduate school and I remembered little beyond class antagonisms, Marx's materialism, and the exploitation of the proletariat. But the ongoing crisis in Venezuela led me to once again reflect on the Socialist and Communist Philosophy underneath the unfolding crisis.

What I Found

At a mere 60 pages, the Manifesto is surprisingly light compared to most canonical philosophy. After expounding on the history-shaping role of class antagonisms and the formative nature of production within society, Marx gets into the details of what it takes to form a new Socialist society.

It is in the second section of the Manifesto that Marx notes ten measures required for bringing about a Socialist State. These include the abolition of private property and the abolition of inheritance rights. Marx then calls for the centralization of both production and credit in the hands of the State.