Equality. A never-ending-problem in human’s society.
Before the invention of printing, exchanging ideas was not an easy task because the majority were illiterate and books were expensive. However, revolutions started to occur when the masses could read and realized that they did not have to abide their whatever circumstances given to them.
We would always seek for equality, despite any ideas that promote it. An idea is just a way for us to achieve it faster because we don’t have to fight alone. Although the intention of Communism had been proven wrong, the core value remains relevant to today’s society. It is the encouragement that children must have a proper education to get a career and ends up with a sustainable life. In other words, to be obedient and follow the hierarchy is essential to our life. It acts like a cycle that never ends. Is it true that we are equal, or the system has gotten much more advanced?
I believe a doubt has given that we could be excellent in some areas of our life, and with those skillsets, we could become successful. The fact that we are all humans, we are alike, make us think that we are not different is indeed compelling. However, there is a hidden truth that most people would never understand: no one wants to give up their position in life. Hence, the creation of equality and the middle class is the key to convince the masses that we could always be successful if we worked hard enough.
How could a 30-pages book had developed into an idea for numerous revolutions around the world?
The Communist Manifesto was not just a book. It was an idea that a society must not exist only in two classes, which were the capitalist and the working class. At the beginning of the industrial revolution, there were some issues regarding wages and exploitation. The gap between the wealthy and the poor was too far. People went mad and revoked when they realized they could do it successfully as a collective. The idea gave them strength and acted as a light among the darkness when people were at their lowest point in life.
The best-seller
Ironically, an idea hated by most countries in the world has become one of the best-selling books of all time. According to Deutschland.de, there are about more than 500 million copies sold. The book had also earned its achievement as the world UNESCO Heritage document.
This particular object has marked a vital phase in the history of humankind. It shows the basic needs of human rights, and the will to speak up for those needs.
(This blog post alone only talks about the idea itself, not on how leaders in the world have manipulated it for their own benefits. An idea does could not cause any form of harm but the one who controls it can.)
Sources:
- https://www.history.com/.amp/this-day-in-history/marx-publishes-manifesto
- https://revisesociology.com/2015/11/22/marx-key-ideas-summary/
- https://aeon.co/essays/hierarchies-have-a-place-even-in-societies-built-on-equality
- https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/knowledge/200-years-of-karl-marx-seven-facts
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto#Initial_publication_and_obscurity,_1848–1872
- http://www.aworldtowin.net/resources/communistmanifesto.html
- https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/21/bring-back-ideology-fukuyama-end-history-25-years-on