Melodrama in the Manifesto of the Communist Party

Thanks to the publication of the Manifesto of the Communist Party, the political, cultural, and economic ideologies of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and those who identified as communist, were centralized and published for individuals of the western world. According to the authors (Marx and Engels) the manifesto served to unite the varying communist ideologies, inform the Western World of the flaws in Capitalism, and propose an alternative. The manifesto recognizes that in capitalism, there exists a class struggle between the rich upper class, or the Bourgeois, and working middle and lower classes, or the Proletarians. It is through this struggle that Marx and Engels forward the communist ideology on the working class in the Western World.

By presenting the manifesto as a melodrama where the Bourgeois are representative of the ultimate evil and the Proletarians as the ultimate good, Marx and Engels further their ideology for communism. In the manifesto, Bourgeois are portrayed as controlling, manipulative, and oppressive towards the Proletarian class. We see the Bourgeois act this way for their own capital gain and overall retain the ability to control society as they see fit. On the other hand, the Proletarians are portrayed as victims of the Bourgeois. Because of the exploitation  of the Proletarians by capitalism, and furthermore the Bourgeois, the Proletarian class is shown to have lost its humanity. Instead the Proletarian class becomes another interchangeable property that the Bourgeois can dispose of, without remorse.

Marx and Engels’ clever use of melodrama in the Manifesto of the Communist Party serves as a rallying cry for the working class. Since the Bourgeois class is composed of a select few elite individuals of society, the common populous of western societies may find it hard to identify with the ideals and struggles of the Bourgeois. However, most individuals can identify with the Proletarian struggle of obtaining a sustainable life and retaining their humanity from Bourgeois manipulation. According to Marx and Engels, the Proletarian class can only obtain this by first rising to power, disposing of the systems created by capitalism, and establish a new system under communism.