Some good points made well, but a few troubling overreaches as well. Worth a read, if only to see that many of the most pressing issues of today are the same as those facing the world of a few generations ago.

Rivoluzionario! Avrei sottotitolato quasi tutti i passaggi. Sicuramente lo rileggerò in futuro per poterlo comprendere e interiorizzare appieno.

The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels is one of the pivotal books in the history of the left wing. While some of it seems dated now (in particular the sections on the socialist movements that existed at the time) much of it remains extremely relevant to the world we live in today. In particular the description of the dynamic and destructive nature of capitalism, its ability to overcome any barrier in the pursuit of profit. It is also underrated (compared to the preface to "A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy") as an explanation of the basics of historical materialism.

So why only four stars? The translation itself is fine, we open with the more modern "a spectre is haunting Europe" rather than slightly gothic "a frightful hobgoblin" and this sets the tone for a modern-feeling translation despite the Victorian font. The problem is with David Aaronovitch's introduction, which while providing some context I think connects this work too strongly to the history of the subsequent Soviet regimes some 70 years and more later. Aaronovitch draws a direct line from the Communist Manifesto to the Soviet tyranny that I don't think is tenable, dismissing the complexity of Marx's analysis of the historical process in a couple of brief paragraphs. It feels intellectually lazy, something written with polemic in mind rather than in the attempt to critical engage with Marx's and Engel's thinking.

Still, an important work in the development of progressive movements in an accessible translation.

Disclaimer: ik ben totaal niet intelligent genoeg om elke zin in dit 200 jaar oude, ingewikkeld geschreven boek te begrijpen, dus hecht niet te veel waarde aan mijn woorden. Desalniettemin kan ik de inhoud van het boek eigenlijk ook niet aanraden. Het begint met een uiteenzetting van alle minpunten die kapitalisme met zich meebrengt, waar ik het grotendeels mee eens ben, maar dan volgt er een beschrijving van wat communisme nu eigenlijk inhoudt en hoe de schrijvers dit willen bereiken. Dat komt in principe neer op een brutale staatsgreep, gevolgd door een autoritair regime. Gene fan van dat soort zaken. Het is dan ook geen wonder dat communisme tot nu toe enkel op papier heeft gewerkt.

Moest ik het echt helemaal verkeerd begrepen hebben, let me know.

Politics not to be read, but shouted from the back of a truck.

Realised that I still hadn't added this to my list, although I have gone back to it several times over the past decades. Maybe because in my mind it never got registered as a book, but as an idea, a tool with which to look at analyse the world around...But then, what better day than today to add this to my 'read' list! May day, comrades!