In the first chapter of “The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Marx describes the distinction between people in society. He explains how people were once separated into many classes in society by stating “Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed.” (14). Marx argues that the French Revolution had an enormous impact on social classes as they had begun to dwindle into two classes, the Bourgeois and the Proletarians. Marx claims that the reduction in classes did not mean that social struggles ceased to exist or that people were not being oppressed, on the contrary he argues that new struggles and conflicts would occur from the class system.

The manifesto explains that the discovery and colonization of the Americas rapidly pushed the development of production and machinery which inevitably eradicated the traditions of the past such as feudalism and brought forth capitalism. The Bourgeois eventually took political power in Europe and constructed a society based on free trade and profits. Marx claimed that Bourgeois would do everything in their power to end all traditions that were not capitalistic in nature and that “It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his “natural superiors”, and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self interest, callous “cash payment.” (15). They also consistently innovated technology which forced other nations to globalize and follow the practices of the Bourgeois.

The Bourgeois were so influential in the global market that they would single handedly crash markets by over producing and would seek new markets to control, but Marx argues that the practice of capitalism itself cannot be fixed as the very idea of capitalism is corrupt. Marx claimed that the Bourgeois would make it their mission to build relations in every and all types of markets as a way to expand their ever growing empire. They would produce goods that were sought by many and would distribute them at cheap prices which even convinced the most archaic nations to submit to Bourgeois culture.

The second class Karl Marx reflects upon is the Proletarians. This second class of people in society as stated by Marx were “a class of laborers who only live so long as they can find work, and who work only so long as their labor increases capital” (18). Furthermore Marx claims that the wage of the workers hardly covered the worker and his family. The Proletarian were considered to be slaves to the Bourgeois but as technology advanced the communication network of the Proletarians increased and as a result educated and notified people that they were being wronged. The cruelty of the Bourgeois ultimately caused an insurrection of the Proletarians as they denounced all things considered Bourgeois and deposed them. The way of life of the Bourgeois went against romanticism which was a period in time when people were reminded of their individuality were reminiscent of the past. Furthermore the Industrial Revolution sought to remove any form of identity which was replaced by numbers and workers.