Hidden Truths: Who Were the Communist 'Proletariats'?

Communist ideology, in the form that would later influence revolutionary movements like the Bolsheviks, emerged from the intellectual collaboration between Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels during one of the most turbulent periods in European history between 1840-1880.

To understand their ideas, it is essential to understand the world they lived in:

Industrial Revolution and Social Dislocation

Marx and Engels were writing during the Industrial Revolution, which had begun in Britain in the late 18th century and spread across Western Europe by the early–mid 19th century.

This transformation radically altered human society in several ways:

Collapse of the old feudal order: For centuries, Europe had been organized around feudal hierarchies:

• Kings

• Nobility

• Peasants tied to land

Industrialization disrupted this system. Instead of land ownership being the primary source of wealth, capital ownership — factories, machines, and finance — became dominant.

This gave rise to a new class: The bourgeoisie — industrial capitalists

And alongside them: The proletariat — wage laborers who owned no productive property

This was a fundamentally new social arrangement. Workers were no longer bound to land, but to wages. Their survival depended entirely on employment.

Harsh working and living conditions: Early industrial cities were chaotic and brutal environments. Workers often faced:

• 12–16 hour workdays

• Six-day workweeks

• Extremely low wages

• Unsafe working conditions

• Child labor

• Overcrowded urban slums

Engels personally documented these conditions in his book: The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845)

He described entire neighborhoods living in:

disease, malnutrition, and early death.

These conditions deeply influenced both Engels and Marx, especially when they saw their own communities facing these conditions. They saw industrial capitalism not simply as an economic system, but as a system of structural exploitation.

Political repression and failed revolutions:

Europe in the early 19th century was politically unstable. The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) had disrupted monarchies. After Napoleon’s defeat, conservative regimes tried to restore absolute authority.

But new political forces had emerged:

• Liberalism

• Nationalism

• Socialism

Revolutions broke out across Europe, especially in 1848, the same year Marx and Engels published The Communist Manifesto. These revolutions largely failed.

Marx concluded that piecemeal reform would not fundamentally change society. He believed only total revolution could do so.

Marx’s Theory of History: Historical Materialism

At the center of Marx’s ideology is his theory of historical development, called: Historical Materialism. Marx argued that human history progresses through a series of economic stages.

These stages include:

1. Primitive communism

2. Slave societies

3. Feudalism

4. Capitalism

5. Socialism

6. Communism

[Many conspiracies claim that the seventh stage will be absolute Zionism, with Jerusalem ruling over a globalized a world through the 'World Government' under the grasp of globalist bankers]

Each stage emerges from internal contradictions in the previous one.

For example: Feudalism created towns and trade, which produced capitalism. Capitalism, Marx argued, would eventually produce socialism.

Marx believed that: All history is fundamentally a story of conflict between economic classes.

In The Communist Manifesto, he famously wrote:

“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”

Examples include:

• Slave vs master

• Peasant vs feudal lord

• Worker vs capitalist

According to Marx, capitalism created its own “gravediggers” — the proletariat.

[Maybe if the 'seventh stage' comes to pass, the final class struggle will be 'world citizen vs world government']

Marx’s critique of capitalism had several major components.

Exploitation and Surplus Value: Marx argued that workers produce more value than they are paid. For example: If a worker produces goods worth $100 per day but is paid $20, The remaining $80 is kept by the capitalist.

Marx called this: Surplus value. He argued this was the basis of capitalist profit. He saw this as systematic exploitation.

Alienation: Marx believed capitalism alienated workers from:

• Their work

• Their products

• Their fellow humans

• Their own human potential

Workers did repetitive labor for survival, not creative fulfillment. He believed this stripped life of meaning.

Crisis and instability: Marx argued capitalism was inherently unstable. He predicted it would suffer repeated crises due to:

• Overproduction

• Falling profit rates

• Increasing inequality

These crises, he believed, would eventually destroy capitalism.

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The Dictatorship of the Proletariat

Marx did not believe capitalism would collapse peacefully. He argued the working class would need to seize power. This transitional period would be: The dictatorship of the proletariat

However, he never provided a detailed blueprint. He assumed the state itself would eventually disappear, paving the way for global communism.

The Sixth Stage: Communism

Marx believed that after socialism, the state would no longer be necessary. This final stage would be: Communism

It would include:

• No classes

• No private ownership of productive property

• No money

• No state

Production would be based on human need, not profit.

Marx summarized this vision as:

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

This was supposedly the ultimate goal.

Marx and Engels’ Expectation of Revolution

Marx believed revolution would occur first in advanced industrial societies. Countries like:

• Britain

• Germany

• France

He did not expect Russia to be the first communist state. Russia lacked:

• Industrial development

• Large proletariat class

This later created a major contradiction when communism emerged there.

The Communist Manifesto (1848): A Call to Revolution

This document was not just theory. It was a political call to action. It ended with the famous line:

“Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains.”

This slogan became the rallying cry for communist movements worldwide.

Marx died in 1883 in London. During his lifetime, communism did not achieve major political success. His ideas remained primarily intellectual.

It was only after his death that revolutionary movements began using his ideas to seize power. The most important of these would be the Bolsheviks.

Marx and Engels created a comprehensive theory that:

• Interpreted history through economics

• Predicted capitalism’s collapse

• Called for revolutionary overthrow

• Promised a classless future society

However, they left many practical questions unanswered, including:

• How power would be exercised

• How dictatorship would function

• How human nature would adapt

These unanswered questions would later shape how their ideology was interpreted and implemented in revolutionary Russia.

Critical Analysis and Critiques

Even during Marx’s lifetime, critics raised serious objections.

Critique 1: Deterministic view of history

Marx claimed capitalism would collapse due to internal contradictions. But critics argued:

• Capitalism adapted instead of collapsing

• Workers’ living standards improved in many countries

• Democratic reforms prevented revolutionary collapse

Philosopher Karl Popper later called Marxism:

“A form of historicism pretending to predict inevitable outcomes.”

Critics argue Marx replaced religion with a secular prophecy. Some other, more conspiratorial figures, claim that it was either created, or later appropriated, to be used as a vehicle for Zionism.

Critique 2: The “dictatorship of the proletariat” problem

This phrase became one of the most controversial elements. Marx never clearly defined:

• How long it would last

• How power would be limited

• How dictatorship would end

Critics later argued this vagueness allowed authoritarian regimes to justify permanent repression.

Critique 3: Personal contradiction

Critics pointed out:

• Marx himself never worked as a laborer

• He depended financially on Engels, a factory owner

• Some conspiracies claim he was partially funded by the Rothschilds, who were his relatives by marriage

This created accusations of hypocrisy.

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