"Communist Manifesto"

"Communist Manifesto" (by Marx and Engels/1959/Shinchosha)

This is the first book on Marx and Engels that Harada bought when he was a high school student.
Das Kapital had many volumes and was expensive, making it difficult for beginners to understand, but ''The Communist Manifesto'' was written in easy-to-understand text.

The opening line reads, ''The specter of communism is walking through Europe.''
In this book, Marx and Engels explain that ''Communism is no monster.''

In this book, Marx and Engels demand the following, etc.
・A break with old-fashioned conventions and feudalism that constrain humans.
・Give all adults the right to vote and be elected.
・Free welfare and education.
・Nationalization of all transportation and making it free of charge.

The proletariat arose in England during the Industrial Revolution.
Marx and Engels repeatedly criticized ''competition.''
Competition is the fundamental principle of capitalism.
He also called for the abolition of patriarchy and nationality discrimination. Furthermore, Marx and Engels made various suggestions that ''society should not intervene in the personal relationships between men and women.''

In Japan too, conservative powerful and wealthy people launched an all-out attack on Marx and communism.During World War II, many communists were arrested, tortured, and massacred.

Even after the war, right-wing cult groups centered around the Japanese government's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party, attacked Marx.

If Marx's true intentions were conveyed to the people, the capitalists must have felt a sense of crisis because they would no longer be able to make money as before.

Their attack was not an academic critique of Marx, but a decades-long campaign of demagogy directed at third parties.
''Communism confiscates personal property,'' ''Communism eliminates individual freedom,'' ''Capitalists are persecuted,'' ''Society is overthrown,'' and ''The Communist Party is a murderer''...
But read the original carefully.
Indeed, it says, ''The means of production monopolized by big capitalists will be transferred to the people. Private property that capitalists have made through exploitation and surplus profits will be abolished.''

But as Marx and Engels said:

''Social change should be carried out gradually, not suddenly.For a revolution, first create a democratic constitution. Gradually expropriate the property of landowners and factory owners.Once the capitalists' means of production are in the hands of the people, 's private property will disappear naturally.''

''We do not advocate principles to fit the proletarian movement into a particular mold.Since circumstances differ from country to country, the revolution should proceed while looking at various situations.''

(The translator also emphasizes at the end of the book, ''No matter how many years pass, we must never forget this part.'')

Every year, the Japanese media aired on-air interviews asking people, '' What do you think of when you hear the word communism?''
Every year, the first thing young people on the street say is "Soviet Union" or "North Korea".
Marx is not included in Japanese school textbooks.

So how can ''transferring the means of production to the people'' be realized in concrete terms today?
Harada says.
''I want you to watch Michael Moore's movie ''Capitalism''.
In a company introduced in a movie, everyone is an employee, and at the same time, everyone is the president. Everyone is receiving dividends.
I'm sure there are other ways to do this.

Living a life surrounded by tons of products can be fun.
However, on this earth, in some countries children work because of poverty, and many go hungry because of poverty, while in other countries children play games.

Capitalism continues to destroy the global environment. And even though tens of thousands of people in the Middle East are slaughtered, homeless, and in need every year, many countries are increasing their production of weapons every year.

(Japan also started exporting arms due to the stupid Japanese government)

Is it okay to leave things as they are now?
We must never stop thinking”.