What do you think?
Rate this book
البيان الشيوعي
يستخدم رسام الكاريكاتير الافتتاحي في صحيفة الغارديان ، مارتن روسون، براعته في الصياغة وذكائه في هذا التعديل الرسومي المفعم بالحيوية للبيان الشيوعي .
نُشر بيان كارل ماركس وفريدريك إنجلز للحزب الشيوعي في عام 1848، في وقت كانت تشهد فيه أوروبا اضطرابات سياسية، وكان في الوقت نفسه بمثابة نقد قوي للرأسمالية ودعوة جذرية للتغيير والثورة. ويظل المدخل الأكثر وضوحا لأفكار الشيوعية والتفسير الأكثر وضوحا لأهدافها.
ولا يزال الكثير مما اقترحته في قلب الجدل السياسي في القرن الحادي والعشرين.
ليس من المستغرب، ربما، أن يكون " البيان الشيوعي" (كما أعيدت تسميته لاحقًا) هو ثاني أكثر الكتب مبيعًا على الإطلاق، ولم يتفوق عليه سوى الكتاب المقدس.
يعد البيان الشيوعي بمثابة تذكير في الوقت المناسب لسياسة الأمل ودليل مثير للتفكير لأكثر الأعمال تأثيرًا في النظرية السياسية التي تم نشرها على الإطلاق.
نُشر بيان كارل ماركس وفريدريك إنجلز للحزب الشيوعي في عام 1848، في وقت كانت تشهد فيه أوروبا اضطرابات سياسية، وكان في الوقت نفسه بمثابة نقد قوي للرأسمالية ودعوة جذرية للتغيير والثورة. ويظل المدخل الأكثر وضوحا لأفكار الشيوعية والتفسير الأكثر وضوحا لأهدافها.
ولا يزال الكثير مما اقترحته في قلب الجدل السياسي في القرن الحادي والعشرين.
ليس من المستغرب، ربما، أن يكون " البيان الشيوعي" (كما أعيدت تسميته لاحقًا) هو ثاني أكثر الكتب مبيعًا على الإطلاق، ولم يتفوق عليه سوى الكتاب المقدس.
يعد البيان الشيوعي بمثابة تذكير في الوقت المناسب لسياسة الأمل ودليل مثير للتفكير لأكثر الأعمال تأثيرًا في النظرية السياسية التي تم نشرها على الإطلاق.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
29 people are currently reading
624 people want to read
About the author
Martin Rowson
54books24followersBaptised as Martin George Edmund Rowson. Who's Who lists his interests as "cooking, drinking, ranting, atheism, zoos, collecting taxidermy".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
February 4, 2021
The text is what it is, the artwork, however, was somewhat confusing. Why did Marx look so diabolical? While the art is wild, after a while, if feels static--that is, it is wild in the same way throughout the book.
September 15, 2019
Dieses Buch ist das einzige, das wirklich "Mehrwert" enthält, um mal eine Anspielung auf diesen in der letzten Zeit so gerne falsch benutzen Begriff zu machen.
Ansonsten ist es so, dass die Wahrheit in diesem Buch nicht zum ersten mal unbequem ist und gewissen Kreisen unangenehm aufstoßen wird.
Umso erfreulicher finde ich es, dass der Knesebeck-Verlag das Kommunistische Manifest als Grafic Novel mit Illustrationen und in einer Adaption von Martin Rowson herausgebracht hat. Ganz großes Lob.
So ist das nun mal mit bitteren Pillen. Dystopien sind schon seit längerer Zeit groß in Mode. Allerdings wird nur sehr selten um nicht zu sagen homöopathisch die Wahrheit so direkt ausgesprochen. Erinnern möchte ich z.B. an Panem. In der Annahme, dass diese Trilogie vielen zumindest ein Begriff ist, möchte ich in dem Zusammenhang auf den Rat hinweisen, den Katniss Everdeen erhielt:
"Vergiss nie, wer der wirkliche Feind ist!"
Denn genau das ist in dieser Zeit der Fall. Die Menschen wurden durch Multimediaangebote und diverse Konsumgüter gezähmt und gefügig gemacht. Doch es ist immer noch ein Fakt, dass es die Ausbeutung des Menschen durch den Menschen gibt. Und unser Luxus basiert auf einer Ausbeutung, die wo anders aktiv stattfindet. Wir verschließen nur sehr gekonnt davor die Augen. Das nur mal am Rande, wenn sich wieder jemand über den Erwerb eines neuen 1,99� T-Shirts (z.B. im "P"-markt am Alex) freut. Da steckt eventuell Kinderarbeit in Dritte-Welt-Ländern o.ä. dahinter.
Zitat Martin Rowson (leider keine Seitenzahl vorhanden):
"Außerdem hat Max 170 Jahre nach der Abfassung des Kommunistischen Manifests, jetzt wo 43 Einzelpersonen so viel Reichtum besitzen wie die ärmsten 50% der Menschheit zusammen, immer noch eine Menge zu sagen."
Zitat Dialog aus dem Buch (leider keine Seitenzahl vorhanden):
Kapitalist: "Von dem Augenblick an, wo die Arbeit nicht mehr in bürgerliches Eigentum, in Kapital verwandelt werden kann, von dem Augenblick an ist die Person aufgehoben."
Marx: "Unter der Person versteht ihr also niemanden anders als den bürgerlichen Eigentümer, und diese Person sollte allerdings aufgehoben werden."
quod erat demonstrandum
Ansonsten ist es so, dass die Wahrheit in diesem Buch nicht zum ersten mal unbequem ist und gewissen Kreisen unangenehm aufstoßen wird.
Umso erfreulicher finde ich es, dass der Knesebeck-Verlag das Kommunistische Manifest als Grafic Novel mit Illustrationen und in einer Adaption von Martin Rowson herausgebracht hat. Ganz großes Lob.
So ist das nun mal mit bitteren Pillen. Dystopien sind schon seit längerer Zeit groß in Mode. Allerdings wird nur sehr selten um nicht zu sagen homöopathisch die Wahrheit so direkt ausgesprochen. Erinnern möchte ich z.B. an Panem. In der Annahme, dass diese Trilogie vielen zumindest ein Begriff ist, möchte ich in dem Zusammenhang auf den Rat hinweisen, den Katniss Everdeen erhielt:
"Vergiss nie, wer der wirkliche Feind ist!"
Denn genau das ist in dieser Zeit der Fall. Die Menschen wurden durch Multimediaangebote und diverse Konsumgüter gezähmt und gefügig gemacht. Doch es ist immer noch ein Fakt, dass es die Ausbeutung des Menschen durch den Menschen gibt. Und unser Luxus basiert auf einer Ausbeutung, die wo anders aktiv stattfindet. Wir verschließen nur sehr gekonnt davor die Augen. Das nur mal am Rande, wenn sich wieder jemand über den Erwerb eines neuen 1,99� T-Shirts (z.B. im "P"-markt am Alex) freut. Da steckt eventuell Kinderarbeit in Dritte-Welt-Ländern o.ä. dahinter.
Zitat Martin Rowson (leider keine Seitenzahl vorhanden):
"Außerdem hat Max 170 Jahre nach der Abfassung des Kommunistischen Manifests, jetzt wo 43 Einzelpersonen so viel Reichtum besitzen wie die ärmsten 50% der Menschheit zusammen, immer noch eine Menge zu sagen."
Zitat Dialog aus dem Buch (leider keine Seitenzahl vorhanden):
Kapitalist: "Von dem Augenblick an, wo die Arbeit nicht mehr in bürgerliches Eigentum, in Kapital verwandelt werden kann, von dem Augenblick an ist die Person aufgehoben."
Marx: "Unter der Person versteht ihr also niemanden anders als den bürgerlichen Eigentümer, und diese Person sollte allerdings aufgehoben werden."
quod erat demonstrandum
May 18, 2019
The art that accompanies the Manifesto is so perfectly done!! It's so dark, but so poignant, and it really strikes the core of the text
A really well done adaptation of this important historical and political text :)
A really well done adaptation of this important historical and political text :)
April 19, 2020
And today we are taking a look at the graphic novel edition of the Communist Manifesto, organized and illustrated by Martin Rowson. Before diving in, my final note is that I will probably keep political analysis and critique to a minimum. Personally, I identify as an Anarchist, but I currently also find many different kinds of Marxist thoughts and commentaries to be interesting. So, particularly in this format, I found this historical document to be not only interesting but also pretty edifying.
Going back to the details of the book. This particular edition of The Communist Manifesto was published on June 5th 2018 by SelfMadeHero. I initially read this book shortly thereafter because I was keeping close tabs on my library's new graphic novel section. I also dragged myself out of my homebody routine and went to a talk by Martin Rowson at the library that fall which was cool. I've read it again at least once since then, but procrastinated on reviewing because it's so IMPORTANT, but here we go.
According to his somewhat illegible personal website welcome screen: Martin Rowson is a multi-award winning cartoonist, illustrator, writer, graphic novelist, broadcaster, ranter and poet. Passing over all the periodical publications he has contributed to, books that he wanted to highlight his contributions to included Scenes From The Lives of the Great Socialists (1983), Lower Than Vermin: An Anatomy of Thatcher’s Britain (1986), The Nodland Express (with Anna Clarke, 1994), Fuck: The Human Odyssey (2007), The Dog Allusion: Gods, Pets and How to be Human (2008), four volumes of The Limerickiad (2011-2016), a series of comic book adaptations, including T.S.Eliot’s The Waste Land (1990), The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1996), and Gulliver’s Travels (2011).
In 2001 Rowson was appointed Cartoonist Laureate for London by Mayor Ken Livingstone... He’s also chairman of the British Cartoonists� Association... In a full-page editorial in 2017, in response to one of his Guardian cartoons, The Daily Mail denounced him and his work as “disgusting, deranged... sick and offensive.� And because he doesn't really mention it outright, I will add that he's is an Englishman and that, as someone who has done a lot of work in the political cartoon world, I did appreciate his going on a tangent about the importance of punching down and, assuming I'm remembering this correctly, several examples of what he meant by that. Not only because it makes me feel a bit better about recommending his work but also because he was talking to a group that might be tempted to ignore the ways other people might be oppressed in ways in addition to class.
Besides Martin, there's of course the contributions of those Marx and Engles dudes. What about them? To quickly summerize the life stories of these two men that you've likely never heard of lol.
Karl Marx was born in Trier, Kingdom of Prussia in 1818, became stateless, and died in 1883 in London, England. Descended from a long line of rabbis, his father converted to Protestantism shortly before Karl's birth. Karl studied law and philosophy at university and married Jenny von Westphalen in 1843.
The similarly heavily bearded Friedrich Engels, was born in Barmen, King of Prussia in 1820 and also died in London, England but in 1895. His family owned a large cotton-textile mills, and his father did pressure him to become a businessman as he came into adolescence. While they never married, Engles found himself in a 20 year relationships with Mary Burns, a "fierce young Irish woman with radical opinions who worked in the Engels factory" according to Wikipedia. Like Johanna Bertha Julie Jenny Edle von Westphalen, Mary deserves more credit then they have received historically for their contribution to the work published by their more "notable" male partners.
In describing The Communist Manifesto I would like to start by stressing how short it is. Obvious to some, I guess my subconscious brain had combined Das Capital and the Communist Manifesto and convinced me that it was FAR TOO LONG. This was not true. It can still be hard to get around to reading short books, but I figured I would point that out in case anyone else was suffering under that particular misunderstanding.
Pulling from Wikipedia "Commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London just as the Revolutions of 1848 began to erupt, the Manifesto was later recognised as one of the world's most influential political documents. It presents an analytical approach to the class struggle (historical and then-present) and the conflicts of capitalism and the capitalist mode of production, rather than a prediction of communism's potential future forms.
The Communist Manifesto summarises Marx and Engels' theories concerning the nature of society and politics, namely that in their own words "[t]he history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles". It also briefly features their ideas for how the capitalist society of the time would eventually be replaced by socialism. In the last paragraph of the Manifesto, the authors call for a "forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions", which served as a call for communist revolutions around the world."
Moving onto the art, this was a really big selling point with me for this particular edition. Dark, dramatic and full of interesting, funny, and witty details. Combined with the ways in which Rowson breaks up the text into dialog bubbles, it was very nice to be able to jump back and forth between the text (and there is a substantial amount of text) to study different aspects of the illustrations that visually represent different elements being explored in the text. This also provides different ways to remember what is being said in the manifesto and makes the text more accessible.
As a pamphlet, the Communist Manifesto, is a product of its time and the ongoing emphasis on class as a point of oppression. There are some good things said about the exploitation of women as wives that their husbands basically own. Diverse sexuality and gender are not unsurprisingly not really brought up. Similarly, as continues even to the present day, communism often focuses exclusively on the politics of production in such a way that can seem to be leaving out people cannot work as much as the "average" person - sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.
Reviewing my filmed flip through, because I sadly can't get my hands on this book at the present moment, I would say that the crowd scenes appear to have some representation from seemingly both male and female presenting people, which is nice. It appears that most people are very British looking caricatures of people who appear to be white. Especially since we are dealing with a black white and red colour scheme, which would leave us completely at the mercy of physical cliches to communicate ideas of difference in race, I would say that this lack of diversity is really for the best. That said, I guess there's a thing to be said about the ways the corruption, in this style of art, is denoted by "ugliness" which, while I still have a lot to consider and learn about in this area, is certainly less then ideal.
So, overall, if you have ever found herself interested in The Communist Manifesto, I would highly recommend this particular edition. I think it exemplifies many of the ways I feel like comics are a superior medium then simply the written word.
Going back to the details of the book. This particular edition of The Communist Manifesto was published on June 5th 2018 by SelfMadeHero. I initially read this book shortly thereafter because I was keeping close tabs on my library's new graphic novel section. I also dragged myself out of my homebody routine and went to a talk by Martin Rowson at the library that fall which was cool. I've read it again at least once since then, but procrastinated on reviewing because it's so IMPORTANT, but here we go.
According to his somewhat illegible personal website welcome screen: Martin Rowson is a multi-award winning cartoonist, illustrator, writer, graphic novelist, broadcaster, ranter and poet. Passing over all the periodical publications he has contributed to, books that he wanted to highlight his contributions to included Scenes From The Lives of the Great Socialists (1983), Lower Than Vermin: An Anatomy of Thatcher’s Britain (1986), The Nodland Express (with Anna Clarke, 1994), Fuck: The Human Odyssey (2007), The Dog Allusion: Gods, Pets and How to be Human (2008), four volumes of The Limerickiad (2011-2016), a series of comic book adaptations, including T.S.Eliot’s The Waste Land (1990), The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1996), and Gulliver’s Travels (2011).
In 2001 Rowson was appointed Cartoonist Laureate for London by Mayor Ken Livingstone... He’s also chairman of the British Cartoonists� Association... In a full-page editorial in 2017, in response to one of his Guardian cartoons, The Daily Mail denounced him and his work as “disgusting, deranged... sick and offensive.� And because he doesn't really mention it outright, I will add that he's is an Englishman and that, as someone who has done a lot of work in the political cartoon world, I did appreciate his going on a tangent about the importance of punching down and, assuming I'm remembering this correctly, several examples of what he meant by that. Not only because it makes me feel a bit better about recommending his work but also because he was talking to a group that might be tempted to ignore the ways other people might be oppressed in ways in addition to class.
Besides Martin, there's of course the contributions of those Marx and Engles dudes. What about them? To quickly summerize the life stories of these two men that you've likely never heard of lol.
Karl Marx was born in Trier, Kingdom of Prussia in 1818, became stateless, and died in 1883 in London, England. Descended from a long line of rabbis, his father converted to Protestantism shortly before Karl's birth. Karl studied law and philosophy at university and married Jenny von Westphalen in 1843.
The similarly heavily bearded Friedrich Engels, was born in Barmen, King of Prussia in 1820 and also died in London, England but in 1895. His family owned a large cotton-textile mills, and his father did pressure him to become a businessman as he came into adolescence. While they never married, Engles found himself in a 20 year relationships with Mary Burns, a "fierce young Irish woman with radical opinions who worked in the Engels factory" according to Wikipedia. Like Johanna Bertha Julie Jenny Edle von Westphalen, Mary deserves more credit then they have received historically for their contribution to the work published by their more "notable" male partners.
In describing The Communist Manifesto I would like to start by stressing how short it is. Obvious to some, I guess my subconscious brain had combined Das Capital and the Communist Manifesto and convinced me that it was FAR TOO LONG. This was not true. It can still be hard to get around to reading short books, but I figured I would point that out in case anyone else was suffering under that particular misunderstanding.
Pulling from Wikipedia "Commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London just as the Revolutions of 1848 began to erupt, the Manifesto was later recognised as one of the world's most influential political documents. It presents an analytical approach to the class struggle (historical and then-present) and the conflicts of capitalism and the capitalist mode of production, rather than a prediction of communism's potential future forms.
The Communist Manifesto summarises Marx and Engels' theories concerning the nature of society and politics, namely that in their own words "[t]he history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles". It also briefly features their ideas for how the capitalist society of the time would eventually be replaced by socialism. In the last paragraph of the Manifesto, the authors call for a "forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions", which served as a call for communist revolutions around the world."
Moving onto the art, this was a really big selling point with me for this particular edition. Dark, dramatic and full of interesting, funny, and witty details. Combined with the ways in which Rowson breaks up the text into dialog bubbles, it was very nice to be able to jump back and forth between the text (and there is a substantial amount of text) to study different aspects of the illustrations that visually represent different elements being explored in the text. This also provides different ways to remember what is being said in the manifesto and makes the text more accessible.
As a pamphlet, the Communist Manifesto, is a product of its time and the ongoing emphasis on class as a point of oppression. There are some good things said about the exploitation of women as wives that their husbands basically own. Diverse sexuality and gender are not unsurprisingly not really brought up. Similarly, as continues even to the present day, communism often focuses exclusively on the politics of production in such a way that can seem to be leaving out people cannot work as much as the "average" person - sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.
Reviewing my filmed flip through, because I sadly can't get my hands on this book at the present moment, I would say that the crowd scenes appear to have some representation from seemingly both male and female presenting people, which is nice. It appears that most people are very British looking caricatures of people who appear to be white. Especially since we are dealing with a black white and red colour scheme, which would leave us completely at the mercy of physical cliches to communicate ideas of difference in race, I would say that this lack of diversity is really for the best. That said, I guess there's a thing to be said about the ways the corruption, in this style of art, is denoted by "ugliness" which, while I still have a lot to consider and learn about in this area, is certainly less then ideal.
So, overall, if you have ever found herself interested in The Communist Manifesto, I would highly recommend this particular edition. I think it exemplifies many of the ways I feel like comics are a superior medium then simply the written word.
August 2, 2018
The text is what it is. I'm not reviewing that. Let's just say I'm not a fan. I will say that it is somewhat abridged here.
The art, on the other hand, is gorgeous. Disgusting and disturbing, but gorgeous. Like a view of Hell, but in mostly black-and-white, with bits of red, and rarer bits of other colors. Many very detailed two-page spreads. My main quibble with the art is that two-page spreads don't work well in books that don't lay flat. Details are lost in the fold.
The art, on the other hand, is gorgeous. Disgusting and disturbing, but gorgeous. Like a view of Hell, but in mostly black-and-white, with bits of red, and rarer bits of other colors. Many very detailed two-page spreads. My main quibble with the art is that two-page spreads don't work well in books that don't lay flat. Details are lost in the fold.
June 3, 2018
The Communist Manifesto is one of my favourite pieces of writing despite coming to it at the rather old age of seventeen (Martin Rowson and everyone else appears to have read it as sixteen year olds and there is a strong case to be made that it should be given to everyone on their 16th birthday) and Rowson’s illustrated edition only serves to enhance its message.
As Rowson admits, there have been (and still are) some truly awful people who have hidden behind the guise of Marxism and there have been numerous societies which have professed to being Marxist but which, when judged against the original manifesto all fall far short. At the same time many of Marx’s predictions have failed to come true or have done so in ways that he never foresaw. Having said that when one holds the manifesto up against the light of contemporary global politics the case for communism has never shone brighter. There are two lines in particular which stand out; the first being his description of the proletariat as “a class of labourers who live only as long as they find work, and find work as long as their labour increases capital.� While this was undoubtedly relevant 170 years ago it is increasingly the case today. Up until the end of the 20th century employers needed workers to produce goods and services and to then spend their wages to purchase those goods and services and the recessions of the 1930s and 80s notwithstanding there was generally a parity between the number of workers required and the number in existence. 20 years of white hot technological advances later and suddenly we find ourselves in the position of having far more workers than are required in order to produce today’s goods and services with employers still finding ways to pursuade people to buy them while at the same time demonising those who are unable to find employment because the jobs no longer exist.
This brings us on nicely to the second notable line: “The lower strata of the middle class and the small tradespeople, shopkeepers, handicraftsmen and peasants, all these sink gradually into the proletariat, swamped in the competition with the large capitalist or their specialised skill rendered worthless by new methods of production. Thus the proletariat is recruited from all classes of the population.� Marx saw the capitalist class as consisting of around 10% of the population with the implication being that as it used up resources it would and slowly shrink thereafter, something which in these days of the one-percenters is increasingly coming to pass.
If you’ve not read The Communist Manifesto you really should, even if you are no longer sixteen.
As Rowson admits, there have been (and still are) some truly awful people who have hidden behind the guise of Marxism and there have been numerous societies which have professed to being Marxist but which, when judged against the original manifesto all fall far short. At the same time many of Marx’s predictions have failed to come true or have done so in ways that he never foresaw. Having said that when one holds the manifesto up against the light of contemporary global politics the case for communism has never shone brighter. There are two lines in particular which stand out; the first being his description of the proletariat as “a class of labourers who live only as long as they find work, and find work as long as their labour increases capital.� While this was undoubtedly relevant 170 years ago it is increasingly the case today. Up until the end of the 20th century employers needed workers to produce goods and services and to then spend their wages to purchase those goods and services and the recessions of the 1930s and 80s notwithstanding there was generally a parity between the number of workers required and the number in existence. 20 years of white hot technological advances later and suddenly we find ourselves in the position of having far more workers than are required in order to produce today’s goods and services with employers still finding ways to pursuade people to buy them while at the same time demonising those who are unable to find employment because the jobs no longer exist.
This brings us on nicely to the second notable line: “The lower strata of the middle class and the small tradespeople, shopkeepers, handicraftsmen and peasants, all these sink gradually into the proletariat, swamped in the competition with the large capitalist or their specialised skill rendered worthless by new methods of production. Thus the proletariat is recruited from all classes of the population.� Marx saw the capitalist class as consisting of around 10% of the population with the implication being that as it used up resources it would and slowly shrink thereafter, something which in these days of the one-percenters is increasingly coming to pass.
If you’ve not read The Communist Manifesto you really should, even if you are no longer sixteen.
March 31, 2022
Light morning coffee read!
I liked the art, but I still have some trouble with the content of Marx's writing and Martin Rowson acknowledges the materialism that bothers me. It was invigorating though.
I liked the art, but I still have some trouble with the content of Marx's writing and Martin Rowson acknowledges the materialism that bothers me. It was invigorating though.
March 2, 2021
Independente de sua corrente política, não há como folhear este álbum e não ficar embasbacado com a arte e a forma como Martin Rowson adaptou o Manifesto Comunista.
February 19, 2022
Όταν βλέπεις παιδιά 5-6 χρονών να δουλέυουν μεροκάματο σε εργοστάσιο, η εκδίκηση του προλεταριάτου γίνεται θεία δίκη.
April 7, 2021
B.R.A.CE. 2021
Δεν μπορώ να κρίνω το κείμενο του Μαρξ. Αλλά μπορώ να πω ότι το σχέδιο του Μάρτιν μου αρέσει. Για κάποιο λόγο που δεν έχω προσδιορίσει ακριβώς θα ήθελα να κάνει το ίδιο για το The War of the Worlds του H. G. Wells. Νομίζω πως το ύφος σχεδίου θα ταίριαζε πολύ.
March 8, 2025
چپ بری، راست بیای بالاخره باید برای بهتر خوندن/دیدن/شنیدن آثار با این مانیفست سر و کله بزنی. چه بهتر که به یه زبون ساده باشه. بهنظ� میاد کتاب به اصل روح مانیفست متعهد مونده و در قالب یه داستان با طرحها� گرافیکی روایت میشه.
حتما توصیه میشه.
حتما توصیه میشه.
February 5, 2021
After finding Capital hard going it was either the traditional manifesto or this and, well, this one has pictures. Really nice pictures. Well, not nice pictures but grotesque backdrops which are nonetheless nice to look at, especially as they support the terrifying, electrifying, optimistic words of Marx.
April 13, 2022
I’m a leftist and a *reader* now, interested in sometimes maybe checking out some of the classics, and so I thought that it might be good to read one of the foundational documents of left-wing politics, THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO. I� was under the mistaken impression that it was book length, but in fact it is somewhere between 23-30 pages long (depending on the printing, I guess). Also, my library didn’t seem to have just the original text as as a standalone document; or rather, I thought that was what I was getting when I checked out Martin Rowson’s graphic novel version, but from reading other GR reviews I’ve learned that it’s actually an even more abridged version of a text which is already relatively brief. So ultimately this isn’t even what
I had hoped to read, although it does include many passages from the original pamphlet word-for-word. Just as an FYI: if you *are* looking for a book-length treatise on the subject, apparently that can be found in DAS KAPITAL.
One thing I will say about this version of the MANIFESTO is that it begins with a bit of introduction by Rowson concerning his interest in the text and relationship to it. He’s not slavishly devoted to it; he recognizes some biases in it, a certain academic-mindedness that is at odds with practical reality, and parts where the pamphlet is “of its time� rather than fully timeless. An interesting bit of trivia is that Marx and Engels wrote the MANIFESTO on a deadline and waited until the weekend before it was due before cranking it out. That could either read as inspiring—that they could produce something so groundbreaking on such a tight schedule—or it could read as maybe they pulled this out of their ass and it wasn’t especially refined.
As to the text itself, what was preserved in Rowson’s retelling, I could hardly follow it. I don’t know if it would have been any easier without Rowson’s drawings interrupting it (more on that shortly), but Marx’s philosophy is written in such an abstract, impersonal manner that I had difficulty applying it to real life. I read several passages multiple times in an attempt to parse it but ultimately could not. The bulk of the text is about the class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, but I don’t think these terms are well-defined; there’s a whole piece where Marx has to explain that when he says “eradicate private property� he doesn’t mean *your* private property—just the property of the fat cats who are profiting off your labor. It calls to mind present-day arguments over the efficacy of political slogans like “Defund the Police� or “Pack the Court�. For the most part it’s a lot of bluster about how the bourgeois *need* the proletariat as an underclass but their reliance on them will be their undoing because they have, through industrialization, created an ecosystem where workers are better able to band together rather than the old way where each man was an individual artisan I guess and only felt himself in competition with others. It feels like a lot of unsupported assertions without basis.
It all comes down to a sort of �10 Commandments of Communism�, if you will, although much like the Biblical 10 I feel that these are somewhat short-sighted and under-inclusive. Examples of these edicts include a heavy progressive tax, abolition of the right of inheritance, confiscation of all property of emigrants, “equal liability to all labor� and establishment of *industrial armies* (are they using the term “armies� in the traditional sense here??). These are merely economic commandments, I suppose? No word on toward what purpose the taxes should be levied or what the State ought to do with the property it confiscates, either. I realize there’s precious little time to explain all that in a brief pamphlet written during an all-nighter the weekend before your paper was due, but it’s hard for me at least to get excited about this when it feels so ramshackle.
This particular version of the MANIFESTO is supplemented by illustrations Rowson has drawn. He also inked all of the words in speech bubbles and I really do love seeing his handwriting. The imagery itself, though� eh. It’s all blacks and grays, scenes of human bondage in surreal ways; people in chains literally carrying the world on their shoulders while stereotypically be-monocled bourgeoisie ride enormous smoking pipes while whipping their lessers. Each page is basically a variation on this same premise, although several include a gigantic be-top-hatted robot representing capitalism which is continuously shitting and vomiting molten lava, while ejaculating flames from its Big Ben dick. Um� ok. Notably, there are repeated mentions within and on the outside of the book about how *irreverent* and *twisted* Rowson is. I guess this is it. The grays and blacks and the repetitiveness of the imagery all kind of makes it blend together, as well as the fact that many of the scenes are two-page spreads distorted by the binding down the middle, serve to make the “graphic novel� element of of this adaptation not all that exciting. The last third of the book switches to a scene of Marx doing stand-up comedy to the jeers of the bourgeois, which is at least something different. He’s supposed to be answering their challenges to his philosophy but his responses don’t really seem very strong and so the self-satisfied look on this Marx’s face seems unearned.
In all, I was neither impressed by the art or the writing. I had hoped to find something hard-hitting in THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO because I think I’m at least open to its ideas, but I was disappointed. There are some pieces of the images and text that made it interesting reading even if not so compelling, but ultimately I don’t think either M&E or Rowson made a case for their visions here. I don’t see myself seeking out DAS KAPITAL after this.
I had hoped to read, although it does include many passages from the original pamphlet word-for-word. Just as an FYI: if you *are* looking for a book-length treatise on the subject, apparently that can be found in DAS KAPITAL.
One thing I will say about this version of the MANIFESTO is that it begins with a bit of introduction by Rowson concerning his interest in the text and relationship to it. He’s not slavishly devoted to it; he recognizes some biases in it, a certain academic-mindedness that is at odds with practical reality, and parts where the pamphlet is “of its time� rather than fully timeless. An interesting bit of trivia is that Marx and Engels wrote the MANIFESTO on a deadline and waited until the weekend before it was due before cranking it out. That could either read as inspiring—that they could produce something so groundbreaking on such a tight schedule—or it could read as maybe they pulled this out of their ass and it wasn’t especially refined.
As to the text itself, what was preserved in Rowson’s retelling, I could hardly follow it. I don’t know if it would have been any easier without Rowson’s drawings interrupting it (more on that shortly), but Marx’s philosophy is written in such an abstract, impersonal manner that I had difficulty applying it to real life. I read several passages multiple times in an attempt to parse it but ultimately could not. The bulk of the text is about the class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, but I don’t think these terms are well-defined; there’s a whole piece where Marx has to explain that when he says “eradicate private property� he doesn’t mean *your* private property—just the property of the fat cats who are profiting off your labor. It calls to mind present-day arguments over the efficacy of political slogans like “Defund the Police� or “Pack the Court�. For the most part it’s a lot of bluster about how the bourgeois *need* the proletariat as an underclass but their reliance on them will be their undoing because they have, through industrialization, created an ecosystem where workers are better able to band together rather than the old way where each man was an individual artisan I guess and only felt himself in competition with others. It feels like a lot of unsupported assertions without basis.
It all comes down to a sort of �10 Commandments of Communism�, if you will, although much like the Biblical 10 I feel that these are somewhat short-sighted and under-inclusive. Examples of these edicts include a heavy progressive tax, abolition of the right of inheritance, confiscation of all property of emigrants, “equal liability to all labor� and establishment of *industrial armies* (are they using the term “armies� in the traditional sense here??). These are merely economic commandments, I suppose? No word on toward what purpose the taxes should be levied or what the State ought to do with the property it confiscates, either. I realize there’s precious little time to explain all that in a brief pamphlet written during an all-nighter the weekend before your paper was due, but it’s hard for me at least to get excited about this when it feels so ramshackle.
This particular version of the MANIFESTO is supplemented by illustrations Rowson has drawn. He also inked all of the words in speech bubbles and I really do love seeing his handwriting. The imagery itself, though� eh. It’s all blacks and grays, scenes of human bondage in surreal ways; people in chains literally carrying the world on their shoulders while stereotypically be-monocled bourgeoisie ride enormous smoking pipes while whipping their lessers. Each page is basically a variation on this same premise, although several include a gigantic be-top-hatted robot representing capitalism which is continuously shitting and vomiting molten lava, while ejaculating flames from its Big Ben dick. Um� ok. Notably, there are repeated mentions within and on the outside of the book about how *irreverent* and *twisted* Rowson is. I guess this is it. The grays and blacks and the repetitiveness of the imagery all kind of makes it blend together, as well as the fact that many of the scenes are two-page spreads distorted by the binding down the middle, serve to make the “graphic novel� element of of this adaptation not all that exciting. The last third of the book switches to a scene of Marx doing stand-up comedy to the jeers of the bourgeois, which is at least something different. He’s supposed to be answering their challenges to his philosophy but his responses don’t really seem very strong and so the self-satisfied look on this Marx’s face seems unearned.
In all, I was neither impressed by the art or the writing. I had hoped to find something hard-hitting in THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO because I think I’m at least open to its ideas, but I was disappointed. There are some pieces of the images and text that made it interesting reading even if not so compelling, but ultimately I don’t think either M&E or Rowson made a case for their visions here. I don’t see myself seeking out DAS KAPITAL after this.
September 13, 2024
I love the dark, macabre style of the artwork and thought it fit the theme brilliantly. I’m not reviewing the actual text so much as the visual adaption and presentation. As a graphic novel, it did not read smoothly and a lot of the text was disjointed to the artwork in terms of placement flow. The second half read easier in the more traditional comic style, but the panels and pages as a whole were overwhelmed by the text. There were also quite a few instances of details being directly in the centre fold and thus hard to see properly.
January 16, 2022
Me lo he leido mientras desayunaba� los dibujos son la ostia simplemente creo que algo no me ha convencido del todo a la hora de como estructurar las ideas pero esta guay
December 17, 2023
Marx, Engels, we have failed you my guys.
Neat artwork.
Neat artwork.
April 5, 2023
A arte é um primor.
May 19, 2024
10/10 gute Adaption, kann ich jedem empfehlen
April 9, 2025
النص هو هو ما فيه اختلاف، يمكن اختصار قلبلًا لكن المضمون واحد.
الرسومات حلوة بس "قياميّة"، تحس فيها نهاية العالم وحاجة كئيبة جدًا
مش فاهمة.
الرسومات حلوة بس "قياميّة"، تحس فيها نهاية العالم وحاجة كئيبة جدًا
مش فاهمة.
July 21, 2023
Why was this necessary?
December 25, 2020
Good adaptation of the Communist Manifesto. Absolutely enjoyed how Rowson's illustrations capture Marx's message in a thought-provoking way.
November 10, 2018
~~~
No one who can read hasan excuse to have not read The Communist Manifesto. It's short. It's available in almost any language. It's in the public domain, and very easy to acquire. It's a foundationally important document to many of the most important cultural and political movements internationally for the last seventy years.
That said, the illustrations in this book are marvellous. They are haunting and terrifying, deeply affecting and rich with meaning. The reader can examine every page and continue to find details of story and image that illuminate the text in every millimetre of the page. The artist painted most pages on grey, painting almost exclusively in black, white and red. Blood and gore flow from the bodies of the proletariat in the literal machines of the bourgeoisie, as their bodies, souls, and hearts are variously exploited and abused beyond recognition. It's visceral, unbending, and entirely appropriate to the text.
I absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in a further commentary and interpretation of this historic text. I recommend it to anyone approaching this text for the first time. I hope it is quickly translated into as many languages as the original. This is the version I will share with my children.
�
The Communist Manifesto (Graphic Novel)
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Adapted by Martin Rowson
Trade Paperback
Self Made Hero, January 2018
Five Stars
November 7-8, 2018
�
No one who can read hasan excuse to have not read The Communist Manifesto. It's short. It's available in almost any language. It's in the public domain, and very easy to acquire. It's a foundationally important document to many of the most important cultural and political movements internationally for the last seventy years.
That said, the illustrations in this book are marvellous. They are haunting and terrifying, deeply affecting and rich with meaning. The reader can examine every page and continue to find details of story and image that illuminate the text in every millimetre of the page. The artist painted most pages on grey, painting almost exclusively in black, white and red. Blood and gore flow from the bodies of the proletariat in the literal machines of the bourgeoisie, as their bodies, souls, and hearts are variously exploited and abused beyond recognition. It's visceral, unbending, and entirely appropriate to the text.
I absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in a further commentary and interpretation of this historic text. I recommend it to anyone approaching this text for the first time. I hope it is quickly translated into as many languages as the original. This is the version I will share with my children.
�
The Communist Manifesto (Graphic Novel)
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Adapted by Martin Rowson
Trade Paperback
Self Made Hero, January 2018
Five Stars
November 7-8, 2018
�
June 14, 2023
Komiksové převyprávění Komunistického manifestu? Marx jako kentaur? Tenhle komiks měl vážně přesah� na závěr pohlížel na Marxe ze současnosti. Kriticky a symbolicky si s ním pohrával. Sám autor pracoval s myšlenkou, že „Evropou obchází strašidlo…�
V komiksu se pracovalo s dvěma liniemi � první onou marxovsko-englesovskou � revoluční. Ilustrace jsou v tomhle kontrastu v dosti dystopickém duchu. Což pak následně přechází v druhou závěrečnou - deziluzivní a až antirevoluční realitu.
Nakonec Evropou stále obchází strašidlo a to strašidlo je opět komunismus. Jen se to teď převrátilo a komunismus jako revoluční rovnostářská vize, ke které bychom měli směřovat se mění v strach, že neudržíme status quo � a raději budeme odmítat cokoliv, co má jen trochu společného se sociální spravedlností a solidaritou, jelikož kvůli onomu strašidlu to zaměňujeme za hrozbu „komunismu�, který tu vládl.
Taková dokonalá absurdní apokalypsa. Na mysl mi přichází hláška od Marka Fishera: „Je snadnější si představit konec světa, než konec kapitalismu.� Tak pak nenadávej, až ti bude hořet (nebe) nad hlavou a praskat (zem) pod nohama.
Čtyři za samotný komiks, hvězdička navíc za dobře promazaný stroj ilustrací. A ten papír! A ta vazba, mňam~
V komiksu se pracovalo s dvěma liniemi � první onou marxovsko-englesovskou � revoluční. Ilustrace jsou v tomhle kontrastu v dosti dystopickém duchu. Což pak následně přechází v druhou závěrečnou - deziluzivní a až antirevoluční realitu.
Nakonec Evropou stále obchází strašidlo a to strašidlo je opět komunismus. Jen se to teď převrátilo a komunismus jako revoluční rovnostářská vize, ke které bychom měli směřovat se mění v strach, že neudržíme status quo � a raději budeme odmítat cokoliv, co má jen trochu společného se sociální spravedlností a solidaritou, jelikož kvůli onomu strašidlu to zaměňujeme za hrozbu „komunismu�, který tu vládl.
Taková dokonalá absurdní apokalypsa. Na mysl mi přichází hláška od Marka Fishera: „Je snadnější si představit konec světa, než konec kapitalismu.� Tak pak nenadávej, až ti bude hořet (nebe) nad hlavou a praskat (zem) pod nohama.
Čtyři za samotný komiks, hvězdička navíc za dobře promazaný stroj ilustrací. A ten papír! A ta vazba, mňam~
November 13, 2018
Macabre. But then, Marx's view of the capitalist society is also pretty macabre.
I don't know that I gained anything in reading this. I feel like Rowson overly relied on Marx's work, and it ultimately got bogged down by text. It felt clunky, and I felt a disconnect between text and image.
That being said, the art was worth it. It was detailed and nuanced and pretty grim altogether. I enjoyed that aspect of it.
Big takeaway is that it felt disjointed--images merely captioned with Marx quotes. I'm not sure that there's a real concept of narrative there, no concept of plot. The graphic novel just kind of is.
I don't know that I gained anything in reading this. I feel like Rowson overly relied on Marx's work, and it ultimately got bogged down by text. It felt clunky, and I felt a disconnect between text and image.
That being said, the art was worth it. It was detailed and nuanced and pretty grim altogether. I enjoyed that aspect of it.
Big takeaway is that it felt disjointed--images merely captioned with Marx quotes. I'm not sure that there's a real concept of narrative there, no concept of plot. The graphic novel just kind of is.
April 4, 2024
::انطباع عام::
========
رسوم بديعة وذكية من الرسام وتطويع النص الخاص بالبيان مع الرسوم يدل على تشرّب الكاتب للبيان ومعرفة خباياه، ولم يمنع ذلك من تقديم الرسوم بطريقة فيها لمسة كوميدية، على الرغم من أن نص الكتاب يحتوي مقاطع كاملة من البيان الشيوعي الأصلي الكامل. وبالتالي فهذا الكتاب هو مدخل ممتاز لمن أراد أن يعرف عن البيان الشيوعي، أكثر الكتب مبيعًا بعد الكتاب المقدس في التاريخ البشري قاطبةً!
***
::في سطور::
=======
1_ البيان الشيوعي هو كتيب سياسي كتبه كل من كارل ماركس وفريدريك إنجلز، ونشر أصلاً في لندن عام 1848. يعد هذا النص هو المحاولة الأولى والأكثر منهجية التي قام بها ماركس وإنجلز لتدوين الفكرة المادية التاريخية للاستهلاك الواسع النطاق والتي تقول إن تاريخ كل المجتمع الموجود حتى الآن هو تاريخ من الصراعات الطبقية، حيث يتم تحديد الطبقات الاجتماعية من خلال العلاقات بين الناس ووسائل الإنتاج. نُشر البيان على خلفية ثورات عارمة في عام 1848 في أوروبا، ولا يزال يعتبر أحد أكثر الوثائق السياسية تأثيرًا في العالم.
2_ يجمع ماركس وإنجلز بين المادية الفلسفية والمنهج الجدلي الهيغلي من أجل تحليل تطور المجتمع الأوروبي من خلال أنماط إنتاجه، بما في ذلك الشيوعية البدائية والعصور القديمة والإقطاعية والرأسمالية، مع ملاحظة ظهور طبقة مهيمنة جديدة في كل مرحلة. يحدد النص العلاقة بين وسائل الإنتاج، وعلاقات الإنتاج، وقوى الإنتاج، ونمط الإنتاج، ويفترض أن التغييرات في القاعدة الاقتصادية للمجتمع هي التي تؤثر على البنية الفوقية له. ماركس وإنجلز يؤكدان على أن الرأسمالية تتميز باستغلال البروليتاريا (الطبقة العاملة من العمال المأجورين أو طبقة الشغّالة/الشغّيلة) من قبل البرجوازية الحاكمة، التي تحدث ثورة مستمرة في أدوات علاقات الإنتاج، ومعها علاقات المجتمع بأكملها. وهما يزعمان أن حاجة رأس المال إلى قوة عمل مرنة تعمل على إذابة العلاقات القديمة، وأن توسع رأس المال العالمي بحثاً عن أسواق جديدة يخلق عالمًا على صورته الخاصة من تكون السوق الحرة.
3_ ويخلص البيان إلى أن الرأسمالية لا تقدم للإنسانية إمكانية تحقيق الذات، بل تضمن بدلاً من ذلك أن يعاني البشر من التقزم والعزلة بشكل دائم. فهو يرى أن الرأسمالية ستؤدي إلى تدمير نفسها عن طريق استقطاب وتوحيد البروليتاريا مع بعضهم البعض، ويتنبأ بأن الثورة ستؤدي إلى ظهور الشيوعية، وهو مجتمع لاطبقي يكون فيه التطور الحر لكل فرد هو شرط التطور الحر للجميع. ماركس وإنجلز يقترحان السياسات الانتقالية التالية: إلغاء الملكية الخاصة في الأرض والميراث؛ وإدخال ضريبة الدخل التصاعدية؛ مصادرة ممتلكات المتمردين؛ تأميم الائتمان والاتصالات والنقل؛ التوسع والتكامل بين الصناعات والزراعيات؛ إنفاذ الالتزام العالمي بالعمل؛ وتوفير التعليم الشامل وإلغاء عمالة الأطفال والقصّر. وينتهي النص بدعوة حاسمة وشهيرة للتضامن، والتي اشتهرت بترديد شعار: "يا عمال العالم، اتحدوا! ليس لديكم ما تخسرونه سوى قيودكم."
***
::المحتوى::
======
0_ ينقسم البيان الشيوعي إلى مقدمة وأربعة أقسام. تبدأ المقدمة بالعبارة الأشهر في التاريخ: "هناك شبح يطوف في أوروبا إنه شبح الشيوعية." وبالإشارة إلى أنه كان منتشرًا على نطاق واسع بين السياسيين لوصف خصومهم بالشيوعيين، يستنتج المؤلفون أن من في السلطة يعترفون بأن الشيوعية قوة في حد ذاتها. بعد ذلك، تحث المقدمة الشيوعيين على نشر وجهات نظرهم وأهدافهم بشكل علني، وهي وظيفة البيان ذاته.
1_ القسم الأول: "البرجوازيون والبروليتاريون" يحدد الخطوط العريضة للمادية التاريخية، وينص على أن تاريخ كل المجتمع الموجود حتى الآن هو تاريخ الصراعات الطبقية. اتخذت جميع المجتمعات في التاريخ شكل أغلبية مضطهَدة استغلتها أقلية مضطهِدة. ففي ظل الرأسمالية تنخرط الطبقة العاملة الصناعية أو البروليتاريا في صراع طبقي ضد مالكي وسائل الإنتاج البرجوازية. لقد برزت البرجوازية من خلال التثوير المستمر للإنتاج والاضطراب المتواصل لجميع الظروف الاجتماعية، مما أدى إلى إزاحة جميع القوى الإقطاعية القديمة. إن البرجوازية تستغل البروليتاريا باستمرار من أجل قوة عملها، فتخلق الربح لنفسها وتراكم رأس المال. ومع ذلك، البرجوازية ستكون بمثابة حفارة قبرها؛ لأن البروليتاريا ستصبح حتمًا واعية بإمكانياتها الخاصة وستصعد إلى السلطة من خلال الثورة، والإطاحة بالبرجوازية.
2_ القسم الثاني: "البروليتاريون والشيوعيون" يوضح علاقة الشيوعيين الواعين مع بقية الطبقة العاملة. لن يعارض الحزب الشيوعي أحزاب الطبقة العاملة الأخرى، لكنه، على عكسها، سيعبر عن الإرادة العامة ويدافع عن المصالح المشتركة للبروليتاريا العالمية ككل، بشكل مستقل عن جميع القوميات. يستمر البيان في الدفاع عن الشيوعية ضد الاعتراضات المختلفة، بما في ذلك الادعاءات بأنها تدعو إلى الدعارة الجماعية أو تثبط الناس عن العمل. وفي الخاتمة يتم تحديد مجموعة من المطالب قصيرة المدى، من بينها ضريبة دخل تصاعدية؛ إلغاء الميراث والملكية الخاصة؛ إلغاء عمالة الأطفال؛ التعليم العام المجاني؛ تأميم وسائل النقل والمواصلات؛ مركزية الائتمان عبر بنك وطني؛ التوسع في الأراضي المملوكة للقطاع العام، وما إلى ذلك - والذي يُقال إن تنفيذه سيؤدي إلى نشوء مجتمع بلا جنسيات أو طبقات.
3_ القسم الثالث: "الأدب الاشتراكي والشيوعي" يميز الشيوعية عن المذاهب الاشتراكية الأخرى السائدة في ذلك الوقت والتي تم تصنيفها على نطاق واسع على أنها اشتراكية رجعية. الاشتراكية المحافظة أو البرجوازية؛ والاشتراكية والشيوعية الطوباوية النقدية. وفي حين تتباين درجة النقد تجاه وجهات النظر المتنافسة، إلا أن الجميع يتم رفضها بسبب مناصرتها للإصلاحية وفشلها في الاعتراف بالدور الثوري البارز للطبقة العاملة.
4_ القسم الرابع: "موقف الشيوعيين فيما يتعلق بمختلف أحزاب المعارضة"، يناقش بإيجاز الموقف الشيوعي من النضالات في بلدان محددة في منتصف القرن التاسع عشر مثل فرنسا وسويسرا وبولندا وأخيرا ألمانيا، الذي يقال إنه عشية الثورة البرجوازية ويتنبأ بأن ثورة عالمية ستليها عن قريب. وينتهي بإعلان التحالف مع الاشتراكيين الديمقراطيين، ودعم الثورات الشيوعية الأخرى بجرأة والدعوة إلى عمل بروليتاري عالمي موحد معليًا شعار الاشتراكية الواسع الصدى: "يا كل عمّال العالم، اتحدوا!".
***
::التأثير::
=====
كانت التأثيرات السياسية لماركس وإنجلز واسعة النطاق في العالم كله، حيث كانت تتفاعل مع الفلسفة المثالية الألمانية الهيغيلية وتستلهم منها، والاشتراكية الفرنسية، والاقتصاد السياسي الإنجليزي والاسكتلندي. يستمد البيان الشيوعي أيضًا تأثيره من الأدب عمومًا.
***
::صورة::
======
*.*.*.*.*
========
رسوم بديعة وذكية من الرسام وتطويع النص الخاص بالبيان مع الرسوم يدل على تشرّب الكاتب للبيان ومعرفة خباياه، ولم يمنع ذلك من تقديم الرسوم بطريقة فيها لمسة كوميدية، على الرغم من أن نص الكتاب يحتوي مقاطع كاملة من البيان الشيوعي الأصلي الكامل. وبالتالي فهذا الكتاب هو مدخل ممتاز لمن أراد أن يعرف عن البيان الشيوعي، أكثر الكتب مبيعًا بعد الكتاب المقدس في التاريخ البشري قاطبةً!
***
::في سطور::
=======
1_ البيان الشيوعي هو كتيب سياسي كتبه كل من كارل ماركس وفريدريك إنجلز، ونشر أصلاً في لندن عام 1848. يعد هذا النص هو المحاولة الأولى والأكثر منهجية التي قام بها ماركس وإنجلز لتدوين الفكرة المادية التاريخية للاستهلاك الواسع النطاق والتي تقول إن تاريخ كل المجتمع الموجود حتى الآن هو تاريخ من الصراعات الطبقية، حيث يتم تحديد الطبقات الاجتماعية من خلال العلاقات بين الناس ووسائل الإنتاج. نُشر البيان على خلفية ثورات عارمة في عام 1848 في أوروبا، ولا يزال يعتبر أحد أكثر الوثائق السياسية تأثيرًا في العالم.
2_ يجمع ماركس وإنجلز بين المادية الفلسفية والمنهج الجدلي الهيغلي من أجل تحليل تطور المجتمع الأوروبي من خلال أنماط إنتاجه، بما في ذلك الشيوعية البدائية والعصور القديمة والإقطاعية والرأسمالية، مع ملاحظة ظهور طبقة مهيمنة جديدة في كل مرحلة. يحدد النص العلاقة بين وسائل الإنتاج، وعلاقات الإنتاج، وقوى الإنتاج، ونمط الإنتاج، ويفترض أن التغييرات في القاعدة الاقتصادية للمجتمع هي التي تؤثر على البنية الفوقية له. ماركس وإنجلز يؤكدان على أن الرأسمالية تتميز باستغلال البروليتاريا (الطبقة العاملة من العمال المأجورين أو طبقة الشغّالة/الشغّيلة) من قبل البرجوازية الحاكمة، التي تحدث ثورة مستمرة في أدوات علاقات الإنتاج، ومعها علاقات المجتمع بأكملها. وهما يزعمان أن حاجة رأس المال إلى قوة عمل مرنة تعمل على إذابة العلاقات القديمة، وأن توسع رأس المال العالمي بحثاً عن أسواق جديدة يخلق عالمًا على صورته الخاصة من تكون السوق الحرة.
3_ ويخلص البيان إلى أن الرأسمالية لا تقدم للإنسانية إمكانية تحقيق الذات، بل تضمن بدلاً من ذلك أن يعاني البشر من التقزم والعزلة بشكل دائم. فهو يرى أن الرأسمالية ستؤدي إلى تدمير نفسها عن طريق استقطاب وتوحيد البروليتاريا مع بعضهم البعض، ويتنبأ بأن الثورة ستؤدي إلى ظهور الشيوعية، وهو مجتمع لاطبقي يكون فيه التطور الحر لكل فرد هو شرط التطور الحر للجميع. ماركس وإنجلز يقترحان السياسات الانتقالية التالية: إلغاء الملكية الخاصة في الأرض والميراث؛ وإدخال ضريبة الدخل التصاعدية؛ مصادرة ممتلكات المتمردين؛ تأميم الائتمان والاتصالات والنقل؛ التوسع والتكامل بين الصناعات والزراعيات؛ إنفاذ الالتزام العالمي بالعمل؛ وتوفير التعليم الشامل وإلغاء عمالة الأطفال والقصّر. وينتهي النص بدعوة حاسمة وشهيرة للتضامن، والتي اشتهرت بترديد شعار: "يا عمال العالم، اتحدوا! ليس لديكم ما تخسرونه سوى قيودكم."
***
::المحتوى::
======
0_ ينقسم البيان الشيوعي إلى مقدمة وأربعة أقسام. تبدأ المقدمة بالعبارة الأشهر في التاريخ: "هناك شبح يطوف في أوروبا إنه شبح الشيوعية." وبالإشارة إلى أنه كان منتشرًا على نطاق واسع بين السياسيين لوصف خصومهم بالشيوعيين، يستنتج المؤلفون أن من في السلطة يعترفون بأن الشيوعية قوة في حد ذاتها. بعد ذلك، تحث المقدمة الشيوعيين على نشر وجهات نظرهم وأهدافهم بشكل علني، وهي وظيفة البيان ذاته.
1_ القسم الأول: "البرجوازيون والبروليتاريون" يحدد الخطوط العريضة للمادية التاريخية، وينص على أن تاريخ كل المجتمع الموجود حتى الآن هو تاريخ الصراعات الطبقية. اتخذت جميع المجتمعات في التاريخ شكل أغلبية مضطهَدة استغلتها أقلية مضطهِدة. ففي ظل الرأسمالية تنخرط الطبقة العاملة الصناعية أو البروليتاريا في صراع طبقي ضد مالكي وسائل الإنتاج البرجوازية. لقد برزت البرجوازية من خلال التثوير المستمر للإنتاج والاضطراب المتواصل لجميع الظروف الاجتماعية، مما أدى إلى إزاحة جميع القوى الإقطاعية القديمة. إن البرجوازية تستغل البروليتاريا باستمرار من أجل قوة عملها، فتخلق الربح لنفسها وتراكم رأس المال. ومع ذلك، البرجوازية ستكون بمثابة حفارة قبرها؛ لأن البروليتاريا ستصبح حتمًا واعية بإمكانياتها الخاصة وستصعد إلى السلطة من خلال الثورة، والإطاحة بالبرجوازية.
2_ القسم الثاني: "البروليتاريون والشيوعيون" يوضح علاقة الشيوعيين الواعين مع بقية الطبقة العاملة. لن يعارض الحزب الشيوعي أحزاب الطبقة العاملة الأخرى، لكنه، على عكسها، سيعبر عن الإرادة العامة ويدافع عن المصالح المشتركة للبروليتاريا العالمية ككل، بشكل مستقل عن جميع القوميات. يستمر البيان في الدفاع عن الشيوعية ضد الاعتراضات المختلفة، بما في ذلك الادعاءات بأنها تدعو إلى الدعارة الجماعية أو تثبط الناس عن العمل. وفي الخاتمة يتم تحديد مجموعة من المطالب قصيرة المدى، من بينها ضريبة دخل تصاعدية؛ إلغاء الميراث والملكية الخاصة؛ إلغاء عمالة الأطفال؛ التعليم العام المجاني؛ تأميم وسائل النقل والمواصلات؛ مركزية الائتمان عبر بنك وطني؛ التوسع في الأراضي المملوكة للقطاع العام، وما إلى ذلك - والذي يُقال إن تنفيذه سيؤدي إلى نشوء مجتمع بلا جنسيات أو طبقات.
3_ القسم الثالث: "الأدب الاشتراكي والشيوعي" يميز الشيوعية عن المذاهب الاشتراكية الأخرى السائدة في ذلك الوقت والتي تم تصنيفها على نطاق واسع على أنها اشتراكية رجعية. الاشتراكية المحافظة أو البرجوازية؛ والاشتراكية والشيوعية الطوباوية النقدية. وفي حين تتباين درجة النقد تجاه وجهات النظر المتنافسة، إلا أن الجميع يتم رفضها بسبب مناصرتها للإصلاحية وفشلها في الاعتراف بالدور الثوري البارز للطبقة العاملة.
4_ القسم الرابع: "موقف الشيوعيين فيما يتعلق بمختلف أحزاب المعارضة"، يناقش بإيجاز الموقف الشيوعي من النضالات في بلدان محددة في منتصف القرن التاسع عشر مثل فرنسا وسويسرا وبولندا وأخيرا ألمانيا، الذي يقال إنه عشية الثورة البرجوازية ويتنبأ بأن ثورة عالمية ستليها عن قريب. وينتهي بإعلان التحالف مع الاشتراكيين الديمقراطيين، ودعم الثورات الشيوعية الأخرى بجرأة والدعوة إلى عمل بروليتاري عالمي موحد معليًا شعار الاشتراكية الواسع الصدى: "يا كل عمّال العالم، اتحدوا!".
***
::التأثير::
=====
كانت التأثيرات السياسية لماركس وإنجلز واسعة النطاق في العالم كله، حيث كانت تتفاعل مع الفلسفة المثالية الألمانية الهيغيلية وتستلهم منها، والاشتراكية الفرنسية، والاقتصاد السياسي الإنجليزي والاسكتلندي. يستمد البيان الشيوعي أيضًا تأثيره من الأدب عمومًا.
***
::صورة::
======
*.*.*.*.*
August 11, 2024
تعمدت أن أقراء النسخة المصورة أولا حتي لا يكن العمل جافا بعض الشيئ علي و يسهل إستيعابه عن النسخة الأولية حيث تضفي الرسوم بعض الحركة و رغم ذالك أشعر أني أحتاج بعض الوقت لأتشرب أفكاره ولكني بالطبع إستمتعت.
و ما أعجبني حقا هو التنوع في أسلوب العرض المصور فحينا تكون أعمدة مجاورة لبعضها أو سحب منبثقة من بعضها و أحيانا أخري في إطارات متراصة من متوازيات أضلاع، سيكون ذالك مألوفا لمن يقرأ الكوميكس.
و أخيرا أود شكر دار المحروسة و هدير المهدوي لنقل ذالك النسخة المصورة إلي العربية.
و ما أعجبني حقا هو التنوع في أسلوب العرض المصور فحينا تكون أعمدة مجاورة لبعضها أو سحب منبثقة من بعضها و أحيانا أخري في إطارات متراصة من متوازيات أضلاع، سيكون ذالك مألوفا لمن يقرأ الكوميكس.
و أخيرا أود شكر دار المحروسة و هدير المهدوي لنقل ذالك النسخة المصورة إلي العربية.
August 5, 2018
My score is a compromise between 3 stars for the ever relevant, but extremely messy, original manifesto, and 5 stars for the clever, thoughtful and creative dimension Martin Rowson's illustrations give it. Bonus points for the "Preface" and "Aftermath" sections.
March 7, 2021
So the text is basically a highlight reel of the already succinct Communist Manifesto. The art that accompanies it, and is the key point of differentiation of this book, is stylish but only infrequently clarifies or intensifies the text. Most of the time it merely accompanies it.
October 27, 2018
Before I started reading this short graphic novel, which is the text of the communist manifesto with pictures, I was sure I hadn't read it. I mean, in university, the stuff was everywhere as Marxian analysis was big and post Marxist thought and ... and... and...
I was content to review this as a drunken tirade late one night at the local pub (true story, BTW) but then I read it. I have read this one before. It is some gripe filled work that has some truth and a ten thousand feet view. It is a call to action before last call. It is both most true and most desperate.
It is also the reason that I don't care for most Marxian analysis. They ignore the more basic parts like booze and real work. Academics talking about work and against the petty bourgeoisie seems a little rich. I get that these are intoxicating thoughts to the middle class who, I sometimes think, believe that when they help their worker brothers rise up, will be left to lead are totally mistaken.
I guess for me, the idea that the downtrodden will rise up and revolt is a bit of a duh moment. I mean those who aren't downtrodden rarely have to rise up and overthrow their own system. Except for palace intrigues. So, maybe this tract is more about human nature than anything else.
I am being glib. There is value in this approach. But too many times, it goes off the rails. And this book makes that point too. No, it can't all be blamed on Marx. Some lies at the feet of those that followed and of those who made hay from exploitation of these feelings of change.
I would definitely recommend this to anarchists, communists and socialists of any stripe. It is a fairly honest look at the communist manifesto. Sure, it is a little forward and the text with some graphics but it doesn't shy away from the editorializing and failures of communism as enacted without still staying true to the spirit. Loads of fun.
I was content to review this as a drunken tirade late one night at the local pub (true story, BTW) but then I read it. I have read this one before. It is some gripe filled work that has some truth and a ten thousand feet view. It is a call to action before last call. It is both most true and most desperate.
It is also the reason that I don't care for most Marxian analysis. They ignore the more basic parts like booze and real work. Academics talking about work and against the petty bourgeoisie seems a little rich. I get that these are intoxicating thoughts to the middle class who, I sometimes think, believe that when they help their worker brothers rise up, will be left to lead are totally mistaken.
I guess for me, the idea that the downtrodden will rise up and revolt is a bit of a duh moment. I mean those who aren't downtrodden rarely have to rise up and overthrow their own system. Except for palace intrigues. So, maybe this tract is more about human nature than anything else.
I am being glib. There is value in this approach. But too many times, it goes off the rails. And this book makes that point too. No, it can't all be blamed on Marx. Some lies at the feet of those that followed and of those who made hay from exploitation of these feelings of change.
I would definitely recommend this to anarchists, communists and socialists of any stripe. It is a fairly honest look at the communist manifesto. Sure, it is a little forward and the text with some graphics but it doesn't shy away from the editorializing and failures of communism as enacted without still staying true to the spirit. Loads of fun.
August 8, 2020
Snad nejpůsobivější výtvarné ztvárnění nějaké knihy, jaké se mi kdy dostalo do rukou. Označení "komiksové provedení" mi tu tak docela nesedí.
Martin Rowson má skvělou fantazii a styl. Ztvárnit takové teoretické dílo, jako je Komunistický manifest... dát mu nějaký "děj", nějakou naraci... autor tu zkrátka musel vytvořit spoustu obrazných zástupných symbolů a to se mu podařilo takřka geniálně.
První půlka knihy je jakási "dialektická epopej"... vystavená na fascinujících dvoustránkových ilustracích. Přes stránky se tu pozvolna line strašidlo komunismu, aby se v jeden moment naprosto rozbouřilo... jako by to byl vrchol nějaké Rachmaninovy skladby! A po tomto vrcholu hrají zase polidnější, leč stále naléhavé smyčce dějin třídních bojů... ty ilustrace jsou jako symfonie. Člověk jako by přímo slyšel otáčení ozubených kol, bouchání kladiv a cinkot peněz.
Teprve až druhá půlka knihy je typičtěji komiksová. Na obrazných prknech Kapitalistického komediálního klubu vystoupí Marx a nelítostně roztrhá všechny protiargumenty vládnoucí třídy, jen aby nakonec roztáhl oponu své zářivě barevné vize - vize uprostřed přitažlivě depresivního zbytku knihy, který je výrvarně laděn do odstínů šedé a rudé.
Martin Rowson má skvělou fantazii a styl. Ztvárnit takové teoretické dílo, jako je Komunistický manifest... dát mu nějaký "děj", nějakou naraci... autor tu zkrátka musel vytvořit spoustu obrazných zástupných symbolů a to se mu podařilo takřka geniálně.
První půlka knihy je jakási "dialektická epopej"... vystavená na fascinujících dvoustránkových ilustracích. Přes stránky se tu pozvolna line strašidlo komunismu, aby se v jeden moment naprosto rozbouřilo... jako by to byl vrchol nějaké Rachmaninovy skladby! A po tomto vrcholu hrají zase polidnější, leč stále naléhavé smyčce dějin třídních bojů... ty ilustrace jsou jako symfonie. Člověk jako by přímo slyšel otáčení ozubených kol, bouchání kladiv a cinkot peněz.
Teprve až druhá půlka knihy je typičtěji komiksová. Na obrazných prknech Kapitalistického komediálního klubu vystoupí Marx a nelítostně roztrhá všechny protiargumenty vládnoucí třídy, jen aby nakonec roztáhl oponu své zářivě barevné vize - vize uprostřed přitažlivě depresivního zbytku knihy, který je výrvarně laděn do odstínů šedé a rudé.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.