Manifesto of the Communist Party & Principles of Communism

Marx's sharp account of how Louis Bonaparte seized power in France in 1851, the essay that begins with history repeating itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. It is his finest piece of historical writing, showing class struggle at work in real politics.

Karl Marx

Written in 1850, this is Marx's first attempt to explain a revolution as it unfolded, following France from the February Revolution of 1848 to the defeat of the workers. It includes Engels' 1895 introduction, one of his last texts.

Karl Marx

Marx's addresses to the First International on the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune of 1871. He defends the Commune as the first government of the working class and draws from it his lessons on the state.

Karl Marx

Marx's 1875 notes on the program of the new German workers' party, short but packed with ideas. It is where he describes the two phases of communist society and coins the line "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs".

Karl Marx