8. An Introduction to Communism (Pt I)

What is the proletariat? Who wrote the Communist Manifesto? What was the context in which it was written?

Time Period Covered 1842 – 1900

This episode is intended to function as an introduction to the ideas of Marx and Engels, and more broadly to 'communism'. We begin with some common phrases used by the Communist Party of Kampuchea and their cadre that highlight the ideology of the movement. We then depart Southeast Asia for Europe in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, and look at the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as they form a new view of history based on economics and class, and they forecast revolution.

Sources
Friedrich Engels The Conditions of the Working Class in England
Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels The Communist Manifesto
Henri Locard ​Pol Pot's Little Red Book: The Sayings of Angkar