It is advisable to read the entire Manifesto, if not possible Chapter I ‘Bourgeoise and Proletarians’ should be discussed in the first class and chapter II ‘Proletarians and Communists’ should be discussed in the second class.
1) It would be beneficial to start discussing the text by asking students to create a list of terms from the text that are unfamiliar to them.
2) How do Marx and Engels define the bourgeoisie and the proletariat?
3) The Manifesto begins with a startling claim that the human history is a history of class struggle. Do you agree with this claim? Do you think Marx and Engels have reduced the history of human civilizations to class-struggle and have ignored cultural and artistic historic contributions?
4) In part II of the pamphlet Marx and Engels propose ten goals of Socialism, including “…abolition of the distinction between town and country, and free education for all children in public schools.” Do you agree with their demands? Do you think these demands are practical?
5) How would you define the concept of Freedom as argued in the Manifesto?
6) How do you think that the “The discovery of America, the rounding of the Cape, opened up fresh ground for the rising bourgeoisie”?
7) Do you think that the Manifesto has any relevance today?