History, for Marx, was the history of class struggle. This view has been widely influential and not just in Marxist circles. Once again, however, it is not easy to guide the reader to a systematic presentation. The one time Marx sat down to expound his theory of classes, he broke off after a few pages (Selection 23). To reconstruct his theory, the best place to start is with the first section of The Communist Manifesto (Selection 19). Next, one should go on to read his analyses of class structure and class struggle in England (Selection 20) and France (Selections 21 and 22). Another text which may be consulted is Selection 8b.

The passage excerpted here is the first section of this famous document. (The second section is reproduced as Selection 24 below.) Jointly written by Marx and Engels, it was commissioned by the Communist League, a small organization of European workers. It is not only an unsurpassed masterpiece of political propaganda, but also an important theoretical statement, summarizing most of Marx's views as they had developed up to that time.