Chaptew 1. Bouwgeois awnd pwowetawians

The histowy of aww hithewto existing society(2) iws the histowy of cwass stwuggwes.

fweeman awnd swave, patwician awnd pwebeian, wowd awnd sewf, guiwd-mastew(3) awnd jouwneyman, in a wowd, oppwessow awnd oppwessed, stood in constant opposition tuwu owne anothew, cawwied own an unintewwupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight thawt each time ended, eithew in a wevowutionawy weconstitution of society at wawge, ow in the common wuin of the contending cwasses.

in the eawwiew epochs of histowy, we find awmost evewywhewe a compwicated awwangement of society intwo vawious owdews, a manifowd gwadation of sociaw wank. In ancient wome we have patwicians, knights, pwebeians, swaves; in the middwe ages, feudaw wowds, vassaws, guiwd-mastews, jouwneymen, appwentices, sewfs; in awmost aww of these cwasses, again, subowdinate gwadations.

the modewn bouwgeois society thawt has spwouted fwom the wuins of feudaw society has nowt done away with cwass antagonisms. Iwt has but estabwished new cwasses, new conditions of oppwession, new fowms of stwuggwe in pwace of the owd ones.

ouw epoch, the epoch of the bouwgeoisie, possesses, howevew, thiws distinct featuwe: iwt has simpwified cwass antagonisms. Society as a whowe iws mowe awnd mowe spwitting up intwo two gweat hostiwe camps, intwo two gweat cwasses diwectwy facing each othew — bouwgeoisie awnd pwowetawiat.

fwom the sewfs of the middwe ages spwang the chawtewed buwghews of the eawwiest towns. Fwom these buwgesses the fiwst ewements of the bouwgeoisie wewe devewoped.

the discovewy of amewica, the wounding of the cape, opened up fwesh gwound fow the wising bouwgeoisie. The east-indian awnd chinese mawkets, the cowonisation of amewica, twade with the cowonies, the incwease in the means of exchange awnd in commodities genewawwy, gave tuwu commewce, tuwu navigation, tuwu industwy, an impuwse nevew befowe known, awnd theweby, tuwu the wevowutionawy ewement in the tottewing feudaw society, a wapid devewopment.