Previous
Symbols
At the end of The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels declare that the proletariat must free themselves of their “chains,” referring to the oppression of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie under the capitalist system. The use of the word “chains” illustrates that the dominance of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat represents a form of enslavement. This aligns with the authors’ argument that, as the bourgeoisie owns everything in society, the only resource the proletariat has is its labor power, which it must sell to the bourgeoisie in exchange for a wage. With no wealth of their own, members of the proletariat depend upon this wage for mere survival, putting their lives completely at the mercy of the bourgeoisie. Chains, then, represent the restriction that the class system imposes on the majority of society; because the proletariat has no property or wealth of its own, the only thing it has to lose in bringing about revolution is its enslavement. Finally, one of the actual uses of chains is to restrict movement—Marx and Engels are thus implying that the metaphorical chains of the proletariat prevent its own movement out of oppression. Communism, argue Marx and Engels, represents the proletariat’s opportunity to cast off its chains and “win” the world.
Chains Quotes in The Communist Manifesto
The The Communist Manifesto quotes below all refer to the symbol of Chains. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
I. Bourgeois and Proletarians Quotes
Modern industry has converted the little workshop of the patriarchal master into the great factory of the industrialist capitalist. Masses of laborers, crowded into the factory, are organized like soldiers. As privates of the individual army they are placed under the command of a perfect hierarchy of officers and sergeants. Not only are they slaves of the bourgeois class, and of the bourgeois State; they are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the overlooker, and, above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself. The more openly this despotism proclaims gain to be its end and aim, the more petty, the more hateful and the more embittering it is.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This passage offers further explanation as to the way in which the bourgeoisie unwittingly empowers the proletariat, and gives a general sense of poor working conditions during industrialization. The military imagery deliberately conjures the sense of the proletariat’s potential collective power, but equally applies to the rigid and unrewarding working lives of those the bourgeoisie employs. In fact, such is the bourgeoisie’s dominance that it has forced parts of the proletariat to willingly oppress others in exchange for their wage—these are the “officers” and “sergeants” Marx and Engels refer to. This also speaks to the specific kind of labor that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et.
IV. Position of the Communists... Quotes
Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.
WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
These famous closing words of the manifesto remind the reader that this isn’t intended to be a work of theory or academia—the authors want their words to be a call to arms. The evocative image of the chains suggests that proletarians are in a position of enslavement, and that the only thing they have to lose in revolution is this oppressed condition. Of course, following Marx and Engels’ earlier logic, members of the proletariat are in a precarious position given that they depend on the bourgeoisie for their very survival (through wage-labor). That’s why the revolution depends upon the widespread Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commod
Get the entire The Communist Manifesto LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Chains Symbol Timeline in The Communist Manifesto
The timeline below shows where the symbol Chains appears in The Communist Manifesto. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
IV. Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties
...at a Communistic revolution,” and declare that the proletarians have “nothing to lose but their chains.” The manifesto ends with Marx and Engels imploring the “WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES” to...
(full context)
