III—Socialist and Communist Literature Summary and Analysis

Part 3 examines existing literatures. It is divided into three main sections—reactionary socialism, conservative socialism, and utopian socialism. Reactionary socialism is itself further divided into three sections—feudal socialism, petty-bourgeois socialism, and true socialism. The manifesto takes a broad definition of literature and uses the term to embody not only literature proper, but the whole body of thought and cultural expectation surrounding a social literature. Thus, the response of Communism to 'literature' suggests an attempt by the authors to establish the role of Communism in a wider, historical, context. From a historical perspective, the critique of these various alternative theories was devastating to their adherents. With the rise of Communism, these competing viewpoints virtually disappeared from any meaningful context. Various later editions of the text add occasional explanatory footnotes...