The Rough Draft of the Manifesto
3 stars
The Principles of Communism served as a rough draft for The Communist Manifesto, and it has its rough edges. In particular, it is exceedingly optimistic (dare I say idealistic) and assured of the coupling between technical and process improvements in industry and a future completely lacking of needs and satiated of wants.
Reading with the benefit of nearly two centuries of hindsight, it's clear --and understandable-- that ecological concerns and the spectre of imperialism weren't on the radar at the time of writing.