The Communist Manifesto presents the argument that capitalism is by its very nature exploitative and hence is antithetical to freedom. Written in 1848, it became the blueprint for the communist wave that would sweep Europe. It remains a fascinating read.

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Friedrich Engels was a German philosopher who, alongside his lifelong friend and colleague Karl Marx, founded Marxist political theory. Born in Barmen, Prussia, to a wealthy and religious family, Engels soon found himself at odds with his parents, who did not approve of his atheism or his radical political and social beliefs. At age 17, Engels dropped out of school and was expected to go into business like his father, but became involved in politics instead. He soon published his first major work, The Condition of the Working Class in England, which was read and admired by Karl Marx. The two arranged to meet in Brussels and quickly became friends. Engels and his new colleague joined the German Communist League, working on political writing which would one day became The Communist Manifesto. After Marx died, Engels continued his efforts to edit and publish the second and third volumes of Marx's Das Kapital. Engels also contributed to social anthropology with his work on family structures over time in The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State. He died in 1895, and is still regarded as crucial in the foundation of labour unions and socialist theory.