1850 Address to the Communist League

The Classics, Revolutionary Work, Part 4

1848 in Berlin

1850 Address to the Communist League

When history is on the move the changes run all over the place. The job of the communists is invariably to urge history on, and to push all the players, including the bourgeoisie, to play their historical parts to the utmost extent.

The phrase "permanent revolution" belongs first to Marx and not to Trotsky. It comes from the March, 1850 Address given by Karl Marx to the Central Committee of the Communist League, of which "permanent revolution" are the last two words. See below for a link to a downloadable file of this great document.

"Permanent revolution" only means a qualitative change that will be defended.

It does not mean that the revolution is irreversible.

Nor does it mean that the revolution has to be repeated constantly like the punishment of Sisyphus.

The March, 1850 Address to the Communist League is an internationalist document. At the time, the newly formed communist organisations were active all over Europe, in a time when monarchies were falling and feudalism was on the way out in many countries.

Read the document with care and attention!

Please download and read the text via the following link:

Address to the Communist League Central Committee, March 1850, Marx (4120 words)

Further (optional) reading:

A Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy 1857, Marx (11186 words)

International Working Mens’ Association Inaugural Address, 1864, Marx (3320 words)

Value, Price and Profit, Chapters 6 to 10, 1865, Marx (6563 words)