Revolutionaries Protest, but not for Communism

Throughout The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels try to inspire revolutionary fervor in the “proletarians,” or the working class. The closing sentences of the novel inspire the proletarians to rise up, “The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKINGMEN OF ALL COUNTRIES UNITE!” (116). These last few lines have influenced and inspired many revolutionaries, and they might have impacted revolutionaries in present day Egypt. For the past few weeks, Egyptians have been rising up against their government and especially their leader Mubarak. Unlike how Marx and Engels urge Proletarians to initiate communism, the people of Egypt are protesting the oppressive government and are pushing for a democracy.
There are many apparent causes to the Egyptian Revolution, such as inflation in food prices, large economic trouble, built up anger and oppression, and the revolution in Tunisia also served as a catalyst in the Egyptian Revolution. So far the Egyptian revolution is not rooted in social issues, in fact many classes stand together protesting the government. Most Egyptians want a new government where than can have freedom of speech and independence. Further, Egyptians are not being oppressed by the “Bourgeoisie,” (like Marx and Engels predicted) rather they are being tyrannized by their own government, the exact same people who might control a communistic society.
While the revolution in Egypt has united many people, it is unsure what will result if their revolution is unsuccessful or successful. In The Communist Manifesto Marx and Engels write, “Does it require deep intuitions to comprehend that man’s ideas, views and conceptions, in one word, man’s consciousness, changes with every change in the conditions of his material existence, in his social relations in his social life?” (91). Marx and Engels were trying to say that a person’s view on life changes depending on what they have or don’t have, what the state of their society is, and perhaps even on their age and ability; people are moldable. Therefore, if the Egyptians get what they want (a democracy), there is no telling what might happen. A class conflict could emerge, as rebels try to claim power, or wealthy citizens, Furthermore, with a revolutions comes conflicting ideals, therefore a clash of ideas about democracy could create more turmoil for a long time to come. With the uncertainty about Egypt’s fate, many countries, including America, are afraid to intervene or tell the people what to do. Marx and Engels were right that history goes in cycles, yet it is very unpredictable what will happen in Egypt.