1. The whole of Germany shall be declared a united, indivisible republic.

  2. Every German who is 21 years old shall be a voter and be eligible for election, assuming he has not been sentenced for a criminal offence.

  3. Representatives of the people shall be paid so that workers may also sit in the parliament of the German people.

  4. Universal arming of the people. In future armies shall at the same time be workers’ armies so that the armed forces will not only consume, as in the past, but produce even more than it costs to maintain them.

  5. Maintenance of justice shall be free of charge.

  6. All feudal burdens, all fees, labour services, tithes etc. which have previously oppressed the peasantry shall be abolished without any compensation.

  7. All baronial and other feudal estates, all mines, pits etc. shall be converted into state property. On these estates agriculture shall be practised on a large scale and with the most modern scientific tools for the benefit of all.

  8. The mortgages on peasant farms shall be declared state property. The interest for these mortgages shall be paid by the peasants to the state.

  9. In the areas where leasing has developed the ground rent or lease payment shall be paid to the state as a tax.

  10. All private banks will be replaced by a state bank whose bonds will have the character of legal tender.

  11. All means of transport: railways, canals, steamships, roads, posts etc. shall be taken in hand by the state. They shall be converted into state property and made available free of charge to the class without financial resources.

  12. In the remuneration of all civil servants there shall be no difference except that those with a family, i.e. with greater needs, shall also receive a larger salary than the others.

  13. Complete separation of church and state. The clergy of all denominations shall only be paid by their own voluntary congregations.

  14. Limitation of inheritance.

  15. Introduction of strongly progressive taxes and abolition of taxes on consumption.

  16. Establishment of national workshops. The state shall guarantee the livelihood of all workers and provide for those unable to work.

  17. Universal free education of the people.

These are the 1848 Demands of the Communist Party in Germany, Marx and Engels.

  • Rimu
    6•8 months ago

    Initially I was a bit surprised that they were not proposing to seize the entire means of production, only the transport system and land held by the aristocrats.

    But I dug into it a bit more - apparently there was very little industrialization in Germany at that time other than the construction of railroads and associated iron + coal mining, which is included in the nationalisation policy. So they were intent on taking over effectively all industrial activity, such as it was.