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.

  • @Stovetop
    2•7 months ago

    No to this - unelected representatives are accountable to nobody

    Agree on this idea, but I am a bit confused by the way the original demand was worded. Is it suggesting that workers deserve to occupy otherwise elected seats, or simply that workers be allowed to attend sessions of government as an audience? I’d agree with the latter.

    Not sure about this one. I don’t have a problem with people having private property, as long as there are significant balances to protect the least fortunate through tax-funded national social programmes.

    This one is saying not that the state owns the property, but that they take over the mortgage. They’d “own” it in the sense that banks own the properties they provide mortgages for and can thereby seize them for lack of payment, though they don’t own everything in it. Following the later suggestion where the state takes over the banks, they would logically be the ones to take over the mortgages owned by those banks. Presumably, once the worker who “owns” the property has paid off the mortgage, they would then own the property in full as private property.

    Second part, definitely. Not sure about the guarantee of livelihood, feels like it would be bad for productivity and innovation. Again though, it’s a bit vague to really say.

    Think of it like insurance. If you work at a mine but the mine goes dry, the government will help you find a new job and pay you unemployment to make sure you don’t go under due to factors beyond your control. Presumably, with these being “national workshops”, they believe state operation of the industry will reduce the need to bail out businesses for bad practices/mass layoffs if it is going to end up costing the state either way.