The manuscript published here - the accompanying letter to Bracke, as well as the critique of the draft program - was sent in 1875, shortly before the unification congress in Gotha, to Bracke, to show it to Gaibe, Auer, Bebel, and Liebknecht and then return it to Marx.

Since the Halle congress put the discussion of the Gotha program on the agenda of the party, I thought I would be committing an oversight if I did not make this important - perhaps the most important - document related to this discussion public.

The manuscript, however, has another, broader significance. For the first time, Marx's position on the line drawn by Lassalle from the very beginning of his activity is stated clearly and firmly here, both regarding the economic principles and Lassalle's tactics.

[Excerpt from the text of the preface]