Throughout the history of philosophy, the fate of the Communist Manifesto (as well as that of Machiavelli's 'The Prince' and Guy Debord's 'The Society of the Spectacle') serves as the best testimony to the truth of the saying 'Pro captu lectoris habent sua fata libelli' ('The fate of a book depends on the capacity of its readers').

The book's fame has been unique and unprecedented. It was not a simple scholarly treatise to be studied by the learned and commented on by political philosophers. The book was not read to satisfy an intellectual curiosity. In the hands of its first readers, the 'Manifesto of the Communist Party' was put directly into action.

It was used as a powerful and dangerous weapon in the great political struggles of our modern world. (. . .) [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]