The definition of a manifesto is a public declaration of a plan that will affect the public.
A manifesto is a statement of ideals and intentions. One of the most famous examples is The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, but there are many others. The Declaration of Independence is considered a manifesto, at least by definition. Today, a manifesto has taken on a much broader definition. It is a group of ideas and beliefs meet to challenge the establishment or status quo. Marx took the concept to its fullest development in that it supported a set of reformatory ideas and beliefs and set a foundation of guiding principles for the future application of them. More importantly, Marx built intent into his work discussing the problems he intended to address. His manifesto built a working ideology, which would require little interpretation. The history and thought behind his manifesto were laid out within.
A manifesto is a statement of ideals and intentions. One of the most famous examples is The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, but there are many others. The Declaration of Independence is considered a manifesto, at least by definition. Today, a manifesto has taken on a much broader definition. It is a group of ideas and beliefs meet to challenge the establishment or status quo. Marx took the concept to its fullest development in that it supported a set of reformatory ideas and beliefs and set a foundation of guiding principles for the future application of them. More importantly, Marx built intent into his work discussing the problems he intended to address. His manifesto built a working ideology, which would require little interpretation. The history and thought behind his manifesto were laid out within.
The American founders never set a single document on the utilitarian level of Marx. They did through a series of documents that included the Declaration, Constitution, and other documents set a foundation. However, even this foundation, was left open to some debate as seen in the Federalist Papers and later Supreme Court decisions. The foundation was supported by beliefs and the recognition of rights, but they didn’t think it was necessary to state intent in their basic documents. The founders envisioned a democratic republic, which protected the minority, while affirming the majority. They designed a system of government that protected against human weakness and corruption with built in checks against power and greed. They understood the faults of human beings. They left some things like slavery to the future. Founders like Washington foresaw the problems of political parties, but did not provide written protection from it. They assumed that core of nationalism and God given rights would always be generally accepted at the individual level. The government was designed to resist system, process, and political attacks, but not philosophical or metaphysical attacks. Marx spent his time protecting against such attacks without detailing system and process requirements.
Even with the built in system protections, entropy has affected the system and the Founders intent. For example, whether we like it or not the Founders viewed the second amendment as a protection against the tyranny of government and morally corrupt individuals, not as the right to hunt. If we were to allow only hunting guns, this would violate the very intent of the founding documents. This can be a bit unsettling to many. The Founders main concern stemmed from the historical control of the people by the control of their firearms. Of course, many argue that guns can be used to kill innocent people and they were well aware of the potential problem. The Founders viewed gun control as a moral and cultural discipline not as a physical constraint. The family and the school system were used to impose both morality and religion as a cultural control. There was still risk from sick individuals, but the tyranny of government had proven more dangerous to the lives of people. Maybe we have to look at this, but then we must consider the possibility of the government turning on the people. Human nature has not changed.
SEE: An Manufacturing Manifesto by Quentin Skrabec (Infinity)
And The Fall of an American Rome: Deindustrialization of the American Dream (Agora Pub)
AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
