In this classic work, Friedrich Engels lays out the basics of the Marxist understanding of capitalism.
Marxism is not a doctrine that came out of nowhere, he explains, but a theory based on the movement of the working class against its exploitation and oppression at the hands of the capitalists.
Engels sketches the history of socialist thought prior to Karl Marx. He outlines how Marxism goes beyond simply imagining a better world by investigating the dynamics of capitalism, and building a case for the ability of workers themselves to build a new society.