This year, my syllabus requires me to teach The Communist Manifesto as a “core-work” to my sophomores. I didn’t read Marx until college, and when I put the manifesto into readability, it clearly labels it a college read. Needless to say, I was concerned my students wouldn’t understand the piece. So I decided to recreate the manifesto inside the classroom. Here’s how:
Before their first night of homework from the Manifesto, I activated student’s prior knowledge of capitalism and communism and filled in the gaps so they learned enough background to understand these social economic and political systems. Then, I prominently displayed this visual representation of Capitalism on the whiteboard (below) knowing I would refer to is as we talked about Marx. After we activated our knowledge of our own system, and what capitalism and socialism/communism might look like in diagram form, I reached into my desk drawer and pulled out fifty Dunkin’ Donuts munchkins.
With my munchkins, I represented the bourgeoisie, controlling the means of production, and the students represented the proletariat trying to get a piece of the means of production (except for those who didn’t like munchkins!). As we went back through the first chapter of Marx, in which he attacks capitalism and the bourgeoisie for its exploitative nature, I asked the students directed questions. When students answered correctly concerning Marx’s main points, I gave them donuts. I did this in my role as a teacher to reward understanding and get everyone involved and excited about learning a tough topic. But, in my role as the bourgeoisie, I was using my donuts to bribe the proletariat (the students) to keep quiet about my controversial business practices that rewarded me with 50 munchkins compared to their zero or one munchkin. Obviously, this was not done fairly--I played favorites, I didn’t always call on first person with their hand up, and I lowered the bar for others.
“[Labourers] are a commodity, like every other article of commerce, and are consequently exposed to all the vicissitudes of competition, to all the fluctuations of the market” -K. Marx
As we progressed, students began getting angry at me as a teacher, for my stringent, unfair requirements for distributing donuts, and angry at me as the bourgeoisie for just how aggressively they had been exploited for more donuts/money. They started to understand Marx; their eyes opened to the negative aspects of capitalism. And when they were getting tired of my game, and Marx’s critique of capitalism, it was time for revolution, and donuts for all!
“The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority” -K. Marx
When we got to Marx’s points about how the proletariat can come together and rise up, I relinquished my monopoly on the discussion to allow them to organize. Then, I allowed them to overthrow the bourgeoisie. The class concluded deliciously with munchkins for all--minds and stomachs were happily satiated!
