[en] Communism
The term “communist” deserves an explanation. At the time, “socialism” was considered a bourgeois doctrine, identified with the various experimental and utopian reformist schemes of petty-bourgeois ideologues. Communists were those who were clearly in favor of the revolutionary overthrow of the existing order and the establishment of an egalitarian society. Communism at that time originated from an extreme left-wing dissent from French Jacobinism, represented by Gracchus Babeuf and Filippo Buonarroti. The League of the Righteous was made up of workers, mainly exiled German artisans, based in London, Brussels and Paris, and in some parts of Germany. They were not modern proletarians working in large mechanized factories. However, they were attracted by Marx and Engels' conceptions of the nature of modern capitalist society. The League of the Righteous carried the slogan “All men are brothers!” on its banner. When it embraced Marx's conceptions and became the League of Communists, it adopted the Manifesto's call: “Proletarians of all countries, unite!”