The Communist Manifesto rescued a considerable part of the population from the idiocy [sic!] of rural life". As Eric Hobsbawm noted, however: Marx and Engels’ political influences were wide-ranging, reacting to and taking inspiration from German idealist philosophy, French socialism, and English and Scottish political economy. "The Communist Manifesto" also takes influence from literature. In Jacques Derrida’s work, "Specters of Marx: The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning and the New International", he uses Shakespeare’s "Hamlet" to frame a discussion of the history of the International, showing, in the process, the influence that Shakespeare’s work had on Marx and Engel’s writing.
The People's Manifesto has opinions, and that was how the manifesto show was born. Instead of politicians telling us what we should do, it should be the other way round." The tour began on 27 March 2009 and finished after the 2010 General Election. Amongst the policies included in the manifesto are: In August 2009, Thomas performed his show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in which the winning policies during the Fringe were debated before a selection of Members of the Scottish Parliament. A two-part radio series based on the People's Manifesto, entitled "Mark Thomas: The Manifesto" was broadcast on BBC Radio 4