The Communist Manifesto In his essay, “Big Leagues: Specters of Milton and Republican International Justice between Shakespeare and Marx,” Christopher N. Warren makes the case that English poet John Milton also had a substantial influence on Marx and Engel’s work. Historians of 19th-century reading habits have confirmed that Marx and Engels would have read these authors, and it is known that Marx loved Shakespeare, in particular. Milton, Warren argues, also shows a notable influence on "The Communist Manifesto": “Looking back on Milton’s era, Marx saw a historical dialectic founded on inspiration in which freedom of the press, republicanism, and revolution were closely joined.”
1957 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties hardliners resisting 'de-Stalinization'. The meeting backed Khruschev's new line of different national paths towards socialism, peaceful co-existence and popular front tactics. As per the line given by the meeting, transition to people's democracy was possible through parliamentary elections, as long as the communist parties combined electoral work with mass struggles against reactionary forces. The meeting adopted a 'peace manifesto', outlining capitalist monopolies as the main threat to world peace. The manifesto was signed by all participants, except the Yugoslavs. Whilst the intended purpose of the meeting was to display unity of the world communist movement, the outcome was quite different.