The Communist Manifesto Although Engels is credited as co-writer, the final draft was penned exclusively by Marx. From the 26 January letter, Laski infers that even the League considered Marx to be the sole draftsman (and that he was merely their agent, imminently replaceable). Further, Engels himself wrote in 1883 that "The basic thought running through the "Manifesto" ... belongs solely and exclusively to Marx." Although Laski doesn't disagree, he suggests that Engels underplays his own contribution with characteristic modesty, and points out the "close resemblance between its substance and that of the ["Principles of Communism"]". Laski argues that while writing the "Manifesto",
The Communist Manifesto in the hands of shop-window mannequins, displayed in come-hither poses and fashionable décolletage." A number of late-20th- and 21st-century writers have commented on the "Communist Manifesto"s continuing relevance. In a special issue of the "Socialist Register" commemorating the "Manifesto"s 150th anniversary, Peter Osborne argued that it was 'the single most influential text written in the nineteenth century.' Academic John Raines in 2002 noted that "In our day this Capitalist Revolution has reached the farthest corners of the earth. The tool of money has produced the miracle of the new global market and the ubiquitous shopping mall. Read "The Communist Manifesto",