With them?

Question

"The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionising the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society."

[The communist manifesto]

Does the words "with them" mean "together with them"? I searched the meaning of the word "with" in the dictionary, but I am still confused about its meaning.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

XVIDoes the words "with them" mean "together with them"?

Not exactly.

XVII searched the meaning of the word "with" in the dictionary

You have my sympathy, but you don't say which dictionary. In my experience, they never agree 100%. I was unable to find an exactly pertinent definition in the three I looked at, which by no means indicates that it isn't there. This use of "with" is common and unremarkable. You are probably better off trying to divine its use in this context from your quotation from the Manifesto.

The OED online devotes 27 pages to "with" and has two paragraphs of explication at the beginning of its entry, the first sentence of which is "The prevailing senses of this preposition in the earliest periods are those of opposition (‘against’) and of motion or rest in proximity (‘towards’, ‘alongside’), which are now current only in certain traditional collocations or specific applications." The little words are murder. They've been around so long they've developed a lot of uses.

XVII am still confused about its meaning.

He means that in the process of changing the relations of production, the relations of society are changed. The relations of society are automatically brought along "with" the relations of production.

With them?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions