The influential literary work advocating for the rights and privileges of the proletariat was authored by **Karl Marx** and **Friedrich Engels**, specifically in *The Communist Manifesto*. This text called for the working class to rise against capitalist oppression, highlighting the struggles between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Marx and Engels argued that capitalism exploited workers and proposed a revolutionary change toward socialism. Their ideas provided a foundational text for various labor movements and socialist ideologies that sought to achieve equality and social justice, establishing a legacy that reshaped political discourse around class struggle and economic systems.