Well the revolutions of 1848 were very much on their way when the first edition was published in that February, so revolutionary fervour was sweeping around Europe at the time. It wasn't just people were starting to radicalize and wake up.
Political banquets were happening in France by middle class (bourgeois) activists, starting that previous summer, as a way to circumvent the governmental restriction on political meetings. Wikipedia says Friedrich Engels attended in October 1847.
I highly recommend the Revolutions podcast if you want to learn more about this
Well the revolutions of 1848 were very much on their way when the first edition was published in that February, so revolutionary fervour was sweeping around Europe at the time. It wasn't just people were starting to radicalize and wake up.
Political banquets were happening in France by middle class (bourgeois) activists, starting that previous summer, as a way to circumvent the governmental restriction on political meetings. Wikipedia says Friedrich Engels attended in October 1847.
I highly recommend the Revolutions podcast if you want to learn more about this