Karl Marx and Frederick Engels were revolutionaries with hearts for the working class and a hatred for those who employed them.
They note in their book, The Communist Manifesto (Signet Classics, 1848) that most social movements had no distinguishing features from one another but that Communism was truly unique, and that it would change the world. Key elements included:
- no private property; all monies collected on rents would support public purposes
- graduated income tax
- no rights to inheritance
- all credit is held in a central bank only
- all transportation and communication is centrally controlled by the state
- everyone works equally, mostly to support agriculture
- no distinction between towns, states, or country
- free public school
- no child labor
The Manifesto Falls Short on Key Arguments
While the manifesto is not entirely without merit, it does fall short on key points that are not noted above. The social utopia that is said to be achieved through Communism is anything but a utopia on matters regarding equality between men and women.
Marx and Engels note that industry had advanced so much in the 19th century that low-level workers were mere extensions of machines, and the work was so mindless that even women could replace men in the workplace. Under Communism, women would have their place just as men would.
Taking this concept further, it is also noted in the manifesto that the bourgeoisie (capitalists) secretly swap wives, living lies that destroy families and corrupt marriages. Under Communism, this exploitation would stop; rather, women would fall into a community pool not belonging to anyone, hence never again disgracing their marital obligations.
One final area where Marx and Engels' ideals seem hypocritical regard trade. It is claimed that the capitalists exploit "barbarian" nations (they mention China) by forcing them into capitalism, but fail to recognize that their solution is no different in the desire to eliminate all borders and create a world under universal rule.
Despite these points, Communism's ideals were not completely without merit.
Some Arguments for Communism Work Today
It was roughly 90 years after the publishing of The Communist Manifesto that the United States enacted child labor laws under Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, who served under FDR from 1933-1945.
On the note of free public schooling, only a small minority would consider educating children to be communistic, but there is a growing sentiment in the United States that the graduated income tax is punishing and unconstitutional. Among those who support the graduated income tax system is Warren Buffett.
An interesting point that Marx and Engels make is in their guidance to those who must overthrow the capitalist class. They note that if the revolution becomes political, leading the proletarians (working class) to rule as they had been ruled, then the result of the revolution would only lead to an implosion much the same as the capitalists had found they had done to themselves.
While this idea may be flawed, it is not a flaw in consistency, and it is exactly what Marx and Engels would have said if they could have seen what happened in Germany under the rule of Adolf Hitler.
Marx and Engels close the manifesto by stating that Germany had a developed proletariat, fit to violently overthrow the capital class, which they claimed Germany was on the eve of achieving.
Within 100 years, the revolution had come and gone and these revolutionaries would have likely condemned the Germans for having created a slave class of the bourgeoisie, which lead to the blow back that came in both war and history.
Additional Sources:
"Frances Perkins (1880-1965)." Alfico.org.
Tse, Temoeh Murakami. "Buffett Slams Tax System Disparities." Washington Post. June 27, 2007 ed.
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