By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” – Karl Marx.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published “The Communist Manifesto” in 1848. The popular quote above appeared in Marx’s “Critique of the Gotha Programme” written 1875.
This article will examine how that idealistic worldview has – or has not – worked out in reality. Spoiler alert: it hasn’t.
In the last few election cycles, Democratic Socialists like NY Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, VT Sen. Bernie Sanders or MN Attorney General Keith Ellison have been elected to very powerful positions in government. Here in Colorado, Leftist Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros just won the Colorado House Democrat primary. The Leftist Kiros is more Leftist than the incumbent Leftist DeGette.
It seems to me that either CO voters don’t understand what the Leftist ideology really is – or – the Leftist officials in CO are just not “Left enough” for the new batch of Leftists in our state.
Karl Marx, the founder of communism, was a bitter atheist who was never happy nor successful. He never made a decent living and was often supported by others. In that context, we can understand why Marx felt alienated from society and culture and advocated for a system in which the ‘poor workers’ (the proletariat) could take what they needed from the ‘rich’ owners’ of the means of production (the bourgeoisie). Losers often become bitter. On the bright side, Karl was endowed by his Creator with great mustache. Which is nice.
Marx envisioned a society of class struggle and unequal equality (aka ‘socialism’) as the first steps in the eventual acceptance and implementation of a communist utopia. In simple terms, socialism is just ‘communism lite.’ For the record, there has never been a utopia of any kind anywhere in history.
On a closer examination, there are a few glaring problems or challenges with the ‘From Each/To Each’ (FETE) ideology in the real world.
FIRST, no measurable criteria has ever been established to empirically determine who is ‘rich’ and who is ‘poor.’ One person has a job with a low wage, lives frugally and saves some money, while another person has a high-paying job, spends everything and saves nothing. So, which one is more likely to be ‘rich’ (assets, a paid-for home, debt-free lifestyle and/or financial freedom)? In this very common scenario, I submit that the ‘poor’ person would be better off than the ‘rich’ person later in their life because the poor would become rich, and the rich would become poor.
SECOND, in the perfect world FETE would take things from those whose abilities produce things of value and give them to those who have needs. While this idea from Karl Marx might seem fair, it has two big gaping holes in it: 1) WHO determines the ‘abilities’ and ‘needs’ that will decide whose stuff is taken and who gets that stuff, and 2) WHY is that determination made?
Think about that for a moment. Many people hate ‘the rich.’ In their view, it is unfair for one person to have more than they have. But if that person gets an unexpected windfall (an inheritance, an excellent return on a risky investment, or a lottery win of a few hundred million) that person probably wants to keep all or most of it. Socialism and communism, however, will determine how much money that now-rich person can keep.
THIRD, the invisible oppressive hand of government is present in both socialism and communism. Ask someone who came to America from a socialist or communist utopia like Cuba or Venezuela if they’d like to return to their previous home. We should note that socialist Venezuelan presidents Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro accumulated massive wealth. But the average Venezuelan…not so much.
FOURTH, neither socialism nor communism promotes nor allows individual freedoms, rights, competition, accumulation of wealth or the pursuit of happiness. Leaders in those systems are privileged, well-paid and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. They have armed security details, beautiful taxpayer provided homes and travel privileges. And they cheat. They control every aspect of life for the poor powerless working-class people who continue to suffer in poverty.
NYC Mayor Mamdani – a good Democratic Socialist – recently attended the NBA championship game. The game’s cheapest ticket ran nearly $4,000, and the average ticket topped $7,000. Yet, he did not offer a single criticism of the ticket price, the compensation of the players or the wealthy people who could afford to buy tickets. Why didn’t he apply his own principles to the event and call for all seats to be sold for the same price? I guess some people are more equal than others.
FIFTH, both socialist and communist governments require the same thing: MONEY. And that money will be taken from those who have money, whether they like it or not. Theoretically, everyone in these nations would be equal. But how can people, every one of whom is a unique individual, be equal? Is a very talented, hardworking person equal to a less talented lazy person? Should every person need or have exactly the same things (homes, jobs, possessions, vehicles, pay, food, etc.) as everyone else? Human nature and ample historical examples show that the real result would be covert class warfare, jealousy, hatred, chaos, violence, tyranny and a very healthy black market economy.
SIXTH, both Marx and Engels, founders of communism, used the terms socialist and communist interchangeably. An adjective or descriptor does not change the nature of the thing which is described. A Democratic Socialist is…a socialist. A person may be described as ‘a handsome jerk’ or ‘an ugly jerk.” But either way, the person is a jerk.
SEVENTH, In the Utopian socialist or communist society, there is no reason for anyone to work towards success. What incentive do these systems offer to those who have the desire and ability to excel? A guy who sits on the couch plays games and gets a welfare check would make and have the same stuff as LeBron James, Elon Musk, Presidents Obama and Trump – or any successful professional or entrepreneur. Do you honestly think that this would work in the real world?
EIGHTH, young idealistic people tend to get really excited about the opportunity to take charge. NOTE: I was once young, idealistic and excited about making changes to what the old people had created for me. With time, however, I learned that idealism and enthusiasm without the benefit of wisdom or real-life experience can create some really bad consequences. For a recent example, read how Chairman Mao’s Red Guards drove a major violent revolution in Communist China. They had big ideas – and persecuted, starved and killed a few million people in the process.
Now let’s look at capitalism, and how it works under our US Constitution.
Capitalism is an economic system based on primarily private (individual or corporate) investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and the free exchange of goods and wealth. It is a socio-economic system based on private property rights, including the private ownership of resources like capital with economic decisions made through a market mostly unregulated by the state. If you shop at Costco or Amazon, you’re doing business with capitalists.
In our American Republic, the US Constitution protects freedoms and rights of the individual from the tyranny of the majority and dictators. It defines and limits the scope and powers of government. Freedom OF religion is encouraged.
In a Socialist or Communist state, powerful tyrants suppress the individual and determine which rights or freedoms the individual has or doesn’t have. The scope and powers of government are determined by those in positions of power. Freedom FROM religion is encouraged.
Is our nation flawed? Of course! Any system that involves human beings is flawed and imperfect, because human beings are flawed and imperfect. Our American system of government may be the worst form of government, but it is the BEST worst form of government ever created.
A Final Thought: I think Pink Floyd’s song ‘Money’ provides the simplest, most honest and straightforward view of how we should all view socialism and communism. Turn up the sound, then watch and listen to this rock and roll classic. As a result of their creative musical genius, the members of Pink Floyd all became fabulously wealthy. Their album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ is one of the top-selling albums of all time. No government mandated its production or distribution, and no one was compelled to purchase or listen to it. And that, my friends, is the American Way.
Russ Minary is a retired sales executive, marketing consultant, small business owner and veteran. He has lived in CO for 50 years and resides in Douglas County.
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.