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| Philosophy of Evil Socialism In America By Jerry McDaniel Chapter 1, Continued Dictatorship of the Proletariat |
E-mail address
jfm@illinoisconservative.com
jfm@illinoisconservative.com
| Philosophy of Evil Socialism in America "The struggle of History is not between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat; it is between government and the governed." Jerry McDaniel |
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Dictatorship of the Proletariat
The principles of socialism date back to the dawn of history, but the concept as a nationally organized economic and political
system only goes back to the late stages of the Industrial Revolution. In 1847, the Communist League, meeting in London,
commissioned Friedrich Engels to draw up a catechism setting forth the beliefs of the League. His first draft, “A Communist
Confession of Faith”, and a second draft, “The Principles of Communism” were not published until years later. Instead, the
two drafts became the basis of the “Communist Manifesto”, a small book by Engels and Karl Marx published in 1848. Marx
and Engels did not originate socialism; they merely attempted to describe it as practiced in Europe during the mid-nineteenth
century.
According to Marx and Engels, the transition from capitalism to communism passes through four stages: capitalism,
revolution, socialism and finally communism. Under capitalism, the bourgeois (rich) are the ruling class, after the revolution
the proletariat (workers) becomes the ruling class. Under socialism, differences between the classes fade away until they no
longer exist, ushering in the communist utopia. At least, that is the Marxist theory.
During the post-revolutionary period, according to Marx, the capitalist system would be replaced by a consolidation of power
by the proletariat class, which Marx referred to as the “dictatorship of the proletariat”. The purpose of this dictatorship is to
prevent a counter-revolution and suppress opposition. Under revolutionary socialism such as that in Cuba, Russia, China etc.
opposition to the new regime is eliminated by imprisonment and assassination.
That is not likely to happen in America; however, we can expect a concerted effort to curb free speech and the continued
practice of character assassination directed at anyone opposing the new order of things. Congressional leaders like Nancy
Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin and others have openly expressed their desire to bring back the fairness doctrine to get
rid of opposition from talk radio. Through the social pressure of “political correctness” and legislation against “hate speech”
progressives increasingly attempt to minimize opposition voices, and their efforts are producing a measure of success.
Efforts are also underway to exercise more government control over the internet and its information content.
The Socialist Agenda
In the Communist Manifesto, Marx made the following prediction:
He then listed ten steps necessary to bring about this “proletarian dictatorship”.
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. (Marx)
When Marx’s Communist Manifesto was edited in 1888 by Freidrich Engels the most common source of wealth was the
ownership of land. Today it is ownership of businesses or investment in corporations. Although the means of wealth
creation has increased and diversified, the aims of the socialist movement have not changed. Its ultimate goal is the
ownership or control of all means of production and the abolition of capitalism.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. (Marx)
Socialism could not exist in America without a progressive income tax. It is the primary means for redistribution of income;
therefore, it is strongly advocated by all socialist parties and their sympathizers.
The first progressive income tax was levied during the Civil War by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The highest marginal rate
was 3% for those earning between $600 and $10,000 per year. It was eliminated by Congress in 1872 and revived again in
1894. In 1895, the Supreme Court declared the tax unconstitutional because it was not apportioned among the states.
The 16th Amendment in 1913 repealed the apportionment clause in the Constitution and established the power of Congress to
levy taxes on all income regardless of its source. Opponents of a graduated income tax argue that it violates the Fourteenth
Amendment that calls for “equal protection under the law” as well as the Fifth Amendment, and that it violates the God given,
unalienable right to private property enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, “liberty and the pursuit of happiness
(prosperity)”.
In spite of the arguments against a graduated, progressive income tax, most Americans either accept or support it, including
some 80% of the nation’s economists. Since 1945, almost two-thirds of the taxes raised through income taxes have been
used for income redistribution and social engineering to support the socialist agenda.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. (Marx)
Not satisfied with taking as much personal income in taxes as possible for redistribution among their subjects at the time it is
earned, progressives also attempt to prevent any it may have missed from being passed on to the next generation.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. (Marx)
5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive
monopoly. (Marx)
This goal was greatly advanced by Henry Paulson, Ben Bernacke, George Bush and the 110th and 111th Congresses with the
dedication of more than $1 trillion for corporate bailouts, stimulus packages, equity purchases in banking institutions, and
mortgage loan guarantees.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. (Marx)
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of wastelands
and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. (Marx)
8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. (Marx)
The key words in the above statement are “liability of all”. Under the socialist ideal of a government planned and controlled
economy, everyone is employed. Full employment can only be achieved with the use of “make-work” programs such as
those instituted by FDR in the thirties—WPA and CCC, for example. Barack Obama expressed the same idea in a July 2,
2008 campaign speech in Denver, Colorado.
Additional insight into the thinking of socialists involving universal “forced” employment can be found on the website of the
Democratic Socialist of America.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and
country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country. (Marx)
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labor in its present form. Combination
of education with industrial production, &c., &c. (Marx)
Just a few short years ago, we would have considered these ambitious goals of the socialist movement to be impossible
under our system of government. However, considering the past two years of the Obama Administration and the
Democratic Congress in the context of the history of the last hundred and twenty five years, they not only seem possible but
highly probable unless our present course is reversed.
The principles of socialism date back to the dawn of history, but the concept as a nationally organized economic and political
system only goes back to the late stages of the Industrial Revolution. In 1847, the Communist League, meeting in London,
commissioned Friedrich Engels to draw up a catechism setting forth the beliefs of the League. His first draft, “A Communist
Confession of Faith”, and a second draft, “The Principles of Communism” were not published until years later. Instead, the
two drafts became the basis of the “Communist Manifesto”, a small book by Engels and Karl Marx published in 1848. Marx
and Engels did not originate socialism; they merely attempted to describe it as practiced in Europe during the mid-nineteenth
century.
According to Marx and Engels, the transition from capitalism to communism passes through four stages: capitalism,
revolution, socialism and finally communism. Under capitalism, the bourgeois (rich) are the ruling class, after the revolution
the proletariat (workers) becomes the ruling class. Under socialism, differences between the classes fade away until they no
longer exist, ushering in the communist utopia. At least, that is the Marxist theory.
During the post-revolutionary period, according to Marx, the capitalist system would be replaced by a consolidation of power
by the proletariat class, which Marx referred to as the “dictatorship of the proletariat”. The purpose of this dictatorship is to
prevent a counter-revolution and suppress opposition. Under revolutionary socialism such as that in Cuba, Russia, China etc.
opposition to the new regime is eliminated by imprisonment and assassination.
That is not likely to happen in America; however, we can expect a concerted effort to curb free speech and the continued
practice of character assassination directed at anyone opposing the new order of things. Congressional leaders like Nancy
Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin and others have openly expressed their desire to bring back the fairness doctrine to get
rid of opposition from talk radio. Through the social pressure of “political correctness” and legislation against “hate speech”
progressives increasingly attempt to minimize opposition voices, and their efforts are producing a measure of success.
Efforts are also underway to exercise more government control over the internet and its information content.
The Socialist Agenda
In the Communist Manifesto, Marx made the following prediction:
- “The proletariat will use its political supremacy to wrest, by degrees, all capital from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all
instruments of production in the hands of the state, i.e., of the proletariat organized as the ruling class, and to
increase the total of productive forces as rapidly as possible.”
“In the beginning, this cannot be effected except by means of despotic inroads on the rights of property, and on the
conditions of bourgeois production; by means of measures, therefore, which appear economically insufficient and
untenable, but which, in the course of the movement, outstrip themselves, necessitate further inroads upon the old
social order, and are unavoidable as a means of entirely revolutionizing the mode of production.”
He then listed ten steps necessary to bring about this “proletarian dictatorship”.
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. (Marx)
When Marx’s Communist Manifesto was edited in 1888 by Freidrich Engels the most common source of wealth was the
ownership of land. Today it is ownership of businesses or investment in corporations. Although the means of wealth
creation has increased and diversified, the aims of the socialist movement have not changed. Its ultimate goal is the
ownership or control of all means of production and the abolition of capitalism.
“Socialism will establish a new social and economic order in which workers and comm-unity members will take
responsibility for and control of their interpersonal relationships, their neighborhoods, their local government, and
the production and distribution of all goods and services.”
“For these reasons we call for social ownership and democratic control of productive resources, for a guarantee to all
of the right to participate in societal production, and to a fair share of society’s product, in accordance with
individual needs.”
~Socialist Party USA, 2008
- “In the short term we can’t eliminate private corporations, but we can bring them under greater democratic control.
The government could use regulations and tax incentives to encourage companies to act in the public interest and
outlaw destructive activities such as exporting jobs to low-wage countries and polluting our environment. Public
pressure can also have a critical role to play in the struggle to hold corporations accountable. Most of all, socialists
look to unions to make private business more responsible.”
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. (Marx)
Socialism could not exist in America without a progressive income tax. It is the primary means for redistribution of income;
therefore, it is strongly advocated by all socialist parties and their sympathizers.
- “We call for a steeply graduated income tax and a steeply graduated estate tax, and a maximum income of no more
than ten times the minimum. We oppose regressive taxes such as payroll tax, sales tax, and property taxes. We call for
the restoration of the capital gains tax and luxury tax on a progressive, graduated scale.”
~Democratic Socialist of America, 2011
The first progressive income tax was levied during the Civil War by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The highest marginal rate
was 3% for those earning between $600 and $10,000 per year. It was eliminated by Congress in 1872 and revived again in
1894. In 1895, the Supreme Court declared the tax unconstitutional because it was not apportioned among the states.
The 16th Amendment in 1913 repealed the apportionment clause in the Constitution and established the power of Congress to
levy taxes on all income regardless of its source. Opponents of a graduated income tax argue that it violates the Fourteenth
Amendment that calls for “equal protection under the law” as well as the Fifth Amendment, and that it violates the God given,
unalienable right to private property enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, “liberty and the pursuit of happiness
(prosperity)”.
In spite of the arguments against a graduated, progressive income tax, most Americans either accept or support it, including
some 80% of the nation’s economists. Since 1945, almost two-thirds of the taxes raised through income taxes have been
used for income redistribution and social engineering to support the socialist agenda.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. (Marx)
Not satisfied with taking as much personal income in taxes as possible for redistribution among their subjects at the time it is
earned, progressives also attempt to prevent any it may have missed from being passed on to the next generation.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. (Marx)
5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive
monopoly. (Marx)
- “We call for all financial and insurance institutions to be socially owned and operated by a democratically-controlled
national banking authority, which should include credit unions, mutual insurance cooperatives, and cooperative state
banks. In the meantime, we call for re-regulation of the banking and insurance Indus-tries.”
~Socialist Party USA, 2011
This goal was greatly advanced by Henry Paulson, Ben Bernacke, George Bush and the 110th and 111th Congresses with the
dedication of more than $1 trillion for corporate bailouts, stimulus packages, equity purchases in banking institutions, and
mortgage loan guarantees.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. (Marx)
- “We support the breakup of large media companies so that no one company or individual owns more than one
newspaper, radio or television station, or television channel. We call for the re-regulation of the communications
industry (in particular, the assertion of public ownership rights over radio and television frequencies).”
“We call for government ownership of satellite and cable companies with revenues generated by these operations
allocated to a publicly controlled fund to finance innovative visual and audio programming (including movies), over
the air radio and television, and cable and satellite programming. The fund would also greatly increase the money
going to community cable programming.”
“We support public funding of newspapers and magazines. Any non-profit organization that publishes a journal
would receive public funding in proportion to its paid subscriber list.”
“We oppose private ownership of the Internet backbone. We call for direct public ownership of at least 50% of the
total bandwidth and for democratic ownership and control of the Internet domain naming system.”
~Socialist Party of America, 2011
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of wastelands
and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. (Marx)
8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. (Marx)
The key words in the above statement are “liability of all”. Under the socialist ideal of a government planned and controlled
economy, everyone is employed. Full employment can only be achieved with the use of “make-work” programs such as
those instituted by FDR in the thirties—WPA and CCC, for example. Barack Obama expressed the same idea in a July 2,
2008 campaign speech in Denver, Colorado.
- “I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am President of the United States…This will be the
central cause of my presidency. We will ask Americans to serve. We will create new opportunities for Americans to
serve. And we will direct that service to our most pressing national challenges.”
~Barack Obama
Additional insight into the thinking of socialists involving universal “forced” employment can be found on the website of the
Democratic Socialist of America.
- “We don’t agree with the capitalist assumption that starvation or greed is the only reasons people work. People enjoy
their work if it is meaningful and enhances their lives. They work out of a sense of responsibility to their community
and society. Although a long-term goal of socialism is to eliminate all but the most enjoyable kinds of labor, we
recognize that unappealing jobs will long remain. These tasks would be spread among as many people as possible
rather than distributed on the basis of class, race, ethnicity, or gender, as they are under capitalism.”
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and
country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country. (Marx)
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labor in its present form. Combination
of education with industrial production, &c., &c. (Marx)
Just a few short years ago, we would have considered these ambitious goals of the socialist movement to be impossible
under our system of government. However, considering the past two years of the Obama Administration and the
Democratic Congress in the context of the history of the last hundred and twenty five years, they not only seem possible but
highly probable unless our present course is reversed.
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