Now that Arizona has elected a communist to the U.S. senate, it is appropriate to ask how close we are, as a society, to fulfilling Karl Marx’s vision of a perfect society, as expressed in his Communist Manifesto, published in 1848.
The Manifesto is readily available on line and in book stores, for anyone who wants to read it. But those of us who have read it can attest to the fact that it is an extremely painful reading. But you don’t have to read the whole thing because Karl was kind enough to provide a handy summary of what he considered the ten elements of a perfect society.
It would be interesting to determine how many, if any, of these ten elements we have fulfilled, or are in the process of fulfilling. Here are the ten elements, quoted directly from the Manifesto:
“Nevertheless, in most advanced countries, the following will be pretty generally applicable:
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
8. Equal liability of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.
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, etc., etc.”