Has the Communist Manifesto replaced the Constitution?

By George Hawley | June 9, 2012 | Young Americans for Liberty

When the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union imploded two years later, Americans sighed a breath of relief. Seemingly overnight, our debilitating fear that a horde of T-72’s would blitz through the Fulda Gap evaporated; the world realized a nuclear holocaust would not be the Cold War’s coup de grace. What’s more, the Cold War’s conclusion freed millions of souls from Soviet oppression. We were right to be relieved. American conservatives, who were eager to take credit for USSR’s demise, were feeling particularly triumphant at that time. We had finally reached the “end of history,” and “democratic capitalism” reigned supreme. It remains to be seen, however, whether post-Cold War conservative chest thumping was truly justified.

Although all freedom lovers should celebrate the downfall of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the peaceful death of the Soviet Empire did not necessarily indicate the demise of Marxism as a force in the world. In fact, a strong case can be made that the United States is more Marxist now than ever before. It is true that a socialist revolution did not occur, as Marx predicted, via an apocalyptic struggle between workers and the bourgeoisie, but a socialist revolution of sorts nonetheless occurred. To those who believe Marxism has been relegated to “the dustbin of history,” I can only point to the words of Marx himself. The world we inhabit is not so different from the one Marx envisioned.

In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, which provided an introduction to the Marxist theory of “historical materialism” and famously provided the clarion call, “The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world unite!” The world remembers Marx’s sharpest phrases, as well as the mountain of corpses his disciples constructed in the subsequent 140 years. More frequently forgotten, however, are the specific policies Marx promoted in his seminal work. Section II of the Manifesto explicitly declared what the Communists sought to achieve. Even a cursory examination of the United States today refutes the notion that Marxism is an exhausted intellectual force.

The ten program points from The Communist Manifesto:

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

Although Americans still enjoy basic property rights, the state’s power of eminent domain (reinforced in 2005 by the Supreme Court case Kelo v. City of New London) ensures that our right to our own property is subject to the state’s whims. Zoning laws determine how property may be used. Heavy property taxes require you to pay what amounts to an annual rent on land you ostensibly own. Yes, you may own property, but only if the state does not think that property can put it to better use and only if you can afford to keep paying the state for the privilege.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

The Constitution’s 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, provides the federal government the power to levy an individual income tax. As Marx wanted, that income tax is highly progressive and redistributive. The top earners in the United States pay a far higher tax rate—up to 35 percent of their income—than the rest of the population.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

Although all rights of inheritance have not been abolished, the federal government and several of the states impose large estate taxes – called “death taxes” by opponents. When Americans die, much of their accumulated wealth is simply confiscated by government rather than being inherited by their descendants. The federal estate tax goes as high as 45 percent—and of course, if the estate is not liquid, the inability of heirs to pay the tax in cash can result in the loss of property. This is another way family businesses and childhood homes get taken away.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

As the United States has not experienced a massive exodus of wealth, this is not presently a major issue. But if America’s economic decline continues, and people with means rationally decide to leave the country, do not be surprised if this Marxist notion finds a new multitude of proponents. Already the United States employs the highly unusual practice of taxing its citizens who live abroad.

5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

The Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913. The Federal Reserve is America’s central bank. Although privately owned banks still exist, the Fed sets interest rates, regulates private banks, provides financial services for the U.S. government, and controls the money supply. Although our system of public and private cooperation is more convoluted than Marx might have imagined, the Federal Reserve has much more in common with Marx’s vision than with a truly free banking system.

Read the full article here.

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