Originally Posted by
teufelhund1918
On one level or another, I believe all 1o planks/pillars of communism have been met in this country without the majority of folks even knowing or realizing it. There has been/is a govenment agency actively implementing this along with a government agency actively taking away your Constitutional Rights for years. It's the whole frog in boiling water theory...
Karl Marx's "10 Planks" to seize power and destroy freedom:
1. Abolition of Property in Land and Application of all Rents of Land to Public Purpose. We're not even close to this. While the government controls vast amounts of land out west, the majority of land in this country is in private hands. The federal government has not caused me a single issue on my large parcels of land, neither has my state, and local gov't just collects the property tax. I know that isn't the case all over the country, but it's still prevalent in much of it.
2. A Heavy Progressive or Graduated Income Tax. The current income tax is really no worse than it has been in my lifetime. It certainly isn't worse than post WWII through the 60's on my tax bracket.
3. Abolition of All Rights of Inheritance. At no time in post WWII has it been better to inherit wealth. Currently you can inherit 12.9 million without paying the feds on it. When I purchased my business in 1999, that limit was $650,000.
4. Confiscation of the Property of All Emigrants and Rebels. I haven't heard of any property confiscated by the US Govt if someone moves out of country. Yes, asset forfeiture is an issue, but not rampant among the general populace.
5. Centralization of Credit in the Hands of the State, by Means of a National Bank with State Capital and an Exclusive Monopoly.We could write a book about this, but suffice it to say that I can still buy large items with cash, gold is still allowed, and I am still building wealth through a variety of means.
6. Centralization of the Means of Communication and Transport in the Hands of the State.The MSM is shitty, but this site allows communication; as does a pile of other internet based communication. Encrypted cell and satellite, phones exist for purchase, as well as a host of hand held radios of various types. At no point in time has a society had better communication available to them.
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. While gov't interference in manufacturing and farming exist, there are still an amazing amount of entrepreneurs that are constantly creating new products and efficiencies via private funding. Hell, while the gov't controls the licensing side of -firearms production, they have barely made a dent in the proliferation of firearms in this country.
8. Equal Liability of All to Labor. Establishment of Industrial Armies, Especially for Agriculture. We're not even close on this. You are still free to move about from job to job. If you want to work in this country you can basically do what you want. Nobody is forming an industrial or agricultural army.
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.That isn't happening. Agriculture has modernized since Marx wrote this and the inefficiencies of collective farming are well known now. If anything the divide between rural and urban is increasing.
10. Free Education for All Children in Public Schools. Abolition of Children's Factory Labor in it's Present Form. Combination of Education with Industrial Production. We've always had public schools through 12th grade for pretty much everyone still alive in the U.S. right now. Child labor laws increased too far and a correction right now is in the works for capitalist reasons, not communist reasons. Still, we provide protection on the exploitation on children in the work force.
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