The ten functions government must adopt in order to achieve a 'successful' transition into communism, according to the Communist Manifesto(*1):
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 right 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 labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of population 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.
(*1)
pages 55-56
Karl Marx
the communist manifesto
introduction by Stefan T. Possony
gateway edition
Introduction copyright 1954 by Henry Regnery Company
...
Translated by Samuel Moore
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Manifesto Grading Method: How Communist Is Your Country?
I find that if I simply read the communist manifesto, that it contains a list of 10 functions that a government must perform in order to achieve a, ahem, 'successful' conversion into a communist state. The US has at least 8 out of 10. In other words, According to the communist manifesto's grading method of how communist a nation is, the US scores no worse than a B. So, I feel that definitionally speaking, we need not be concerned about a transition into communism. We are already there.
Friday, May 16, 2008
The secret link between tocqueville and marx
"The revolutionary period had begun with an uprising in Sicily (January 12, 1848). The dunning dispatch was sent to Marx two weeks afterwards. The French revolution had been predicted by Alexis de Tocqueville in a parliamentary speech on January 27, 1848... the events of 1848 present a riddle to those who are reluctant to believe that revolutions ( as distinguished from riots ) occur spontaneously, let alone that many revolutions should occur spontaneously and simultaneously in different countries, with a presumed urge to imitate as the ony connecting link. There are enough data to show that secret societies were very active before and during the revolutionary period, and that they maintained close international contacts. Rarely if ever did a secret society act alone, and it is unlikely that the League did. Engels himself has provided us with some scanty information on this point.
Was there a 'conspiracy behind the conspiracy'? Secret wirepullers undoubtedly were at work, but they were not necessarily intent on promoting revolutionary objectives. For example, we know that the Tsar maintained at Paris an office that was in charge of what nowadays is called 'political warfare'...Possibly so; but what exactly were the circumstances which activated the Communist League and which induced the London communists to invite Marx to be their spokesperson? Where did the money come from? Was the League following instructions from a hidden source? Was this source a super-secret promoter of revolution? Or was it perhaps a government aiming to revise the political map of Europe?.. On the basis of presently available documentation, it is not possible to congeal these uncertanities into a true historical inquiry. Our best and practically only source on the Communist League and its relations with other revolutionary groups is a short report by Engels. It can be shown that, in some particulars, this report is not fully accurate. It is not even known whether all the documents available in the Nachlass of Marx and Engels have been published."(*1)
Alexis de Tocqueville and Marx were alive at the same period of time. Tocqueville published the first of four volumes of Democracy in America in 1835. Marx published in 1848.
(*1)
Front Cover:"Karl Marx; the communist manifesto;With an introduction by Stefan T. Possony; gateway edition".
Copyright 1954 by Henry Regnery Company, 14 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois. Copyright under International Copyright Union. Manufactured in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 54-8138.
1-62
Translated by Samuel Moore.
Was there a 'conspiracy behind the conspiracy'? Secret wirepullers undoubtedly were at work, but they were not necessarily intent on promoting revolutionary objectives. For example, we know that the Tsar maintained at Paris an office that was in charge of what nowadays is called 'political warfare'...Possibly so; but what exactly were the circumstances which activated the Communist League and which induced the London communists to invite Marx to be their spokesperson? Where did the money come from? Was the League following instructions from a hidden source? Was this source a super-secret promoter of revolution? Or was it perhaps a government aiming to revise the political map of Europe?.. On the basis of presently available documentation, it is not possible to congeal these uncertanities into a true historical inquiry. Our best and practically only source on the Communist League and its relations with other revolutionary groups is a short report by Engels. It can be shown that, in some particulars, this report is not fully accurate. It is not even known whether all the documents available in the Nachlass of Marx and Engels have been published."(*1)
Alexis de Tocqueville and Marx were alive at the same period of time. Tocqueville published the first of four volumes of Democracy in America in 1835. Marx published in 1848.
(*1)
Front Cover:"Karl Marx; the communist manifesto;With an introduction by Stefan T. Possony; gateway edition".
Copyright 1954 by Henry Regnery Company, 14 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois. Copyright under International Copyright Union. Manufactured in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 54-8138.
1-62
Translated by Samuel Moore.
Who created the communist manifesto?
Karl Marx? Hmmm. Well, the bearded menace (the pet name i just made up this instant) as i refer to him did play a role in the creation of the communist manifesto. However, he was not working alone. This little talked about fact is no secret. Stefan T. Possony of Georgetown University gave a 37-page introduction to a publication of the manifesto in 1954 (*1). It is quite good. The prime-mover and driver behind the publication of the communist manifesto was not Marx, it was the Communist League, a secret society operating out of London. Marx did not wake up one day and say to himself "oh, I think I will write the communist manifesto". No. He was an employee doing his job. I think it is unfair to assume that just because Karl Marx wrote the manifesto (or at least was the primary author), that he also believed in it. Anyone who writes for any organization knows that the views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the author.
I know people will retort: but he wrote Das Kapital, surely that is evidence that he believed in the work? I say no, he wrote Das Kapital(first volume published in 1867) after the communist manifesto (1848) . He was already well known for having written the communist manifesto. He could just as well have been doing it for the money. If you produced a best-seller, and you needed money, wouldn't you consider writing a sequel? And if he ever expressed a public view on the subject of communism, the same rule applies. He had a public image to maintain, the image of the bearded menace.
(*1)
Front Cover:"Karl Marx; the communist manifesto;With an introduction by Stefan T. Possony; gateway edition".
Copyright 1954 by Henry Regnery Company, 14 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois. Copyright under International Copyright Union. Manufactured in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 54-8138.
1-62
Translated by Samuel Moore.
I know people will retort: but he wrote Das Kapital, surely that is evidence that he believed in the work? I say no, he wrote Das Kapital(first volume published in 1867) after the communist manifesto (1848) . He was already well known for having written the communist manifesto. He could just as well have been doing it for the money. If you produced a best-seller, and you needed money, wouldn't you consider writing a sequel? And if he ever expressed a public view on the subject of communism, the same rule applies. He had a public image to maintain, the image of the bearded menace.
(*1)
Front Cover:"Karl Marx; the communist manifesto;With an introduction by Stefan T. Possony; gateway edition".
Copyright 1954 by Henry Regnery Company, 14 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois. Copyright under International Copyright Union. Manufactured in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 54-8138.
1-62
Translated by Samuel Moore.
Marx Vs. Tocqueville on revolutions?
"How did marx and tocqueville differ in their views of revolution?"
This question was asked by a person going by the moniker/screen name of "Sherry S" on "Yahoo Answers", a question-and-answer community. This question so intrigued me that I decided to answer. In the process of doing my research, which amounted to eyeballing through "Democracy in America", by Alexis de Tocqueville, and "the communist manifesto" (commonly attributed to Karl Marx) for some appropriate quotes, I became even more interested in the subject. The more I learned, the more interested I became. Here is the answer i gave:
"
According to "the communist manifesto", as put together by Karl Marx at the behest of "the Communist League"(*1), it considers a starting condition in which it assumes that individuals do not transcend the boundaries of their class; the only means of change is by class revolution. the result of any successful revolution, in the opinion of that writing, is a state somehow run by "the working class".
"...the first step in the revolution by the working class, is to raise the proletariat to the position of ruling class, to win the battle of democracy.
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."(*2)
It also states that capitalism sows the seeds of its own destruction, and will inevitably be replaced by a communist state.
"But not only has the bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has also called into existence the men who are to wield those weapons - the modern working class - the proletarians."(*3)
tocqueville considers that in a democracy, or a society in which the "equality of conditions" is widespread, people are economically mobile: they can either rise or fall. it is the love of property and the threat of losing that property that makes people form their opinions of revolution.
"Not only are the men of democracies not naturally desirous of revolutions, but they are afraid of them. All revolutions more or less threaten the tenure of property: but most of those who live in democratic countries are possessed of property..."
(*4)
although not strictly a revolution, concentration of power is considered by toqueville to be a notion in democracies.(*5)
and in contrast to marx's classism:
"...all who shall attempt to draw and to retain authority within a single class, will fail."(*6)
finally, tocqueveille writes:
"The nations of our time cannot prevent the conditions of men from becoming equal; but it depends upon themselves whether the principle of equality is to lead them to servitude or freedom, to knowledge or barbarism, to prosperity or to wretchedness." (*7)
Source(s):
(*1) The communist manifesto was commissioned by the Communist League, a secret society operating out of London. At least two other people submitted material, Moses Hess, who was replaced by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels( who wrote a preface to the communist manifesto). Furthermore, as in any work written at the behest of an organization, we must remember that the words of the text do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. Because of these two reasons, it is inaccurate to say this is the opinion of Marx. I might also add that the Communist Manifesto was explicitly produced as a form of propaganda by the League, and so the logical framework of the arguments is fragmented and full of errors and false conclusions, as one might expect of any form of propaganda. Finally, although I have not found it written anywhere, it seems absolutely clear to me (because i have a brain), that the forces behind the Communist League were not a disordered lot of poor people. No. The money and direction came from a monied source. It is clearly a tool of some band of kleptocrats who saw it as a means of using governments as a tool for personal power. The fact that many people, including academics, do not immediately see through this ruse can only be a source of amusement. If marx was a true believer in the cause for which he wrote, he is surely one of the biggest dupes in history. see the developing blog for more information:
http://marxvstocqueville.blogspot.com/
(*2) Chapter II(Proletarians and Communists). page 54.
(*3) Chapter I (Bourgeoisie and Proletarians). Page 26.
1(the parts not representing my opinion),2,3 from:
Front Cover:"Karl Marx; the communist manifesto;With an introduction by Stefan T. Possony; gateway edition".
Copyright 1954 by Henry Regnery Company, 14 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois. Copyright under International Copyright Union. Manufactured in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 54-8138.
1-62
Translated by Samuel Moore.
(*4)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville. Volume II, Third Book, Chapter XXI (why great revolutions will become more rare).
(*5)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville. Volume II, Fourth Book, Chapter II (that the notions of democratic nations on government are naturally favorable to the concentration of power).
(*6)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville. Volume II, Fourth Book, Chapter VII (continuation of the preceding chapters).
(*7)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville. Volume II, Fourth Book, Chapter VIII (general survey of the subject).
(4-7) From Democracy In America by Alexis de Tocqueville, The complete and unabridged Volumes I and II, with an introduction by Joseph Epstein. Published April 2000, "A Bantam Classic Book" Publisher.
"
I felt my answer to be of good quality(at least in comparison to the usual yahoo answer), however it was not sufficient to satisfy my desire for a better answer to the question, and to answer the other questions that seemed to branch off of this one. That is where this blog begins.
This question was asked by a person going by the moniker/screen name of "Sherry S" on "Yahoo Answers", a question-and-answer community. This question so intrigued me that I decided to answer. In the process of doing my research, which amounted to eyeballing through "Democracy in America", by Alexis de Tocqueville, and "the communist manifesto" (commonly attributed to Karl Marx) for some appropriate quotes, I became even more interested in the subject. The more I learned, the more interested I became. Here is the answer i gave:
"
According to "the communist manifesto", as put together by Karl Marx at the behest of "the Communist League"(*1), it considers a starting condition in which it assumes that individuals do not transcend the boundaries of their class; the only means of change is by class revolution. the result of any successful revolution, in the opinion of that writing, is a state somehow run by "the working class".
"...the first step in the revolution by the working class, is to raise the proletariat to the position of ruling class, to win the battle of democracy.
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."(*2)
It also states that capitalism sows the seeds of its own destruction, and will inevitably be replaced by a communist state.
"But not only has the bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has also called into existence the men who are to wield those weapons - the modern working class - the proletarians."(*3)
tocqueville considers that in a democracy, or a society in which the "equality of conditions" is widespread, people are economically mobile: they can either rise or fall. it is the love of property and the threat of losing that property that makes people form their opinions of revolution.
"Not only are the men of democracies not naturally desirous of revolutions, but they are afraid of them. All revolutions more or less threaten the tenure of property: but most of those who live in democratic countries are possessed of property..."
(*4)
although not strictly a revolution, concentration of power is considered by toqueville to be a notion in democracies.(*5)
and in contrast to marx's classism:
"...all who shall attempt to draw and to retain authority within a single class, will fail."(*6)
finally, tocqueveille writes:
"The nations of our time cannot prevent the conditions of men from becoming equal; but it depends upon themselves whether the principle of equality is to lead them to servitude or freedom, to knowledge or barbarism, to prosperity or to wretchedness." (*7)
Source(s):
(*1) The communist manifesto was commissioned by the Communist League, a secret society operating out of London. At least two other people submitted material, Moses Hess, who was replaced by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels( who wrote a preface to the communist manifesto). Furthermore, as in any work written at the behest of an organization, we must remember that the words of the text do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. Because of these two reasons, it is inaccurate to say this is the opinion of Marx. I might also add that the Communist Manifesto was explicitly produced as a form of propaganda by the League, and so the logical framework of the arguments is fragmented and full of errors and false conclusions, as one might expect of any form of propaganda. Finally, although I have not found it written anywhere, it seems absolutely clear to me (because i have a brain), that the forces behind the Communist League were not a disordered lot of poor people. No. The money and direction came from a monied source. It is clearly a tool of some band of kleptocrats who saw it as a means of using governments as a tool for personal power. The fact that many people, including academics, do not immediately see through this ruse can only be a source of amusement. If marx was a true believer in the cause for which he wrote, he is surely one of the biggest dupes in history. see the developing blog for more information:
http://marxvstocqueville.blogspot.com/
(*2) Chapter II(Proletarians and Communists). page 54.
(*3) Chapter I (Bourgeoisie and Proletarians). Page 26.
1(the parts not representing my opinion),2,3 from:
Front Cover:"Karl Marx; the communist manifesto;With an introduction by Stefan T. Possony; gateway edition".
Copyright 1954 by Henry Regnery Company, 14 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois. Copyright under International Copyright Union. Manufactured in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 54-8138.
1-62
Translated by Samuel Moore.
(*4)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville. Volume II, Third Book, Chapter XXI (why great revolutions will become more rare).
(*5)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville. Volume II, Fourth Book, Chapter II (that the notions of democratic nations on government are naturally favorable to the concentration of power).
(*6)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville. Volume II, Fourth Book, Chapter VII (continuation of the preceding chapters).
(*7)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville. Volume II, Fourth Book, Chapter VIII (general survey of the subject).
(4-7) From Democracy In America by Alexis de Tocqueville, The complete and unabridged Volumes I and II, with an introduction by Joseph Epstein. Published April 2000, "A Bantam Classic Book" Publisher.
"
I felt my answer to be of good quality(at least in comparison to the usual yahoo answer), however it was not sufficient to satisfy my desire for a better answer to the question, and to answer the other questions that seemed to branch off of this one. That is where this blog begins.
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