The tomb of Karl Marx
May 5th 1818 was the day the father of communism was born. Karl Marx, a sócio-economic “revolutionary” was born.
A journalist and philosopher, Karl Marx co-wrote “The Communist Manifesto” with Friedrich Engels. On his own he also wrote the book “Das Capital” or “Capital”, in English. Both texts were written as a critical response to the effects in Europe of the Industrial Revolution.
Karl Marx saw the mistreatment of workers under capitalist systems, and wanted a better future for them and their families. So he developed the concept of “communism”: A system of government under which the government own all property, and jobs are distributed based on people’s abilities and needs.
Marx suggested a class war between the proletariats (the working classes) and the bourgeoisie (wealthy land and factory owners) whose continued prosperity seemed to depend on the constant labor and exploitation of the lower classes.
Communism on paper seems like an amazing idea, and it should be. But, almost always without a doubt it fails, and many die as a result. It is estimated that in the last century 100 million people have died directly because of the communist governments they lived under.
Russia’s Stalin, and China’s Chairman Mao, starved their people. Pol Pot committed mass genocide on any person with glasses, no calluses, or even an education. Sadly, one thing that every major communist state has done is begin an inevitable suppression of natural human rights (especially the right of freedom of speech) that it initially arose to preserve.
