{"id":23110,"date":"2010-11-16T07:35:26","date_gmt":"2010-11-16T11:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/?p=23110"},"modified":"2017-03-09T22:05:18","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T22:05:18","slug":"marxs-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/2010\/11\/16\/marxs-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"Marx's Mistake – UPDATED"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

My Tuesday column<\/a> is up:<\/p>\n

It was not the Marxist ideal in communism that was in error, really. It was that communism was compelled, rather than voluntary. Sometimes a sympathizer with classical Marxist ideology will write to me expounding on the compassionate and generous instincts that he believes are at the heart of Marxism, and reminding me that the Acts of the Apostles describes \u201cwealth distribution\u201d as a social good.<\/p>\n

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one\u2019s need. (Acts 2:44-45)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If Marxism has failed to make manifest the gloriously free and prosperous (or at least materially comfortable) society that it has long-promised\u2014and the more honest debaters will admit that it has failed to produce either liberty or prosperity, wherever it has been tried\u2014the failure, my correspondents argue, has been one of application. If only the right sort of people were charged with implementing Marx\u2019s ideas, the theory would prove itself remarkably successful, just as it was for the Apostles.<\/p>\n

Well, I agree. But I hasten to point out that the operative words in these verses are \u201cright sort.\u201d The believers freely gave up their properties for the good of the whole community. Non-believers were not compelled to participate; they were left to their own affairs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ora et Labora<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Some will wonder why<\/strong> I do not mention Buddhist<\/a> monastics, or others; it\u2019s simply because no one every cites Buddhist text to me as an argument for communism!<\/p>\n

UPDATE:<\/strong> Over at PJTV, Stephen Green is talking about Marxist<\/a> \u201ceconomics and fashions.\u201d Yeah, it\u2019s a cheap shot, but he admits it.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My Tuesday column is up: It was not the Marxist ideal in communism that was in error, really. It was that communism was compelled, rather than voluntary. Sometimes a sympathizer with classical Marxist ideology will write to me expounding on the compassionate and generous instincts that he believes are at the heart of Marxism, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-monasticism"],"yoast_head":"\nMarx's Mistake - UPDATED<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My Tuesday column is up: It was not the Marxist ideal in communism that was in error, really. 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