How doctrinaire! There clearly has been no advancement of thought or integration of ideas since 1848, which is why, of course, the world is populated with naturally formed communist societies that were the inevitable result that Marx surmised.
Oh, wait...
There were concepts that Marx was absolutely correct about - especially "alienated labor" - but his prognostication was, shall we say, a wee bit off.
I would agree with the sentiment expressed that "This dialectical and antagonistic relationship cannot be reconciled with
temporary measures." (emphasis added) I am not, therefore, asserting them. I am instead suggesting
permanent changes, akin to the
Sozialgesetzbuch in Germany. Social Security and Medicare were not conceived of as "temporary measures". Indeed, Social Security in the United States
has lasted longer than the Soviet Union did. That's an important point, so I emphasized it.
I do not believe the "means of production" should reside primarily in government hands. I believe in private ownership, so I am no communist. Nor do I believe the welfare of society should be in the hands of the private sector (so I am no neocon). They have separate roles in our society and spheres of influence that should be properly demarcated. Marx did indeed see "Socialism as a historical step toward Communism." And that is where he was so
fundamentally wrong. Others have properly recognized that alienation of labor does not
inevitably lead to the proletariat revolution, which is why all communist proponents have sought to impose it by force. Marx himself was a lousy Marxist and did not actually believe his own press. Communism has never existed as Marx envisioned it because
the premise was faulty. He opined that it would arise by natural progression, and, as I said, he was completely wrong. He assumed that society would not evolve to address the conditions that he properly identified. When he realized that, rather than modifying his views (as a genuine scientist would have), he agitated to
create his proletariat revolution. Lenin and Mao and every other "communist" leader has followed this course, rather than his theory.
Many of Marx's insights have been adopted by mainstream economists. Labor is now recognized as a fundamental component of "capitalism" and the idea of "labor power" is fully integrated into academic economic thoughts and theories. Unions are one manifestation of this integration as is "The Department of Labor." We monitor Labor statistics and it affects perception of the economy. These are all good things. Society has evolved, economic thought has evolved and we are
all better for it.
