by Alysha Brady

Created on: January 09, 2009

Marx detested the bourgeoisie. He saw the capitalists, the owners of the means of production, as greedy self-centered people who didn't contribute to the good of the whole. Marx looked forward to the day when the proletariat would finally overthrow the bourgeoisie, reclaim the means of production, and establish a free-trade, fair market with equal distribution of resources. Reflecting on the current financial crisis, I'm starting to think that the U.S. is turning Marxist-lite. Whether purposely or inadvertently, capitalist America is taking on some of the attributes of Marx's ideal society as outlined in the Communist Manifesto.

Contrary to popular, incorrect, belief, Marx was very pro-religion. In the pamphlet, he referred to "the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervor." Religion, an institution established long before Marx, made everyone equal. Take for instance, Christianity; everyone was just as likely to be a sinner, and all were welcome to join the religion and the quest for the good no one was turned away from conversion. Looking back on the elections of 2000 and 2004, it is undeniable that the Republican Party won the White House both times due to their strong religious base. Over the past few decades, as economic difficulties have proliferated and international aggression has regained dominance as headline news, religion has seen a resurgence. In a former proudly secular country, religious belief often enters the public agenda with a fervor consistent with that Marx felt as he drafted his views.

Marx had hoped that one day the proletariat would be organized and prepared enough to push the bourgeoisie into a decline. Today, we are seeing that decline. Corporate CEOs and venture capitalists are feeling the pain during this current economic downturn. A large percentage of home foreclosures are actually on luxury homes purchased by stock traders or executives who bought during the housing boom, when they were easily making six or more figures, and can't make mortgage payments now as they lose their jobs while Wall Street downsizes. The catch is, as it turns out, a decline of the owners of production makes things worse for the proletariat. If people can't afford to buy a new car ever few years, auto companies like GM won't be able to turn a large enough profit to cover its looming liabilities to union workers. In the end, these corporations will probably have to shut down (resulting in an unemployed proletariat), or file Chapter 11, which will wipe out

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