Most people associate communism with evil empires, tyrannical leadership, and domination and genocide. Most people are mistaking 'Marxism' as 'communism.'

Karl Marx is misunderstood, especially by those who do not learn about him. He made a miscalculation, and coincided an extraordinary forecast with brilliant economic theory as a result. 'Marxism' is relative to his forecast. Marx noticed 'series of events' occurring, and forewarned of the consequences. It has happened when ever, and where ever, Marx's factors have aligned.

To understand the difference, a gross oversimplification of his forecast, which is the 'Marxism,' he basically said: 'if you and a hundred other people were told to starve to death by one person who had ample resources for all, the one hundred and you would unite and kill the one, and commonly own the spoils of the one.'

Marx tied his seemingly prophetic prediction with 'his vision of utopia,' the resultant economy. However, his brilliant economic theory is but a fairy tale when his prophecy manifests. Totalitarianism (control of everything) is most commonly the result. Vast chasms in power and riches between the few in charge, and the citizenry in general, result. The leaders of the regime 'gave the lesson' on 'allowing dissidence to amass' to the previous leaders, and, consequently, they tend to control it with imprisonment, genocide, and other injustices that control masses.

His fairy tale economy, though, exists in microcosmic forms all around us. Credit unions, farming cooperatives, and trade associations are all examples of entities based on 'common ownership' for the benefit of the whole. The pooling of resources reduces the cost of purchasing significantly, and any excess is 'commonly owned' by those in the community and retained as 'common wealth.'

Though Marx is credited with the conception of communist economics, Ben Franklin conceived a form of communism with the public (community) library system. The social security system is a form of communism in as much as it is conceived as contributions, combined resources, and entitlements; it isn't communism in as much as there is no excess or cost savings. However, that is a fault in management, not concept.

There are certainly problems within communisms, mostly dealing with human motivations, but that's for another story!

The point is you need not fear 'communism,' even if you are one with aplenty telling the one hundred one to starve - it is actually 'Marxism' you ought to fear in that case!

Learn more about this author, Tom Koecke.
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