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Marxism in the 21st Century
Today, the political “Left” in most western countries refers to the socialist (Marxist) political party. This is true in America, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries. By stripping off the original strictly atheistic foundation of Karl Marx’s theory, they have made Marxism more palatable to the west. The Left talks about providing for the poor and equality, values which most people readily agree with. They point to corporate greed and the rich upper class as oppressors, to gain the sympathy of the masses. They argue that only the government elected by the people can be trusted to make society equal and remove society’s ills, because they are not motivated by profit. They claim to be in favor of the little guy. It all sounds very good, even down-right compassionate, just as it did to the Russians, Chinese, and Cubans.
Marxism in America?
The trends in today’s society also alarmingly follow the Marxist playbook. One: remove religion from society. The ACLU (which was founded in 1920 and has roots in the American socialist movement) [1] and others have worked tirelessly to remove religion from government and schools. They twist the constitutional protection of religion from government to support the opposite, the protection of government from religion. Meanwhile they also seek to increase government control of all aspects of life. Therefore, the more of life that is controlled by the government, the more of life will be purged of religion. Two: place control of the economy and social systems in the hands of the central government with a goal of taking over industry and redistributing wealth. The agricultural, transportation, and education industries already rely heavily on federal subsidies and the recent financial crisis has moved the federal government into the role of owning the mortgage industry as well. Soon the government will control the health industry too. The argument soon follows that any industry that receives federal funds or is run by the government should be free of anything religious. Three: remove academic opposition. In Cambodia, Pol Pot ruthlessly slaughtered every academic he could get his hands on, so that no one would be able to intellectually oppose him. Today’s scholarly world is becoming increasingly hostile to anyone that does not subscribe to the “party” doctrine of Atheism and Darwinism (see Ben Stein’s Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed). Four: Use the banner of equality to erode the old social structure. Marx argued that social structure was a phenomenon of economics, including the institution of marriage itself. Creating a new economic system will create a new social system as well. Promises of freedom from oppression, more opportunity, and an end to racism and sexism have been used as Marxist propaganda since Marx himself.
Our new President, Barrack Obama, has a number of significant ties to Marxism. In Hawaii, his grandfather’s friend (and apparently Obama’s drug dealer) was investigated by the FBI for his involvement in the Student for a Democratic Society (SDS). The SDS was the leading communist organization in the United States in the 1960′s. When he was in college, Obama, in his own words, sought to associate himself with Marxism professors. He later worked alongside Bill Ayers. They became friends and Bill and his wife, Bernadine Dorn, helped Barrack start his political career. You may have heard that Ayers was a “domestic terrorist.” Unfortunately you were probably not told that he and his wife were not “domestic terrorists,” but full-ledged communist revolutionaries.[2] They were leaders in the SDS, and when it collapsed they led the majority of the SDS to form the new Weathermen organization. The Weathermen’s stated agenda was to overthrow the American government and replace it with a communist government. The FBI directly connected them with the Viet Cong in Vietnam, and with the Cuban government. The Weathermen carried out bombings in the name of their communist comrades in Vietnam and Laos. The leaders, such as Bill and Bernadine, soon landed on the FBI’s most wanted list and went underground. Thus the Weathermen became the Weather Underground Organization (WUO). According to an FBI informant in the WUO, their plan was that after overthrowing the government, they would need to setup re-education camps to re-orient people to communism. They also recognized that up to 25 million people would continue to resist the new government and would therefore need to be “eliminated.”[3] When asked in 2001 interview with The New York Times about his thoughts on their activities in the 60′s, Bill Ayers said he only wished they had done more.[4] And Obama is their candidate? Barak Obama insist that Ayers is just a guy who lives in their neighborhood, but Ayers himself, immediately after the election said they are “family friends.”
Even Obama’s church has a Marxist leaning. Reverend Wright espouses liberation theology, a theological trend rejected by the Catholic Church because of the way in which it mixes Marxist theory into Christian theology. In a May 5, 2008 interview with Sean Hannity, Reverend Rob Schenck, president of the National Celrgy Council, said in regard to Jeremiah Wight and his devotion to “black liberation theology”, “Reverend Wright is absolutely committed to what he calls “black liberation theology.” Well, “liberation theology” has its roots in Latin American liberation theology. And if you ask the average Christian leader in this country, it is way, way outside the mainstream of Christian belief, and, in fact, it’s based in Marxism. At the core of his theology is really an anti-Christian understanding of God, and as part of a long history of individuals who actually advocate using violence in overthrowing those they perceive to be oppressing them, even acts of murder have been defended by followers of liberation theology. That’s very, very dangerous.”[5] In the same interview Schenk says he previously confronted Wright on his Marxism, “I simply welcomed him to Washington, and then I said Dr. Wright, I want to bring you a warning: your embrace of Marxist liberation theology. It is contrary to the Gospel, and you need, sir, to abandon it. And at that he dropped the handshake and made it clear that he was not in the mood to dialogue on that point.”
Then there is ACORN, an organization devoted to supporting a welfare state and which also has roots in the SDS. Obama has worked for ACORN in the past and given generously to their cause. The organization was founded by Wade Rathke, a member of the SDS. Rathke was mentored by George Wiley, famous for his implementation of the Cloward-Piven strategy. The Cloward-Piven strategy was a strategy created by two Marxist professors at Columbia University in the 60′s, which involved overwhelming the welfare system by enrolling new recipients. Robert Chandler’s October 15, 2008 Op-Ed in the Washington Times shows that ACORN’s method of overwhelming the voting system with bogus voter registrations is based on the Cloward-Piven strategy.[6] ACORN was also heavily involved in pressuring the financial sector to give risky mortgages to low income people during the last decade. According to Chandler, this was part of an intentional strategy to cripple the current capitalist government and bring in socialist reform.
Is the United States a pioneer in electing a president that is favorable to Marxism? Not at all. We are behind in the trend. In many western countries the socialist or “Labour” party is in control of the government, such as in the UK and Australia. Modern Labour parties are not just pro-union, they originated in preceding socialist political parties and typically define themselves as socialist. Many of these parties are member of the Socialist International organization. Western Labour/Socialist parties that control the government in their countries today include Australia, Austria, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The Labour/Socialist party is a close second in many other western countries.
The Perspective from the Kingdom
You may be alarmed to realize that Marxism is slowing taking hold of popular opinion and even of western governments today. Before you start stuffing your money under the mattress or buy a ranch in the mountains of Utah, let us consider our perspective as disciples of Jesus.
Fortunately for us, God can use all situations for His glory. Human beings are fundamentally created with a need to know their creator. History shows us that when atheism is forced upon a people, the deep need to know God eventually resurfaces, new and fresh and open to the truth. Few countries have seen an explosion of belief like China in the last 40 years. Mao’s Cultural Revolution had an unintended result. Churches are starting and growing in Cambodia like wildfire. And the people of many of the post-soviet nations are open to the truth like they never have been before. The Turks converted directly from Shamanistic belief to Islam a thousand years ago, and never have they been as open to the Gospel as they are now, because of 70 years of atheistic oppression.
Ultimately our hope is not in any human government. It is not in any country on the earth. Rather our hope is in the Kingdom of Heaven. No government of human origin will last. Some are better than others, and many have their “golden age,” when things seem relatively good. Many last for centuries. However, as the scriptures say “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8). We are citizens of a nation, a kingdom not of this world, which will endure forever. Our hope is in the Lord and the reality of His kingdom.
The task the Lord has given us, in service to His glory and His kingdom, is not optional. It cannot be put on hold while we await a better financial climate. As the Lord said “You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, 7 and give Him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7). Despite talk of a global recession, and despite having to tighten our own budgets because of rising prices, we must place the Lord’s work as paramount in our lives and in our finances. As the Lord Jesus said “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17). He took criticism for working on the Sabbath and His answer was that He could not take a break from the Father’s work, even for the sake of the Sabbath.
[1] The ACLU was originally the National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB) which was formed in 1917 to protect conscientious objectors to America’s entry into World War I. Its founders were tied to the anti-war and communist movements in America. Congress viewed the NCLB as a vehicle for socialist and communist propaganda.
[2] In fact the Weathermen primarily targeted government facilities, government statues, government official’s homes, and government employees, which made them revolutionaries, not necessarily terrorists. Terrorism is the targeting of non-combatants in order to create terror in the population. The Weathermen were trying to inspire a grass-roots revolution, not fear in the population. Their activities later devolved into mere criminal behavior, robbing banks and armored cars (presumably as strikes against the oppressive capitalist system), and famously being paid to break LSD advocate Timothy Leary out of jail.
[3] The FBI informant was Larry Grathwohl. He published a book titled Bringing Down America, and appears in a documentary film titled No Place to Hide. It is in the documentary that he testifies to these WUO plans.
[4] Bill Ayers is now a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and considered an “expert” on public school reform.
[5] Interview on the Fox News show “Hannity’s America.” Transcript at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354158,00.html
[6] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/15/the-cloward-piven-strategy/
