Breese continues another chapter in his book Seven Men Who Rule The World From The Grave on Marxism. This chapter is devoted to the critical analysis of the philosophy of Marxism. Breese concludes that in the end, Marx's arguments are unconvincing; they error in four ways:
- It is poor economics. Marx preached that there were laws of economics that could not profitably be violated but if obeyed would produce a classless society and consequent utopia. This argument is unconvincing because it lacks a basis for reality in economics. For example, in Das Kapital, Marx asserts that the value of a commodity is derived from the cost of labor and the cost of raw material used to produce the commodity, not the utility in the real world. Marx completely ignores this fact, "no matter what a thing costs to manufacture, it is valueless if no one will pay to buy it" (79). So, no matter the price assigned to a product, it is worthless if no will pony up the money to pay for it. Everything else is irrelevant. Today, in the Soviet Union, because of Communism, there is a stable control of prices but their currency lacks a connection to demand and productivity, so it only works within a closed system. And even then, it is not very effective. When there is no state mandate to use currency as a medium of exchange, it becomes even more useless, losing more value, "so again, value is not derived by a declaration of the Party but from utility in the real world" (80). In Das Kapital, Marx addresses value in great length and concludes that the ultimate problems of the world come from the stolen "excess value" or profit from the Bourgeoise from the Proletariat. Because of this, the Proletariat labors in hopelessness and is driven deeper into despair and discouragement from Capitalist exploitation, "Marx saw the possession of the value as the natural right of the Proletariat" (80). Slave workers are changed into world changers (Marxist men) the minute the stolen profit of the Bourgeoise is put back into their hands. By taking this view, Marx is making profit the driving force by which the world is run, "profit is the Promethean fire" (80). Marx is no different than Freud and Darwin, the other humanist philosophers, who saw man driven completely by impersonal forces. For Marx it is profit, for Freud it's libido, for Darwin it's natural selection. All soulless and Godless. No one in honesty can say this is economics. Rather, it is "good hysteria" or bad psychology (80).
- It is bad psychology. It is an illusion to think that most people are ready to drop everything or are "trembling with ecstasy in anticipation of the prospect of laboring each according to his ability so that they can give to their fellow man each according to his need" (80-81). Man is born inherently selfish. Observe any child, always crying for their needs to get met and always grabbing for what is theirs. On the contrary, children have to be taught NOT to be selfish or at least less selfish if they want to make a difference in the world for good. This fact alone reveals the truth that man is inherently selfish, ergo, there is no evidence to suggest that Marx's thoughts on human nature are correct. Rather, they are erroneous. As Breese points out in his usual concise style, "Russia, a very large country has a national product only 25% that of the United States. Why is this? It is simply that the competent will not work extensively and dependably to support the incompetent" (81). They also will not support a tyrannical state whose leaders live in splendid wealth while they grind the people into poverty. This was made evident in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell and many were dancing with ecstasy over their newfound freedom. When the Communist government of East Germany was disposed Erich Honecker, the leader, was found to have incredible wealth. He owned 32 homes and imported 100 tons of grain every year from the West to feed his stags for his private hunting reserve for him and his cronies. The press brought this report (81). This hypocritical man had preached for years that his people must make sacrifices to bring the Communist paradise (utopia) to pass, "few E. Germans suspected that Honecker had created his own paradise in the present" (81). In Romania, as in many other Eastern European Communist nations, Nicolae Ceausescu was executed on Christmas day in 1989 for subjugating the Romanians in one of the cruelest and most oppressive dictatorships on earth. Thousands were killed for not obeying his commands. After his death, the press aired the same reports as Honecker that he built a bigger palace than Versailles. Its splendor was unimaginable. Shocking as this was, one should consider that a building this big with such splendor would be a potential bomb target for the dictator's enemies, surely as Speer advised Hitler on not constructing an elaborate building for the Fuhrer's headquarters. Based on this evidence, it is clear to see that Communist dictators are hypocrites. They impose draconian measures of severe austerity on their people calling for great sacrifices while they themselves live in "splendor beyond the imagination of most of the inhabitants of earth" (82). The Communist objectives: political control, ideological influence, propaganda, and subversion, only succeed by force.
- It is bad futurism. The ideology of Communist thought has arrogantly boasted of its ability to predict the future: no one knows what the day or the hour will bring. But the idea that the Communist man will be produced after the state fades away and utopia emerges has been repeated over and over, "this baseless boilerplate [has been repeated] for more than a 100 years, while all the while the opposite is actually taking place" (83). There is no utopia. The concept is ridiculous in a sinful, fallen world. Consider what Breese states definitely, "one of the great lessons to be learned about life is that any given situation comes to pass from multiple causes and produces multiple consequences. That elementary truth escapes many foolish people who think that they can predict the exact outcome of a given individual, action, or group activity. No matter how genuine he may be, the intentions and how thorough-going the preparations, the outcome of anything is in the last analysis, unknown to us" (84). Here Breese makes a lucid point, one in which many fail to heed as a warning: we are not omniscient. Only God is and we are finite in this mortal flesh. Much was hidden from the world in these aforementioned Communist regimes that were eventually taken down only to reveal an oppressed people who at last had the freedom to speak the truth. Their stories of what the parental state had done to them in order to bring about social conditioning was nothing short of genocide. Futurism must be present with humility and the Communist certainly suck at both!
- It is pitiful theology. Communist thought has at times asserted theological positions such as God, destiny, future, human shortcomings, etc., comparing it to Christian theology. But no such comparison can be made, namely that Communists assert that there is no God, whereas Christians assert that there is a God (monotheistic) who is Lord over all Nations. Marxist thought also denies the existence of sin, whereas Christians know that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" and that "the wages of sin are death" (Romans). The Communists insist that man becomes enlightened (conversion experience) because of the transport of discovering dialectical materialism, whereas the Christian knows the conversion experience as being born-again through faith in Jesus Christ. The Communist believes that the world changes (stays viable) because of revolutionary activity against the vestiges of bourgeois mentality. On the contrary, the Christian knows the true well-spring of rebirth when a person becomes a new creature after he receives Christ as his personal savior and his/her continuing viability is a consequence of God's promise of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Finally, the Communist has only an atheistic dystopia, whereas the Christian knows the future is in God's hands. Utopia will only come when Jesus Christ comes again. The juxtaposition of these contradicting thoughts can not even make Communism theology. It is beyond pitiful! (84).
Surprisingly though, a development had taken place in the Christian/Marxist coalescence called Liberation Theology (more on this down below). In the early 60s, a conference was held at the Vatican. The theme of the conference was, "Peace on Earth" and "the call was for a rapprochement- a détente between Catholicism and Communism" (85). Never was this heard before, a dialogue between two hostile enemies for the purpose of affecting the future. Similar in thought to the recent mergers of ECT (Evangelicals and Catholics Coming Together) and the Manhattan Declaration, since when is this possible or even rational for there is no theological construct by which such an arrangement could be justified! It should be repudiated. These views grew out of Latin American Catholicism and hold the masses captive, including the Protestant left, leaving its influence on much of Evangelical Christianity. Liberation Theology is a view that claims Christ came into the world to be our economic liberator. It also asserts that Christ was sent to free the poor and the oppressed from the chains of poverty. The reality is that Liberation Theology "redefines sin" and "sin is to possess wealth in the face of the world's poverty. Righteousness therefore is to redistribute that wealth, giving it to the poor" (85). Sounds quite familiar doesn't it? In fact, climate change is all about grabbing wealth by taxing nations that emit fossil fuels and taking that tax and redistributing it to impoverished countries. But this never seems to happen, does it? No matter how much money is collected, the poor are still with us and their numbers are growing exponentially. Reading between the lines or small print, codified in these cap and trade bills (ex. Copenhagen Treaty), show the emergence of Liberation theology-a smokescreen used for political ambitions (power grab), and even worse, using God and religion as a means for evil control and oppression. Evangelism is also redefined: these oppressed people are liberated to join the revolution. Liberation Theology also claims that possessing money is the essence of sin, therefore Capitalism (the most sinful system in the world), must be destroyed and the Satan of the world (the President of the U.S.) must also as well (86). With this twisting of logic and rationale, "Liberation theology joins the Marxist cause and advocates the overthrow of the United States in an upcoming Marxist revolution. Liberation theology and it's subversive ideology has remarkably become strong in many parts of the world. It is not only a serious threat to the stability of the world, but it is also a serious spiritual subversion of Biblical Christianity.
"There is no God" produces instant intellectual vertigo. Having no first principle, no epistemological foundation, it can not prove secondary assertions, tertiary thoughts, or even up, down, or around. lLogic that begins in midair can not finally demonstrate the truth or falsity of anything. The Theological propositions of Communism are not more dependable than the wind in the willows. Surely the test of time proves this to all thinking people. Unfortunately, many must endure the test of time who will not early on force themselves to apply the test of logic or the test of the Holy Scripture"...…...Dave Breese (84). These points are useful to ponder given our current world situation. Ignorance is not bliss! It is so important to be aware of the times in which we live.
*quotes and paraphrases from the book, Seven Men Who Rule the World From the Grave, by Dave Breese. Moody's Press. Chicago, Ill. 1990.
**next post we will cover the philosophy of John Maynard Keynes (the last man in Breese's book) and how his philosophy of macroeconomics (profligate spending) has indebted and enslaved the nations of the world using the IMF and the Central Bank.