I studied Karl Marx and Sino-Soviet Communism as a political science student in Los Angeles in the mid to late 60’s, during the Cultural Revolution in China, and am now based in China. As such, I am at a loss as to what neo-Marxist-Communism prophesied in China and Britain is all about — and what it means.
China’s high-octane national celebrations and media propaganda blitz celebrating the 200th anniversary of political philosopher Karl Marx birth and the 170th anniversary of his Communist Manifesto, which together with his Das Capital, became the foundation stones of Communism, must have Marx doing twirlers in his grave. Spinning like never before.
Xi Jinping wants to make China the home base of Neo-Marxist Communism and claims to be the natural heir of Marxism after his political philosophy “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with the Chinese characteristics for a new era” was enshrined into the Chinese Constitution. A new economic and governance model based on authoritarianism versus Marxist Communism or capitalist democracy.
Xi’s thoughts are the “Marxism of modern China” and thus making him the “savior of the Chinese nation” according to Wang Huning, China’s top party ideologue.
I couldn’t help notice all the Communist Party flags with the hammer and sickle alongside the Chinese flag in airports and many buildings across China recently. The same flag emerging at political rallies in Britain since Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn appointed Andrew Murray, a member of the Communist Party of Britain, as a consultant. Murray has questioned why “hack propagandists abominate the name of Stalin beyond all others” and expressed “solidarity” with North Korea.
Last March, University College London professor Susan Michie caused a ruckus when she told a Communist Party meeting “Members should absolutely be… working full-tilt to get Jeremy elected, and the Labour Party into government.”
Marx was not the “cool” dude the Chinese and British Communist Parties are trying to portray for China and Britain’s youth to follow. He was a loner with few friends. Only 11 mourners attended his funeral in London in 1883.
China is the economic power house it is today, the world’s second economy after capitalist America, because of Deng Xiaoping’s political philosophy of “feeling the stones to cross the river.” Nothing to do with Marxist communism. In fact, China’s economic progress comes from the low-wage oppressed Chinese factory workers who toil producing goods for Western consumers — the very practice that Marx condemned.
The underlying theory of communism can be summed up in one sentence: Abolition of private property!
The reality is China has long abandoned Marx’s communist principles and re-adopted capitalism. There are more capitalist billionaires in China than America. The Communist Party is dominated by tycoons and state monopolies, corruption and wealth inequality are rampant — George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
Marxist-Communism in all its permutations has failed everywhere, including China. It failed in the Soviet Union, Angola, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, Eastern Europe and North Korea.
Forget Neo-Marxist-Communism and the hammer and sickle. Let’s call a spade digging for money what it is — a capitalist spade with a broom — sweeping out Marxist-Communism. Granted capitalism can be more compassionate, and should be. Compassionate capitalism is a far better cry than Marxist-Communism in any form.