Communism's Soul

                                                      by Larken Rose
    

The religious belief called "communism" has a very specific soul, and it is absolutely evil and inhuman, though often masked in bogus "compassion" or "fairness." I say religious belief because it is not merely about what a proper "government" should do (since many communists are anarcho-communists). Instead, it is purely a belief about what is right and what is wrong. Communists have put a lot of effort into pretending to be moral relativists, or claiming to be non-religious (perhaps so imposing their stupid beliefs by force doesn't count as a state religion), but neither of these is true.

So what is the heart and soul of communism? It has to do with property. Since communists also fudge the truth by saying they don't believe in "property," I should clarify what "property" means. It is the exclusive ability to control, use, give away, or dispose of something. I know my computer is mine because I have the moral right to give it away, shoot it with my AR-15, lend it to other people, etc.

The legitimate basis for "property," according to "extremists" like me, is production. (Again I should point out the blatant contradiction and/or lying by the communists. Bozos like Marx blither about the worker having a right to what he produces. Marx's entire philosophy poops all over this concept.) I believe that if I build a house, or carve a bowl, or scribble a picture, it is mine. By my creation, it is mine to dispose of as I wish, and no other person has a just claim to it without my permission.

The communist philosophy does not believe production is the basis for legitimate ownership of property (despite what the union morons say). They believe "need" is the basis of legitimate ownership. Again, they may claim not to believe in "property" at all, but since they believe that "need" causes someone to have the right to use something, they believe it is their property. So far it sounds rather loving and compassionate. How sweet. We are communists because we care. We want the people who need to have stuff. Now let's look at the logical results of this idea.

"I'm a compassionate communist because I give my stuff to the needy." BZZZZZ. Wrong answer. By your own religious belief, it is not your stuff. "Well, I give them stuff so I'm a compassionate communist." BZZZZZ. Wrong answer. Their "need" means it is already theirs. What exactly is compassionate about giving someone something that already belongs to them? It is not yours to give. Only property via production allows the charitable giving of something to someone else.

It's no coincidence that communists are often trying to justify violence by saying that a "need" makes theft not theft. Because "need" determines rightful ownership, some homeless person stealing food is merely taking what is rightfully his (by way of "need") from someone who has stolen it (i.e. produced and kept it, without "needing" it). Most people, even commies, would agree that using force to get what is rightfully yours is justified.

So the communist philosophy makes "charity" and "kind giving" impossible. If the "giving" makes something go to someone with a greater "need" for it, then it already belonged to that person, and therefore the act is not charity. If the giving makes something go to someone with a lesser "need," then it is evil blasphemy.

Since the whole warped belief system hinges on "need," I think the word needs to be defined. "Need" and "necessity" are not stand-alone concepts. For "need" to mean anything at all, it needs an "in order to" phrase (such as the part of this sentence that says "For ‘need’ to mean anything at all..."). The usual understood "in order to" phrase (which is rarely stated) is "in order to live." "I need food" implies " . . .in order to live." But "I need medical care" means nothing. The following statements actually have meaning: "I want medical care," or "I need medical care in order for me to not lose my money if I get real sick." It's either a simple statement of want, or a worthless redundancy.

So now for the sake of the communist ideal, how do we determine "need"? Since no "in order to" is mentioned, let's guess one. If the understood "in order to" is "in order to live," then the only things that are "needs" are a cardboard box, and cabbage and rice (maybe a few extra rags for people living in colder areas). I haven't yet found a communist who will settle for this. So what else could the secret, invisible "in order to" phrase be?

After the commies admit it is not simple physical survival that they desire, they usually try to pretend it's a certain level of the "necessities." Again, they lie. Medical care has been deemed a "necessity" by many communists, along with air conditioning, indoor plumbing, refrigeration, a well-balanced diet, etc. Trouble is, if these are "necessities," how did people do without them for thousands of years? If these are rights because of "need," doesn't that mean that Joe the commie back in 1900 had a right to air conditioning? I hope even the commies can see a slight problem with that.

The only "in order to" phrase that fits the philosophy is "in order to have things be equal." While communists, for propaganda's sake, like to use the word "fair," they mean "equal." The only way it can be "fair" for a lazy bum and someone who is productive to end up with the same stuff is if "fair" is defined as "equal." The communists only claim "rights" to things after the things exist, meaning after other people have them. As soon as an item exists, then everyone who "needs" it has a right to it. Therefore, the communists' use of the word "need" is bogus too. So how about "equal"? Can they at least say they want things "equal" and still sound loving and caring? Nope.

Bob Citizen has two "Zonkos" (a made-up word referring to an item of property). Joe Citizen has no Zonkos. Joe "needs" a Zonko (which, as we now know, either means that Joe simply wants a Zonko, or Joe has a right to one simply because Bob has one). So Joe blithers some Marxist garbage to justify evil, and then steals a Zonko from Bob by force. Swell. Everything cool now? Nope. There are a billion Chinese with no Zonkos at all. Therefore, by the communist philosophy, that Zonko did not rightfully belong to Joe. It belonged collectively to Joe and a billion Chinese. Oops.

Heaven forbid there are more people who "need" (read "want") Zonkos than there are Zonkos. There is also that slight, little, insignificant problem that maybe, just maybe, six billion people won't agree on who "needs" what. Bummer. And since the value of an item depends on how much a person wants it, the value of an item is not equal to all people. Therefore, if Bob really wants two Zonkos as much as Joe wants one Zonko, there is equality

. . .sort of.

For now, just for the fun of it, let's dodge reality for a moment and pretend we have achieved the communist utopia, and examine the economic results. All the property is now equally distributed among everyone (or at least everyone except those who the commies killed for resisting their all-loving redistribution plans). Then Joe Citizen thinks "I want to make a flute and play a song." Nice non-violent hippyish endeavor, right? But there's a problem. Under the communist philosophy, he has to make a flute for everyone on the planet who wants one before he will have a rightful claim to one himself (as opposed to free market theory, in which he makes one and therefore owns one). Well, he's not feeling up to making a few million flutes today, so what else can he do? Have a fit and demand that he needs one more than his flute-possessing neighbor. Once again, communism favors violence and dissuades production and cooperation.

How about trade? Why would someone trade something they "need"? If the ownership comes from "need," then how could they trade it? And by definition, they wouldn't own anything they didn't "need" (even if they possessed it). Oops. So much for cooperation and trading. This utopia isn't looking very good.

Does a trade change who "needs" what? I can trade a Zonko for your Flingo, and then say I still "need" the Zonko, and therefore it is still mine. What it will always boil down to is that when a commie says "need," they mean "want." Which in return means that what you want, by definition is yours. Sounds a lot like the animal kingdom . . .almost. So communists are as bad as animals, right? Nope. Worse.

Animals make no moral judgments (not that this in itself is a good thing). They take what they want by force (and they don't whine about "need" either). Communists manage to be one step worse. Not only do they not judge theft as immoral, they judge a lack of theft as immoral. By the communist philosophy, it is immoral not to take from the "rich" and give to the "poor." A lack of violence is intolerable to true communists. Whenever there is inequality (which is always), violence is not just justified, but required. If "need" is the basis for rightful ownership, then not only is there no possibility for charity or compassion, but there is no room for non-violence. By the backwards and evil communist philosophy, to allow the flute-maker to keep his flute is an act of violence, but to take it from him by force is just reclaiming what rightfully is someone else's.

Time for a summary. Under communism, "need" determines rightful ownership, and equality of possessions is, by definition, "fairness." This being the case, there is no room for cooperation or charity. There is no incentive for production, and every incentive for violence. Stealing becomes a virtue, and producing becomes a sin. Wanting becomes good, while creating becomes evil. Making something for yourself is evil, greedy theft. Stealing something from someone else is rightful "reclaiming."

That is the soul of communism, no matter how much tie-dye, flowers, and love-ins you try to bury it under. Humanity requires freedom and non-violent cooperation. Communism bans them. Communism requires the initiation of force against people who create, and the destruction of cooperation. Humanity rules it out. I choose humanity.

--Larken Rose