Is Obama a Marxist?

Short answer, not even close, for a longer answer let’s look at Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto. I actually have a copy and have read it more then once unlike the people who are making the charges and obviously have never read it at all. Marx near then end of the manifesto lays out a ten point program so let’s look at it and see how Obama measures up shall we?

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

After the disaster that was the Soviet Union no one is proposing something even vaguely close to this so Obama strikes out here

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

Well since neither candidate has proposed a flat tax but both have proposed tax cuts so this one is a wash.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

Ah nope Obama misses this one to.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

Not really relevant here and another one that Obama does not propose

5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

Gasp! Bush and Paulson are Communists! Well it Makes more sense than singling out Obama on this one as McCain voted for the bailout to.

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.

There is centralization all right but hardly in the hands of the State. Again Obama misses out on being a good Marxist.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State, the brining into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

Say what? Again no one is going for this sort of thing, most certainly not Obama.

8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

Another non-starter and another miss for Obama.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.

So Archer Daniel Midlands are Communists what with factory farms and all? But again not Obama.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.

Since Bush pushed No Child Left Behind to supposedly improve public schools I guess he again is the true Communist here. To be fair since neither Obama or McCain are calling for the abolition of public education they can both be called out as communist here.

Really given some of his domestic proposals it would make as much sense to call the old cold warrior Nixon a Communist as Obama.

I so want his election to be over.