Communist Takeover Series: Tactic #2 — Attack and Abolish Private Property
Communism’s ideology is outlined in the Communist Manifesto written in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and all variants of Communism have Marxist ideology as their foundation.
Tactic #2: Attack and Abolish Private Property
Marx attacked private property as a threat to the Communist Party’s ability to control and distribute resources. He argued control of distribution made equity possible. His phrase was “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need”.
Redistribution of resources kills an individual’s incentive to be productive because the fruits of their labor are confiscated and given to those less productive. Production is punished and lack of production rewarded. The productive become dependent on government (Communist Party) to provide for all their needs, and hope the Communist Party decides they are deserving enough to have their needs met. The equity produced by Communism is equal misery.
How do Communists accomplish their goal of abolishing private property?
Under Joseph Stalin’s rule of the Soviet Union, private land ownership was outlawed and all land was seized by the Communist Party. Ukraine produced most of the wheat in the Soviet Union before the Communist Party started dictating agricultural policy. Stalin threw a wrench in the Ukrainian system by implementing a five-year plan for production.
Central planning doesn’t account well for changes over time from the original plan. For example, if you decided in 2019, what resources you would need to feed yourself and your family through 2024 based on 2019 prices, available resources, and family size, you may run into a similar problem. No matter how brilliant you are, you will be wrong about how much you will need in 2022 compared to what you needed in 2019. Add new twins to your family or a sick relative that joins your household to weather their illness or a worldwide pandemic that effects availability of supplies, and your plan falls apart. Stalin’s five-year plan worked equally poorly for Ukraine. Stalin saddled Ukraine with producing all the wheat for the Soviet Union, telling Ukrainians they could eat only if there was any grain left after feeding the rest of the country. There was no grain left for 3 years. Ukrainians couldn’t keep pace with limited resources and increased demand for production. Central planning left them short if a tractor broke down or there was insufficient fuel for tractors and combines. The result: An estimated 3.9 million Ukrainians starved to death.
You may believe you’ve not lost private property, living in America, but incrementally you have. It was sold to you as new technology. Americans have quietly given up ownership of private property without recognizing it. Just 20 years ago, you would buy a compact disc (CD) with your favorite music. You could listen to it whenever you wanted to and you paid for the CD once. No ads, no subscriptions, no limited catalog of songs to bother you. If you were broke one month, you still had your music. You could sell it, loan it to a friend, or trade it for another CD. Americans also owned books they could trade, loan, and read whenever they wanted without any ads or monthly subscription. Americans also owned the software on their computers, so they could move the software to a new computer or reload the software as needed. We enjoyed ownership of our music, books, and software.
In the intervening 20 years we’ve lost tangible ownership of music, books, and software. Americans were told we didn’t need to own it, we could rent, stream, or subscribe to it. But if we’re renting something, someone else owns it; it is never ours. This is the lie of Communism. The property is always owned, just not by you. The Communist Party owns it. Those who rent to you become your masters. Their control of property gives them control over you. In the case of music, books, and software, this incremental change now controls what we listen to, what we read, and what software we can use on our computers. Variety and choice dies. We lose the advantage of the tangible items that allowed us to share with each other a loved piece of music, a book, or software.
Today Communists are discouraging home ownership and encourage renting a home instead. Their inflationary policies force this decision by making ownership impossible for many. “You will own nothing, you will rent what you need, and you will be happy” is the slogan of World Economic Forum founder and Communist-in-disguise, Klaus Schwab. If you don’t own a home, someone else does and they control your rent. You lose freedom and the ability to build self-sufficient wealth and financial independence.
Under Communism, the leader may decide they don’t like you and they can raise your rent beyond what you can afford so you become homeless. Maybe they choose another criterion, like your vaccine status. “Sorry, you can’t rent, we don’t like your vaccine status.” During Covid, the Chinese Communist Party disconnected over 1 million cell phones in one month. The Chinese use their cell phones to pay for everything via digital cash. When they are locked out of their phone, they can no longer operate in society to pay rent, rent a car, or buy food. They have zero access to resources. It’s a death sentence.
Communism’s seizure of private property is not about equity. It is about control. Under Communism, you don’t have the ability to own land or ownership of a car to allow you freedom of travel for work or pleasure. Suppose you have a large family and the Communist Party eliminates your ability to own a car, they may force you to rent a smaller car that does not meet your needs. The Communist Party could limit the distance you can travel, where you can travel, and when you can travel. Or the Communist Party may decide you can’t rent a car, leaving you stranded and isolated.
Private ownership of tangible goods provides freedom and choice. It allows you to store the fruits of your labor in physical form that may be sold or traded for something else you want to own. Private ownership is a cornerstone of freedom. Just remember, slaves counted on their master to provide the food, clothing, and shelter while forfeiting their labor to their master – they, too, owned nothing.
Beware of any politician offering you goodies and attacking private ownership. That’s Communism. When someone offers to provide for you and seizes the fruits of your labor, they are making you their slave. Communism is slavery. America outlawed slavery with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.
