People are often divided by political issues, and Americans are no exception. However, the United States of America is under significant threat, and in this situation, it is best if all Americans stand as one and fight the battle together. The most significant threats to America are Marxism, and more specifically, socialism, and the imperialism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The specter of Marxism
Communist regimes produced the most incredible ideological carnage in human history, killing more than a hundred million people in the last century. While some apologists claim it is unfair to Marx to blame him, the seeds of tyranny were there from the start.
Marxists assumed that vastly increasing government power was the key to liberating humanity. Glorifying command-and-control was the flipside of demonizing prices and profits. But all-powerful regimes quickly became ends in themselves.
In 1932, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin decreed the death penalty for any theft of state property. As millions of Ukrainians were starving due to the brutal collectivization of farms, even children poaching a few ears of corn could be shot.
Marx continues to appeal to social justice warriors thanks to axioms such as “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” And who determines “need”? The presumably omniscient, benevolent State.
Marxism promised to end the “class struggle,” but it subjugated almost everyone to officialdom. Abolishing private property left people hostages to petty government officials who punished anyone who failed to kowtow to the latest dictates.
Marxist regimes felt entitled to inflict unlimited delusions on their victims — for the good of the people, or at least proletariats. East Germans were told the Berlin Wall existed to keep fascists out — even though all the killings by border guards involved East Germans heading West.
Marxism promised a utopia, and that unsecured pledge sufficed to treat subjects like serfs bound to submit and obey endlessly.
Socialism in today’s America
A Pew poll finds that 43 percent of millennials feel positive about the word “socialism” compared to less than half that for people over 50. By 2024, these millennials will be the biggest voting bloc. Left-wing candidates, including some Democratic socialists, did surprisingly well in the most recent primaries.
Polls of millennials consistently show that economic issues, such as jobs and college debt are their dominant concerns. Issues such as transgender rights, or climate change, may motivate the media and denizens of university hothouses, but more immediate issues have a greater impact on the lives of millennials.
The current ruling oligarchy, centered on Wall Street and Silicon Valley, has no actual program to address these concerns outside of occasional proposals to provide guaranteed incomes and subsidies for what they see as increasingly extraneous masses.
But many millennials may not feel so optimistic about a future as “gig economy” drones. They certainly show little signs of capitalist ardor. Few are starting businesses, and fully half, notes a Harvard study, believe “the American dream” is dead.
Under these conditions, promises of guaranteed jobs, free college, and single-payer health care are far more attractive. Similarly, high rents and diminished prospects for homeownership naturally create growing support for rent control and massive subsidies for housing.
In the past, the oligarchs could use their political power by supporting politically correct positions on cultural or environmental issues — to deflect critics. But their money, and increasing control of media, may not be sufficient to deflect the efforts of radicalized progressives who see “the American dream” slipping out of their grasp.
To succeed, capitalism needs to be more than a theory that appeals to free-market ideologues and those with money. It must work, first and foremost, to better people’s lives, as it has done brilliantly over at least the past half-century.
People who aspire to start businesses and buy property are generally not susceptible to socialism’s siren song; those who see a landless, insecure future have always rallied to the banner of mass redistribution.
The march of the Chinese Communist Party
The counterintelligence and economic espionage efforts emanating from the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party are a grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of Americans and the United States.
To be clear, the adversary is not the Chinese people or people of Chinese descent or heritage. Instead, the threat comes from the programs and policies pursued by an authoritarian government.
The Chinese government is employing tactics that seek to influence lawmakers and public opinion to achieve more favorable policies to China.
At the same time, the Chinese government is seeking to become the world’s greatest superpower through predatory lending and business practices, systematic theft of intellectual property, and brazen cyber intrusions.
China’s efforts target businesses, academic institutions, researchers, lawmakers, and the general public and require a whole-of-society response. The U.S. government and Americans in the private sector must commit to working together to understand better and counter the threat.
In summary
Marxism, socialism, and the imperialism of the Chinese Communist Party oppose all aspects of free-market capitalism. If left unchecked, they will eventually undermine America’s economic system and its representative democracy to the point of collapse. One of the best ways to prevent this is for all Americans to come together to counter these threats.
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