Written by Christopher Stockdale

Marx’s theory of the toppling of “capitalism” by the forces of a united communist proletariat has been the center of a majority of conflict during the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty first centuries.

Karl Marx, an economist, political philosopher, sociologist, historian, and father of modern “revolutionary communism”, birthed one of the largest and most controversial political theories known to a modern man.

Marx’s ideas, standing upon the basis that capitalism is the oppression of the proletarian masses by the bourgeois middle and upper class, has always been seen as the alternative to the more widely accepted economic based idea of capitalism. To understand Marx’s hatred of capitalism, first we must define it. Capitalism, a free market economic system based on the principle of voluntary association between producers and consumers, is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as; “an economic system in which most means for production of goods and services are privately owned.”

However, due to the nature of capitalism’s markets being less than stable, the establishment of a corporate class is nearly impossible. Without the grants from government to enforce monopoly or oligopoly, capitalism has always been host to the best and brightest in both the industrial invention and economic innovation.

It is thereby a clear assumption that Karl Marx was mistaken when placing blame for the economic woes of the working class on capitalism. His description of economic oppression is far more applicable to the idea of corporatism, or corporate fascism.

Corporatism, an economic method practiced in a majority of the world today is far more stable and easily maneuvered in favour of one’s agenda than that of capitalism. Corporate fascism, the practice in which corporate influence extends into both the private and public domain, using consumer funds to lobby lawmakers in return for the unofficial status of oligo/monopoly; a situation that plagues many American industries, such as the American cellular service industry.

Finally, the area in which Marx and I agree is that the oppression of Corporate influence upon lawmaking upon the citizenry – where he claims the proletariat, I apply this oppression to both the lower and middle classes – is unjust and unsustainable. Where he and I agree –somewhat – on source, we disagree on result.

In private correspondence with Friedrich Engels, Marx asserted that the status quo provided by capitalism would be upset by Communism’s dramatic advancements in human thought. However, this has not proven to be the case. Instead of allowing man to be truly free, wherever state communism has been implemented, man’s liberty has vanished.

Without the innovation and creativity provided by freedom of thought, communist nations stagnate and, eventually, die.

It is my thought, as well as the thought of many Anarcho-Capitalists, that the status-quo will be upset not by the equalization of existence, but of opportunity. As individuals realize that oppressive bodies are not necessary, they will begin to make a shift towards a completely free society, driven by an innovative and competitive market. Corporate Governance will give way to voluntary association; even between socialists, communists, and capitalists.