President-Elect Obama Marxist?

It is correct to say that Marxism sees socialism as a step towards Marxism which is what Churchill is describing. That does not mean that socialism will always lead to Marxism but it is definitely closer than say pure laissez faire capitalism. It is incorrect to say socialism is Marxism.

I would challenge whether Obama's policies can even technically be classified as being socialist. I can agree with the view he has socialistic tendencies (which I see as a good thing, BTW), but he still has quite a ways to go before fitting into the strict definition of socialist. The strongest case for classifying Obama as socialist is his stance on health care and even there, his plan does not call for government ownership of the health care sector.

Of course if you go by the definition of socialist on the street, most republicans could be considered socialist.

 

He is what he is.

A socialist for sure and most likely a marxist. Their agendas overlap so much that it's hard to tell one from the other.

 

"It is part of the Communist doctrine and drillbook, laid down by Lenin himself, that Communists should aid all movements towards the Left and help into office weak Constitutional, Radical, or Socialist Governments. These they should undermine, and from their falling hands snatch absolute power, and found the Marxist State" (Churchill, Vol. 1, The Second World War, 212).
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Just as a point of interest, Mr. Churchill, in 1945, was replaced by the socialist party in England, called the Labour Party.

It must also be noted that not on thing was changed in the parliamentary system of government.

The same is true in Canada. We enjoy socialist programs, but we are a democratic country with a freely elected government by the people.

Whilst Marxist is an acceptable term for the type of government designed by Karl Marx and eventually adopted as communism...total governmental control over everything...we do not share anything close to even Marx's philosophy, yet we do employ socialism where it benefits all in the country.

Cheers,

Jim

A socialist after the order of my Lord Jesus when He walked this earth.

 

Obama Affinity to Marxists Dates Back to College Days
Barack Obama shrugs off charges of socialism, but noted in his own memoir that he carefully chose Marxist professors as friends in college.

By Bill Sammon
FOXNews.com
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

German philosopher Karl Marx, author of "The Communist Manifesto," advocated redistributing wealth in order to achieve a classless society.

Barack Obama laughs off charges of socialism. Joe Biden scoffs at references to Marxism. Both men shrug off accusations of liberalism.

But Obama himself acknowledges that he was drawn to socialists and even Marxists as a college student. He continued to associate with Marxists later in life, even choosing to launch his political career in the living room of a self-described Marxist, William Ayers, in 1995, when Obama was 34.

Obama's affinity for Marxists began when he attended Occidental College in Los Angeles.

"To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully," the Democratic presidential candidate wrote in his memoir, "Dreams From My Father." "The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists."

Obama's interest in leftist politics continued after he transferred to Columbia University in New York. He lived on Manhattan's Upper East Side, venturing to the East Village for what he called "the socialist conferences I sometimes attended at Cooper Union."

After graduating from Columbia in 1983, Obama spent a year working for a consulting firm and then went to work for what he described as "a Ralph Nader offshoot" in Harlem.

"In search of some inspiration, I went to hear Kwame Toure, formerly Stokely Carmichael of Black Panther fame, speak at Columbia," Obama wrote in "Dreams," which he published in 1995. "At the entrance to the auditorium, two women, one black, one Asian, were selling Marxist literature."

Obama supporters point out that plenty of Americans flirt with radical ideologies in college, only to join the political mainstream later in life. But Obama, who made a point of noting how "carefully" he chose his friends in college, also chose to launch his political career in the Chicago living room of Ayers, a domestic terrorist who in 2002 proclaimed: "I am a Marxist."

Also present at that meeting was Ayers' wife, fellow terrorist Bernardine Dohrn, who once gave a speech extolling socialism, communism and "Marxism-Leninism."

Obama has been widely criticized for choosing the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, an anti-American firebrand, as his pastor. Wright is a purveyor of black liberation theology, which analysts say is based in part on Marxist ideas.

Few political observers go so far as to accuse Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, of being a Marxist. But Republican John McCain has been accusing Obama of espousing socialism ever since the Democrat told an Ohio plumber named Joe earlier this month that he wanted to "spread the wealth around."

Obama's running mate, Biden, recently contradicted his boss, saying: "He is not spreading the wealth around." The remark came as Biden was answering a question from a TV anchor who asked: "How is Senator Obama not being a Marxist if he intends to spread the wealth around?"

"Are you joking? Is this a joke? Or is that a real question?" an incredulous Biden shot back. "It's a ridiculous comparison."

But the debate intensified Monday with the surfacing of a 2001 radio interview in which Obama lamented the Supreme Court's inability to enact "redistribution of wealth" -- a key tenet of socialism. On Tuesday, McCain said Obama aspires to become "Redistributionist-in-Chief."

Obama has managed to cultivate the image of a political moderate in spite of his consistently liberal voting record. In 2006, he published a second memoir, "The Audacity of Hope," that leaves little doubt about his adherence to the left.

"The arguments of liberals are more often grounded in reason and fact," Obama wrote in "Audacity." "Much of what I absorbed from the sixties was filtered through my mother, who to the end of her life would proudly proclaim herself an unreconstructed liberal."

National Journal magazine ranked Obama as the most liberal member of the Senate. The publication is far from conservative, employing such journalists as Linda Douglass, who resigned in May to become Obama's traveling press secretary.

[Bill Sammon is the Washington deputy managing editor for FOX News Channel.]

 

A minimalist definition of socialism is community ownership and control of some industrial sector(s) of society. Traditionally, socialism has been communal ownership of all industrial aspects of society. Modern socialism practiced in Western Europe and Canada is really social democracy that incorporates both socialism and capitalism by selecting certain sectors for communal ownership, particularly health care and education.

A minimalist definition of Marxism is establishing a socialistic state via violent revolution by the working class.

So I would say it only takes one policy for each group:
Socialists espouse government ownership of some industrial sector(s) of society.
Marxists espouse socialism via violent overthrow by the working class.

 

Both Socialism and Communism have changed over the years. hey are not what thy once were and there is very little difference between the two these days. If you look through the CPUSA website you will find that Obama espouses most if not all of their principles.

 

Best not to get started on Margaret Thatcher who turned the railway system over to private enterprise and what a mess it became. Try travelling in England to-day by rail, which was the most common form of travel in my days there.

Wife was there three years ago and the train transferred her to a coach to complete her trip up into Scotland!! Some system!

Best talk with a Brit to see the changes. An American won't begin to understand what we went through over time and changes.

I am not faulting conservative parties. I have voted conservative all my life, but that doesn't prevent me from being a democratic socialist to boot.

Cheers,

Jim

 

But..

did the trains run on time??

:laugh:

 

What are the obviously socialist objectives of Obama? First I need to clarify one thing. A graduated income tax by its very nature redistributes wealth. In fact, taxes of any kind redistribute wealth by taking money from individuals and spending it (hopefully) for the common (opps that's a communist word) good. Without redistribution of wealth the infrastructure of America would never have been built (roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, etc.).

 

Here is one better, how many ideas espoused on this page does Obama not hold to?

 

Please reply to my post. I don't have to answer your contrived questions now do I?

 

I gave you an answer for both socialism and marxism. 1.

The one policy to define a socialist is espousing government ownership of an industrial sector. You said Obama does that and maybe you are right. Please show it. And even if you can show it, that does not mean a whole lot because I see nothing wrong with being socialist.

The one policy to define a marxist is espousing socialism via violent overthrow of the government by the working class. I do not think you can show that Obama ever espoused Marxism.

 

Maybe I am a Marxist because I am beginning to think that this government might need to be overthrown. It is no longer a government of, by, or for the people- it has become a self-indulgent monster.