By Mathew Brocato

There are a lot of people these days who are critical of capitalism. They suggest that there should be more government control over the economy and that it would be better for everyone to have more equity in the economy. However, there is a danger of giving up the free market to allow the government to make economic decisions for us. There is always a danger in socialism, Marxism.

What is Marxism?

Marxism-Leninism is a communist ideology that was the main socialist movement of the 20th century. From an ideological and statistical standpoint, every country that adopted a Marxist-Leninist ideology was always ruled by a brutal dictator who used socialist principles and a restricted economy to harm their people to prove that the government was in control. This theory was named after German philosopher, Karl Marx, and former Soviet Union leader, Vladimir Lenin. This ideology started during the Russian Revolution in 1917 and expanded into other countries such as China, Vietnam, Laos, and North Korea.

Examples of Brutal Marxist Dictatorships

Joseph Stalin / Soviet Union

Stalin took over the Soviet Union in 1922 until his death in 1953. He described the nation as a Marxist-Leninist state. In 1928, Stalin called for rapid industrialization of the economy, with an emphasis on heavy industry, which he used his own military to enforce at gunpoint. He continued Lenin´s passing of concentration camps for political prisoners, religious people, and citizens criticizing the government. Stalin based the nation on a state ownership of the means of production, collective farming, and industrial manufacturing.

Popular U.S. President Ronald Reagan described the Soviet Union as the ¨evil empire¨ because of how the government lacked respect for humanity, and how they were a big threat to the globe. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, over a dozen territories gained independence, including Ukraine. Russia today is still an authoritarian country that is currently run by Vladimir Putin, and they still do not respect individual freedom and liberty.

Mao Zedong / China

Mao Zedong was a communist revolutionary who took over China in 1943, until his death in 1976. He was the founder of the People’s Republic of China and created an ideological Marxist-Leninist economy. His goal was to create a restricted socialist country through Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin’s visions. Zedong banned capitalism, free markets, private businesses, financial freedom or other individual freedoms. He opened re-education camps for anyone that practiced religion of any kind and used women as sex slaves to prove they are in control. Since Zedong had a fetish for female children, he is known to have abused many throughout his reign.

One of the biggest murder sprees occurred in China during what is called the Great Leap Forward. During this time students attacked and killed their teachers, parents and others who were part of the old society. Anyone who earned respect before the Great Leap, was in danger. After Zedong passed away in 1976, China was taken over by more brutal dictators. Ever since 1943, over 35 million people were reported to be killed while imprisoned in China. Today, China is being run by a brutal, corrupt, sadistic, and a radical authoritarian leader named Xi Jinping. President Xi has often denied that the Chinese government was responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic. It was not until early 2023, that there was proof that the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory likely made through gain of function research.

Kim II-Sung / North Korea

Kim II-Sung took over Korea in 1948, until his death in 1994. He is the founding father of North Korea, and founder of the Workers Party of North Korea. By most historians, North Korea is ranked as the most brutal, inhumane state in the world. In 1948, the original country ¨Korea¨ split the nation into two. The north got taken over by communism, while being dependent and supported by China and the Soviet Union. The south was allowed to practice capitalism, democracy, and part of the sphere of western nations.

In June of 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea because they wanted the south to join the north, but South Korea refused, resulting in the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953. Known as the forgotten war, after thousands of soldiers died horrendous deaths, the original border was reinstated and then a truce left the county as it was before the invasion.

When Kim Il-Sung took over North Korea, he banned all religious practices, private property, private education, and nationalized how the country thinks and feels. He placed inhumane conditions in the workplace, which led people to starve on a daily basis, go to school and be forced to respect the government, and prevented any business from conducting business and spreading information outside the country. This brutal dictatorship started running concentration camps, which severely and inhumanly punished every individual that broke the law. In the camps the prisoners were forced to look for food that is non-consumable, and many were beaten to death by the guards.

After he passed away in 1994, his son Kim Jong-Il continued his father’s brutal reign. In North Korea, everyone is required to have a portrait of the dictators in their homes, and are only allowed to eat once a day, while also having no technology and little to no electricity to this day. Everyone makes the same amount of money regardless of their occupation, and are forbidden from making more than what the government says. Kim Jong-il passed away in late 2011. His son Kim-Jong Un took over the state, and is the current dictator, who is the most brutal of the three. He forced his own uncle to be eaten alive by one hundred starving dogs just because he criticized the government for inhumane treatment. Today, North Korea is considered to be the worst country for human rights in the world. To see the difference between Marxist and freedom in practice, the drastic difference between North and South Korea draws a clear picture.

How Marxism Impacted the World

Because of Marxist theories and socialist states, many people were and continue to be brutally murdered and oppressed. World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War started because of the incompetent theories of communism and brutal dictatorships as well as fears from western nations that this theory of government would spread throughout the world. Communism is despised by most people around the world. Cubans despise Fidel Castro because his dictatorship made Cuba a brutal place and a poorer one. Venezuelans despise Nicolas Maduro because of his authoritarian reign of Venezuela since 2013. By controlling the private sector Venezuela went bankrupt.

Communism and socialism are failed systems that no matter how much we try to make it work, will NEVER work. Free market philosopher Adam Smith knew that it would not work because it does not take into account human nature or the laws of economics.