Kay Marx axiom may be bearing fruit by Don Frost

            “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” This axiom has been around for a long time. Karl Marx, accurately characterized as the Father of Socialism, did not originate the phrase, but he certainly popularized it.

            It looks like Marx’s philosophy is beginning to bear fruit in America. More about that later, but first a little background:

            The maxim has wide appeal among those who have never struggled under the yolk of Socialism. It sounds so doggone altruistic; so eminently fair. Sacrificing self for the benefit of others is an article of faith in current American culture. This most basic tenet of Socialism goes by many names: Maoism, Leninism, Stalinism, Nazism, Castroism, etc. Whatever you call the particular Socialism cult, the Marx axiom basically means that those who have the ability to provide for themselves, must give to those who cannot provide for themselves.

            Taking his cue from Marx, Barack Obama took a few baby steps toward creating this myth of a classless society. Throughout his eight-year tenure as president he frequently lamented what he called “the income gap” in America. Sometimes he used the phrase “income inequality.”

            Like Marx, Obama did not believe it was right that some people made more money than others – “the income gap.” So, while he was dividing us into tribes, emphasizing our differences rather than what unites us (Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Polish-Americans, etc.), he singled out The Rich Tribe and The Poor Tribe. He even codified it: If you make more than $250,000 a year, you’re a member of The Rich Tribe.

            While carefully avoiding this precise wording, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs ” has been the clarion call of the Democratic Party for generations: “Tax the rich!” “The rich must pay their fair share!” And other bumper sticker philosophies to the same effect.

            President Biden has jumped on the Obama bandwagon that was temporarily sidelined during Donald Trump’s presidency. The Associated Press reports that Biden’s recently passed stimulus bill “. . . is supposed to start fixing income inequality . . .”

            That’s pure Socialism. According to the Preamble to our Constitution, our government is supposed to “. . . promote the general Welfare . . .” Note it reads promote the general welfare. It does not read provide the general welfare. If Biden and the Socialist wing of his party in Congress try to “fix income inequality,” they’re stepping way over the constraints placed on government by the Constitution; they’re trying to provide the general welfare.

            As Winston Churchill observed, “You don’t make the poor richer by making the rich poorer.”

            Still, the Marx, Obama, and Biden philosophy, pitting The Rich Tribe against The Poor Tribe, just might be beginning to bear fruit.

            In mid-February and early March two high-rises on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive – the city’s Gold Coast – were shot up by someone firing a pistol from the ground, aiming up and hitting dwellings on the 30^th and three other floors. Police found shell casings on the ground; bullet holes were found in windows and the buildings’ façade.

            Gold Coast condominiums carry price tags in the millions; as rental properties the costs are five or six figures a month. Obviously these residences are home to members of The Rich Tribe.

            Police have no suspects or motives. But considering that The Rich Tribe has been routinely demonized by two presidents, it’s not a great stretch to suspect the shooter, or shooters, was a member of The Poor Tribe simply fed up with The Rich Tribe having more than they. And, in the Right Think/Right Speak (politically correct) society that America has become, if the perpetrator of these crimes is ever caught and he or she admits it was motivated by resentment of The Rich Tribe, it will be judged understandable, which is “liberal” code for acceptable.

            After all, two presidents have made clear that it’s just plain wrong, if not evil, for some people to have more money than others.

Don Frost blogs at www.commonsense931.wordpress.com