Karl Marx: 3 Little-Known Facts Worth Sharing

Facts that help make the case against socialism.

Socialism’s return means we need easy-to-communicate facts that illustrate its flaws and sales tricks. Here are three related to socialist superstar Karl Marx:

1: MARX CONSIDERED OUR LIBERAL RIGHTS “RUBBISH” AND “NONSENSE”

Marx called for a society founded on the compulsory duty of “from each according to their ability”—a duty that requires overriding our liberal rights. He also attacked rights explicitly, calling them “rubbish,” “nonsense,” and “so-called rights.”

That Marx and socialism generally denigrate individual rights is a key factor in socialism’s inherent authoritarianism. It’s one of the flaws of socialism mirrored by fascism.

2. MARX WANTED CHILD FACTORY LABOR TO BE THE FOUNDATION OF THE SOCIALIST SCHOOL DAY

Making children perform “productive labor” as part of the socialist school day was one of Marx’s favorite ideas. He wrote about it repeatedly, calling it “the education of the future.” He argued that a key benefit would be increased production for socialist society. Apparently, under socialism, the compulsory labor of children doesn’t count as “exploitation.”

3. THE DSA’S FOUNDER SAYS “COMMUNIST” MARX COUNTS AS A “DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST”

Democratic Socialists of America founder, Michael Harrington, repeatedly ordained Marx a “democratic socialist.” This is despite Marx’s anti-liberal thinking, despite the fact his ideas underpinned authoritarian socialist societies, and even though Marx called himself a “communist.”