by Aaron Warner

I first remembering hearing about Karl Marx and communism growing up in the 1980’s in Portland, Oregon.  Then President Ronald Reagan famously led the charge to have Soviet President Mikael Gorbachev “tear down that wall”.  The wall being both the literal wall that separated east from west Berlin in Germany, and the figurative wall that separated the communist countries of Eastern Europe and Russia from the west.  This moment in history marked an end to the Cold War, and ideological war between the “godless” communists and the God-fearing western world.  The global march toward prosperity seemed to be in full swing. 

Oddly we find ourselves some thirty or so years later with socialism/communism again rearing its ugly head in our world, only now it is right here in the United States of America.  I had to wonder, what caused this resurrection, and, if it was such an epic failure as to be the most celebrated news story of the late 80’s, what is its appeal?  

I moved to Vermont in 2010.  Vermont, like socialism, has a certain unique appeal to it.  It is a small state, very small, but not without a seemingly unending amount of natural beauty.  Around every turn one find’s yet another scene fit for a painting.  The charm of Vermont stretches beyond that to its array of natural delicacies from local farms, its strident resistance to hyper-commercialism defended by a statewide policy disallowing billboards, and an esprit de corps that seems to allow for political tolerance from the far left Bernie Sanders in the senate to a Republican governor in the state.  

Socialism’s appeal seems to stem from the ideas of justice and fairness with an eye on the little guy, who, like Vermont, needs to be protected against the rapacious desires of the big guy, be they corporate or otherwise.  Minorities, the disenfranchised and the castaways are the focus of socialism.  By changing the mechanisms of government the designers of socialism, Karl Marx and Freiderich Engels, believed they could achieve a type of utopia, not unlike that which exists to some degree already in Vermont. 

So why was I under the impression Karl Marx and communism were of the devil?  How could Satan craft a plan that leads to global beneficence if his chief aim was to destroy mankind? A cursory understanding of Marx was not enough.  I had to read up on him. 

A quick search for “Marx and Satan” brought me to a book by that title.  Its author, Richard Wurmbrand, was an Anglican priest who suffered over ten years in a communist prison, which also inspired his more famous novel Tortured for Christ.  

Marx and Satan can be found on Youtube if one cares to listen to it.  The pdf for the book is available free online.  Both are reasonably short and can be digested in only a few hours. Given the author lived within a communist regime and experienced its brutality first hand I was interested to learn some things about Karl Marx from his personal investigation into the man. Here they are in bullet form:

• Marx fathered six children, five with his wife and one with his cleaning lady.  Of the six, three died from malnutrition and neglect from Marx himself, and two older daughters died by suicide. 
• Marx lived in squalor much of his life despite coming from a fairly well-to-do family. 
• Marx never held a working man’s job despite dedicating his writing to the subject. He was supported by benefactors such as Engels.
• Marx received an inheritance from a family member which was cause for Marx’s wife to rejoice in the hope it would get them out of debt and get their heat back on.  By the time Marx returned home he’d spent the money on his pleasures including drinking. 
• Marx was filthy, literally.  He refused to bathe to the point he was covered in carbuncles, a type of boil that grows on unclean skin. 
• Even Marx’s closest friends said he hated people, and this was confirmed in his writings and poetry. 
• Marx’s children referred to him as their “dear devil” and those who lived entered into satanic pacts with their father. 
• Marx wrote in his poetry: “While for us both the abyss yawns in darkness. You will sink down and I shall follow laughing, Whispering in your ears, “Descend, come with me, friend.”

All of these seem damning enough to not be persuaded by this man’s writings.  However the most shocking aspect of Marx’s character was his racism.  His writings include dozens if not hundreds of instances where he used either the word n****r or other slurs, including anti-semitic comments.  Does Sen. Sanders know this?  If cancel culture is attacking our founding fathers for racism and slavery, which they actually fought to end, how is Marx getting a pass?  He was truly one of the most foul, least kind, and least admirable people I’ve read about from his era. 

I could go on, but it seems the fruit is indicative of the tree.  I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would look to this man for any type of economic or ideological guidance, no matter how eloquent his writing or how lofty his ideas.  The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.  Other than idealistic writings which have produced nothing but chaos and destruction in countries where his ideas are adopted, Marx leaves no examples from his life upon which a country could hope to follow. 

Which brings me to Black Lives Matter, a group founded upon Marx’s teachings. Co-founder Patrice Cullours can still be see on video stating “we are trained Marxists”.  Given Marx’s teachings included burning and destroying and intimidating any who opposed the brutal march to an impossible to achieve Marxist utopia, it’s easy to see miss Cullour’s claim is true.  BLM rioted and destroyed everywhere they went. Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Wisconsin, New York, and on and on to the tune of more than $1 billion dollars in damages. As these cities and their innocent citizens and business owners were assaulted, their homeless and diseased populations grew. 

Quietly, as well-meaning citizens sent money to assuage the BLM cause, Miss Cullour’s now owns multiple million dollar dwellings and has stepped down from the organization. Despite their name Black Lives Matter, many in the black community feel deceived by the organization for never receiving funds committed to them and their losses, which sounds an awful lot like Marx’s wife’s complaints.  BLM has seen leaders step down in New York and elsewhere citing similar grievances with the organization. 

Which brings me to Sen. Bernie Sanders from right here in Vermont.  A life-long socialist and career politician, he now enjoys the status of millionaire with multiple high ticket dwellings. Which seems to be a theme amongst Marx and his adherents, and reminds me of a passage I read in a popular book this morning.  It reads: 

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? (Mark 8:36)

For fans of the Rolling Stones one might have a little sympathy for the devil.  For fans of Marx it seems one will be on the hot seat right next to him.  

But don’t take it from me, I read about it in the best-selling book of all-time:

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.  Their end will be what their actions deserve. (2 Corinthians 11:14&15)

The author is a Hartford, Vermont resident.