The Communist Idea

These measures will, of course, be different in different countries. Nevertheless in the most advanced countries the following will be pretty generally applicable: 1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. 2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. 3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. 4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. 5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital. and an exclusive monopoly. [96 ] 6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. 7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil gener ally in accordance with a common plan. 8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of indus trial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing in dustries: gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country. 10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial pro duction, etc., etc." PART II Earl Browder, former leader of the Communist party in America, discusses the American trend toward commu nism in a recent pamphlet: "State capitalism leaped forward to a new high point in America in the decade 1939-1949.... State capitalism, in substance if not in formal aspects, has progressed far ther in America than in Great Britain under the Labor Government, despite its nationalization of certain indus tries, which is a formal stage not yet reached in America; the actual, substantial concentration of the guiding reins [97 ] of national economy in governmental hands is probably on a higher level in the U. S. A.~~ In appraising a list of 22 specific items of American governmental policy, Mr. Browder states: "They have the single feature in common that ... they ex press the growth of state capitalism . ... [This is] an essen tial feature of the confirmation of the Marxist theory. . . .

It represents the maturing of the objective (material) prerequisites for socialism, the basic factor which makes socialism inevitable .... 1. Government deficit financing. 2. Manipulation of bank.reserves requirements. S. Insurance of bank deposits. 4. Guarantee of mortgages. 5. Control of bank credits. 6. Tinkering with the currency system. 7. Regulation of installment buying. 8. Price controls. 9. Price support for farm products. 10. Agricultural credits. 11. R.F.C. loans to business corporations. 12. Social security systems for workers. 13. Various benefits for veterans. 14. Government housing. 15. Public works to provide employment. 16. Many projects for conservation of natural resources. 17. Juggling of the tax structure. 18. New tariff regulations. 19. Government-organized foreign loans. 20. The Employment Act. [98 ] 21. The President's economic committee. 22. Last but by no means least, stimulated war arma ments production on a large scale."

PART III SOCIALISM has been defined as .governmental ownership or control of the means of production. And communism, in this and most other respects, is the same thing as socialism. Marx was a Socialist by his own definition. Russia, after the communist revolution, became the U.S.S.R. - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Invasion of the United States by communism, as thus defined, is evidenced in different ways. Among them are the following: GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP IN U.S.A. PER CENT OF TOTAL WEALTH 25 _--------,.------r GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP OF WEALTH 20 1-----------+1946 LAND EXCLUDED 1902·1946 15 J----------f--~ 101----5t-------------f; 0"-- _ Source of data: Studies in Income and Wealth, Vol. XII, p. 535; National Bureau of Economic Research, 1950. Statistical Research by F. A. Harper. COVERNMENT CONTROL IN U.S.A. GOVERNMENT LICENSING "Practically every busi ness, large or small, is affected by some form of governmental licensing control. A license is a permit or authorization to engage in some busi ness or activity."

Source: Small Business and Gooemment Licenses, U.S. Department of Commerce, p. 1; United States Gov ernment Printing Office, 1950. [ 99] OWNERSHIP IN COMMON WHEN the government owns anything-be it a post (jflice, a school, a hydroelectric dam, or whatever-it is called "common ownership" on the theory that it belongs to all of the people. In a discussion of the ideas behind this theory of government or common ownership, it is, of course, unnecessary to examine all the examples of it. The study of a single industry will sufficeto illustrate the prob lem. The example here selected is the electric industry with particular emphasis on the device of river valley development. Government Electricity In 1932, the federal government was producing less than one-half of one per cent of all electricity generated in the United States. In 1949, this had increased to more than 13 per cent. If state and local government production is added, this figure rises to almost 20 per cent. Further, it is estimated that federal projects will account for at least 25 per cent of the new production capacity to be con structed in the United States during the next three years.