I realized an interesting thing today. There is a similarity between McCain’s tax speak and the age old fear of Communism and Socialism. He continually claims Obama will raise “your” taxes. As most of us know Obama will raise the taxes of those who make $250k+ and lower taxes on the rest. McCain plans to lower taxes on the rich and actually tax employer provided healthcare to employees for the first time, while giving a tax credit to families that won’t cover that extra tax or actually buy good enough healtcare.
So, McCain is talking about taxes on the Bourgeosie, not the middle and lower class. To me this is similar to both parties claims that Communism and Socialism remove freedom. What freedom are they speaking of? They don’t speak of individual freedom and liberty, but thats what they want you to think.
I should add a quick disclaimer. Some will confuse Communism and Socialism with particular regimes and philosophies, Maoism and Stalinism as two examples. This is not a post defending dictatorships and famine from basically aristocracies claiming to be Communist. True Communism, Socialism or the specific form Marxism is the topic of discussion here.
The freedom removed in Communism is the freedom of control of the modes of production by individuals, the transition from private property to state owned property. This does not refer to your clothes and this does not refer to how you want to wear your hair. The upper class does not want to lose their control of the lower classes, they don’t want to lose their free trade and their nearly free exchange of money at the top levels and their control of capital.
Even more interesting is the fact that these same people want to control your lives and want to strip you of your freedoms! More evidence of what they truly refer to when they speak of losing freedoms. Both parties want to control your lives and spy on you. The Democrats may be slightly better than the Republicans; supporting women’s rights, slightly less ridiculous drug laws, etc. However, both support restricting your lives based on their faiths and their profit, and both supported the Patriot Act. This is the freedom you vote for? This is the liberty you vote for? All we want to do is get rid of private capital and put everything in your hands, yet we are the ones who want to destroy your freedom?
Another similarity is the claim that the GPL is anti-freedom. The GPL ensures that when you take my source code and modify it and release your new program you must pass on that souce code as well. This means that the freedom continues to move to the people. In contrast, the BSD license does not enforce this. Does that mean it is more free in a sense? Yes. It gives someone the freedom to restrict someone elses freedom and make them dependent apon that person who released the program, this I can not support.
In comparison, Communism ensures that no person can bring another under his/her control by the ownership of property.
As a last remark to Eric S Raymond who claimed Communism is a bullet in your head for not sharing. I’d be much more afraid of being shot by the libertarian, gun loving ESR when you step on his land than by me, the Communist. Just saying.
