10 steps to Communism

These are Karl Marx's "10 Planks" or 10 steps that must be instituted in order to achieve communism. Some of them may surprise you:

1. Abolition of Property in Land and Application of all Rents of Land to Public Purpose.

2. A Heavy Progressive or Graduated Income Tax.

3. Abolition of All Rights 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.

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 Generally in Accordance with a Common Plan.

8. Equal Liability of All to Labor. Establishment of Industrial Armies, Especially for Agriculture.

9. Combination of Agriculture with Manufacturing Industries; 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.

    Would it surprise you to learn that we in America can already check off a few items on this list? First, America already possesses a progressive, graduated income tax, and this year, a man who thinks it needs to be even more progressive, "As a matter of fairness," is coming into power. By bailing out corporations, the federal government has also gotten into the banking business, fulfilling step five. Bank of America, now, really is the bank of America. 

    Though Karl Marx may not have thought so, the most important step of all is 10. If you control the schools, you can control what the next generation will think. Karl Marx would not have supported school choice, voucher programs, or any form of private education, including home schooling.