Happy Birthday Karl Marx

For John, BLUF:  Karl Marx unleashed a lot of death and destruction on the world in the 20th Century.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Marx’s defenders should explain why his ideas never actually work

From CAPX, by Kristian Niemietz, 3 May 2018.

Here is the lede paragraph:

This week will mark the 200th birthday of Karl Marx.  It will be an occasion for a deluge of articles repeating the well-worn cliché that even though Marx’s predictions ultimately did not materialise, his analysis of capitalism was nonetheless spot on, and remains hugely relevant today.  (In fact, it’s already started.)

If you guessed The Old Gray Lady for the source of the URL for "It's already started" you are correct.

Then there is this from Mr Michael Moore:

Happy 200th Birthday Karl Marx!  You believed that everyone should have a seat at the table & that the greed of the rich would eventually bring us all down.  You believed that everyone deserves a slice of the pie.  You knew that the super wealthy were out to grab whatever they could.

And I am sure it will, at some point.  In the mean time "the greed of the rich" has only served to elevate the living standards of the rest of us, since the time of Karl Marx, and before.  Think South Korea vs North Korea.  Or West Germany vs East Germany.  Think Venezuela.

As a side note, South Korea has a higher GDP than Russia.

Regards  —  Cliff