London, UK….On this day in 1848 the Communist Manifesto was first published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. “Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries unite!” ~ Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto

It was a precursor to many of the wars and political struggles the world has faced since its publication. Can a man build a better life ruling himself or must he be ruled? A Quote from Karl Marx…”The history of all previous societies has been the history of class struggles.”

The language and reasoning in the manifesto is compelling. History has shown however that human nature is the one constant. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” ~ John Dalberg-Acton. Acton’s quote was proved time and time again in country after country.

Revolution after Revolution brought corrupt and power hungry regimes into power. Communism for them was a tool to rule. Power corrupts and in most of the communist countries the only ones to benefit were the ruling classes.

Instead of a hand up for the masses all they saw was a boot upon their hopes and dreams. Equality of misery, starvation and death were the direct results in country after country.

The history of the 20th Century is filled with the examples of death and destruction these ideals brought to Russia in the early part of the Century and later by Communist China. Some estimates of the deaths in the Great Chinese Famine in the late 1950s and early 1960s are as high as 55 million.

Some think tanks have put the total deaths by forced starvation, genocide and more in communist ruled countries in the 20th Century at over 110 million.

Freedom, Democracies and Capitalistic economies have lots of problems, unfortunately the “solutions” are much, much worse.