1. PLS 121: American Politics and Government The Communist Manifesto The United States of Amerika?

2. 2 / 17 The Age of Discovery According to Marx, what drove the era of discovery? Do you agree with this? If not, what do you think drove exploration? What evidence do you have to support your conclusion and detract from Marx’s?

3. 3 / 17 Proletariats of the World, Unite! Marx places class as being more important than nationality; that is, the proletariat from separate nations share something more fundamental than nationality. This does not mean that Marx believed nationality did not matter, only that the proletariats from different nations had more in common than they did with the bourgeoisie in their own nation. How true is this statement in general?

4. 4 / 17 The Ruling Ideas Marx asserts, “The ruling ideas of each age have ever been the ideas of its ruling class.” Is this true in America today? Do the ideas that move the country originate from its ruling class, or do the people in America actually rule?

5. 5 / 17 The Ten Desires What do Marxists actually want from a state? Why these ten things? How different was a Marxist state from the states of the time? How different is one from today’s United States?

6. 6 / 17 Desires of a Marxist State 1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

7. 7 / 17 Desires of a Marxist State… 2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

8. 8 / 17 Desires of a Marxist State… 3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

9. 9 / 17 Desires of a Marxist State… 4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

10. 10 / 17 Desires of a Marxist State… 5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.

11. 11 / 17 Desires of a Marxist State… 6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.

12. 12 / 17 Desires of a Marxist 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.

13. 13 / 17 Desires of a Marxist State… 8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

14. 14 / 17 Desires of a Marxist State… 9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.

15. 15 / 17 Desires of a Marxist State… 10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc.

16. 16 / 17

17. 17 / 17 For Friday Read Section III of The Communist Manifesto. Be answering questions 1-3 on the Blackboard discussion board. It seems like a good time for a quiz on The Communist Manifesto.