Americans Hate America VII
Marxism, for all intents and purposes, is a pathogen as I discussed in earlier posts. As a pathogen, it produces germs. And germs began to mutate as resistance to it builds or adapts to its hosts. In the nineteenth century in Europe, different forms of socialism were on the march. Marxism began to spread as well, along with its mutations. Nations resisted. But like all germs it attacks the cells. The cells of a nation are the fundamental building blocks that maintains the country’s health. Such as its respect for law, order, and its heritage. As the cells resists germs, germs often mutate. A mutant is, “An organism who has undergone genetic mutation.” [1] Thus, at the end of this battle in Europe, two major factions arose: pure or ideal Marxism and its mutated form social democracy. This is not to say there were other strains of socialism, and we will see later a new militant and strident brand will emerge after World War I.
PURE MARXISM
Karl Marx wrote and advocated for his purist form of communism. The workers of the world will unit and take over the means of production. Violence, corrosion, and greed are at the heart Marxism. Vladimir Lenin the founder of Marxism in Russia believed he was following pure Marxism. But Marx had contemporaries that critiqued and stood against Marx’s mean to communism.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The nineteenth century witnessed the industrial revolution. Trains stretched from sea to sea, from ocean to ocean. Mass communication changed the way human being communicated. News was fast. Before trains and other means of communication, news took days and weeks. Now, in a matter of hours or even minutes, people got wind of wars and peace treaties. Iron and steel factories made it possible for better equipment and buildings. The discovery of large deposits of oil and the building of oil refineries made possible for engine parts to function at a faster pace and for the precision of machine parts.
People started to gravitate into towns making them into cities. People’s lives were changed. Instead of working on farms, many now worked for a wage. The industrial revolution changed the world. With all these positive changes, however, came negative results as well. Here is where Marxism and socialism grew out from that also changed the world.
Mass production was prone to cycles in the market. One season there could be plenty of supply but the next cycle there could be a shortage. These cycles were due to various reasons. Market cycles are largely due to investor’s psychology and liquidity. Workers are also affected by these cycles. In times of growth, wages go up and conversely in times of shrinkage wages go down and unemployment goes up. Slums grew. The industrial revolution accentuated the disparity in cities. The rich, middleclass, and the poor grew more and more apart. In response to the industrial revaluation, with all its positive and negative aspects, groups arose to address these disparities. For example, a reactionary group called the Luddites destroyed machinery to protest. [2] They were displaced by textile machinery. Other groups called for socialism or social change. Marx referred to them as “Utopian Socialists.” [3] He denounced them because they wanted social change rather than a violent upheaval of society.
In England the dispersity became noticeable to the extent, “Tory Disraeli, spoke of England divided into two nations, and the imperialist Joseph Chamberlain, recognized the need for social services, the ransom that owners of property must pay for the security they enjoyed.” [4] Here we see why the wealthy are for and even advance socialism. For instance, during the Roman Empire, soldiers and foreigners moved into Rome over a period of time. Their slums bubbled over with slackers, thieves, and mobs willing to raid or kill for a small number of coins. The Roman emperors would offer Romans free entertainment (through the colosseum), free breed, and cheap wine. The colosseum served many functions. One major function it offered social services to the public – both poor and the wealthy.
SOCIALISM
Thus, the term socialism was coined in both England and France. Robert Owen, Cabet, Proudhon, and Saint-Simon were prominent leaders of socialism. But contemporaries of Marx arose that did not agree with Marxist’s ideas. They were considered democratic socialists. They agreed on principle with Marx but not the means. Eduard Bernstein was a major factor in deviating from radical Marxism because of its inherent flaws. “According to Bernstein, Marxism was an insight, not a recipe.” [5]
Bernstein (Jan 6, 1850-Dec 18, 1932) was called “The father of revisionism.” He was one of the first to revise Karl Marx’s beliefs. He rejected a violent takeover of society and its overthrow of the bourgies. He believed, however, in a steady advance of socialism through combining public with private. Government was needed. And through parliamentary takeover of government by socialists, socialism can be achieved. He rejected Marx’s determinism and referred to it as, “The materialist is thus a Calvinist without God.” [6]
Therefore, in my view, Bernstein was one of the first mutation away from Marx’s purist’ doctrine. Interesting to note, Bernstein was against war. He stood against class warfare and wars between nations. He was instrumental in building his brand of socialism in Germany. By the time of death, it collapsed. A new form of socialism emerged, the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi). The Nazi party continued to advance what all socialist wanted, known as corporatism.[7] The only difference the Nazis were militant and racial.
REJECTION OF A PURE MARXISM
By the turn of the twentieth century most Western European countries rejected pure Marxism in favor of some form of democratic socialism, even the United States. American progressives worked hard. They fundamentally changed the constitution. In 1913 they convinced the states and the people to vote for the 16th amendment; that is the Federal government now had power to collect income taxes called a progressive tax. Then in the same year the 17th amendment was passed. This changed how Senators were elected. Originally, Senators were elected by state legislatures, but now they were elected by popular vote. This chipped at the very heart of federalism. States where a check on the federal government, but no longer.
And then the Federal Reserve Act was passed in Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. These acts eventually laid the foundations for a socialized America following the path of many socialists before them. These actions control the American people. We shall see later what was built on top of these foundations.
In sum, Marxism is a rigid concept. But detractors arose that challenged Marx’s dogma. Mutations. Mutants fostered new socialist’s ideals to suited capitalism and parliamentary rule. By far, most people excepted these mutations because they say the horrors of what pure Marxism would bring and they experienced the instability of pure Capitalism. As a result, they settled for a mixture of both, so form of socialism.
By James T. Booker
April 25, 2026
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[1] Dorland’s Pocket Medical Dictionary, 22ed. (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, 1977), 426.
[2] The Great Political Theories, ed. Michael Curtis (New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2008), 131.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid., 348.
[5] Ibid., 349.
[6] Eduard Bernstein, “Evolutionary Socialism,” accessed April 25, 2026. Eduard Bernstein: Evolutionary Socialism (Chapter 1).
[7] Thomas J. DiLorenzo, “Economic Fascism,” 80 years of Fee Foundation for Economic Education, June 1, 1994, accessed April 25, 2026, Economic Fascism.
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