This past summer, public health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared racism a threat to public health. Physicians, epidemiologists, and most Democrats, who often claim the title of part-time scientist when it serves their goals, defended mass protests for racial justice during the global pandemic. The mental gymnastics required to justify mass protests, while simultaneously preventing businesses from reopening, should qualify these individuals for the Olympics. Some of them even defended the ensuing riots and looting. Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris encouraged their supporters to contribute to the bail fund responsible for freeing violent criminals, during the riots. Leaving aside the circus of absurdity that unfolded this summer, which the left-wing establishment tacitly supported, public health officials ought to recognize a far more insidious threat to public health: Marxism.
The ultimate goal of Marxism is to establish an equal outcome for all, not an equal opportunity. This ideology is founded upon utopian dreams of paternalistic government serving as a fair, impartial, and “peaceful” juggernaut. In actuality, equal outcomes for all—which have yet to be accomplished by any governing body in human history—require ceding virtually all authority to the government. Both the Nazis and Soviets attempted to enforce equal outcomes, while the majority of Europe suffered underneath the boot of socialism from 1922 until 1991. Attempts to equalize society by force have been made, and they’ve all ended the same way: in abject failure.
In actuality, equal outcomes for all—which have yet to be accomplished by any governing body in human history—require ceding virtually all authority to the government. Both the Nazis and Soviets attempted to enforce equal outcomes, while the majority of Europe suffered underneath the boot of socialism from 1922 until 1991.
Freedom and Marxism cannot coexist. Unfree societies are doomed to fail. After all, individuals who are free to make their own decisions will never be completely equal. Otherwise stated, individuals are incredibly diverse. Given their own unique predilections, individuals who possess the freedom to choose their trajectories will inevitably pursue avenues that yield different outcomes. In short, free individuals inevitably reject Marxism, because it restricts their personal freedom by definition.
Marxism is not just a thoroughly debunked ideology, but also a clear threat to public health. The Soviet Union was the largest country in the world by far, had substantial access to oil in the occupied countries of Azerbaijan and Georgia, and stole immense wealth and resources from half of Europe, throughout the Cold War period. If there was ever going to be success in establishing a Marxist utopia, the mighty Soviet Union would have accomplished it. The Soviet Union established free education, healthcare, and housing—popular policy initiatives for today’s Democrat politicians (especially for those within today’s progressive caucus, which is a group dominated by Democratic Socialists of America). Unsurprisingly, however, socialized medicine in the Soviet Union was a nightmare.
In 1991, before the Soviet Union dissolved as a political entity, American physicians reported that the Soviet healthcare system was about fifty years behind modern standards. Former advisor to the Soviet government, Dr. Maltsev, chronicled horrendous conditions and a lack of competency. Rationing medical supplies, equipment, and personnel was commonplace. The infant mortality rate was on par with Angola, Chad, and Bangladesh—making it three times greater than in the United States. Government corruption led to massive HIV outbreaks as hospitals were instructed to reuse needles in order to lower costs. Marxists often argue that their failed experiments can be blamed on a lack of resources available to implement a Marxist utopia. However, the Soviet Union was rich in resources and it was still absolutely destitute in its quality of life. Why? Milton Friedman said it best: “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there would be a shortage of sand.”
I can already hear the breathless pushback to my argument: “But what about Canada?” Well, I am glad you asked. Despite arguments to the contrary, our Northern neighbor is no perfect example of socialized medicine. Canadians pay significantly higher taxes to support a significantly smaller population than the US. Moreover, after getting gouged by absurdly high taxes, Canadians wait on average twenty-one weeks to see a specialist. In the United States, wait times are far lower, but have increased since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. When Canadians finally get in to see a specialist, potentially lifesaving procedures are often delayed even further, as rationing occurs to keep costs down. This is, in part, why the US has better cancer survival rates than Canada. When dealing with metastatic cancer, and most diseases more generally, speed is of the essence. Canadians, and people residing in countries with socialized systems, are in the metaphorical slow lane. As a point of reference, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, arguably the best socialized system in the world, has experienced worsening health outcomes due to rationing. Elective procedures are often delayed months or even years due to lack of funding. Ultimately, who do we want making healthcare decisions? An exam room is far too small to fit patient, physician, and the entire U.S. government.
Ultimately, who do we want making healthcare decisions? An exam room is far too small to fit patient, physician, and the entire U.S. government.
Despite these facts, American Marxism remains on the rise, due to ignorance and extreme hubris. Marxism killed over one hundred million people in the twentieth century. Yet, today’s average American is far more likely to have learned about Marxism through the lens of American-Soviet camaraderie when defeating fascism, than through a critical lens. Such ignorance, while devastating, can be understood. Hubris is inexcusable. Today’s Democratic Socialists, and those who aid them in their goals, make the argument that they will succeed in establishing a utopia, if only given enough power. Forget about the Ukrainian famine, or the famines in the People’s Republic of China, which killed tens of millions. Forget about the countless atrocities overseen by Marxist governments. It is hubris, ultimately, that keeps Marxist dreams alive. If physicians and scientists were serious about addressing threats to public health, instead of scoring political points, they would condemn Marxism in the strongest possible terms. Unfortunately, given what has happened over the past year, it is clear that the scientific establishment has different priorities.
*The views expressed in this article solely represent the views of the author, not the views of the Chicago Thinker.
I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re refering to as Marxism, is in fact, Marxism-Leninism, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, Marxism plus Leninism. Marxism is not an ideology unto itself, but rather a method of social analysis, and a component of a fully functioning ideology with the ideas of class conflict, revolution and historical materialism comprising a full ideology as defined by the Communist Manifesto.
Many political commentators cite a modified version of Marxism-Leninism every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of Marxism-Leninism which is widely used today is often called “Marxism”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the Marxist-Leninist system, developed by Lenin.
There really is a Marxism, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Marxism is the method of analysis: the perspective in the ideology that ties the allocation of economic resources to the historical things that happen. Marxism is an essential part of this ideology, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete ideology. Marxism is normally used in combination with Marxism-Leninism: the whole system is basically Leninism with Marxism added, or Marxism-Leninism. All the so-called “Marxism” distributions are really distributions of Marxism-Leninism.
Come back to me when the US with all its riches can challenge Cuba, which has been embargoed for decades, on almost any of the most significant metrics of public health. Wake up and smell the bacon, OP: the US is a healthcare dystopia.
More from the spew from the anus of humanity…..aka The Mob…
Tell us all genius, why don’t you live in Cuba? Explain why people in Cuba risk their life each and every day to escape that shithole. Funny, you don’t see people building ships to sail to Cuba to escape the USA!?! Nope, but Cubans cant get away from that shithole fast enough. People vote with their feet. I don’t see a wall around Cuba trying to keep people out of that paradise. The last time a communist Marxist political system had any scale, the wall they built was to keep people INSIDE the walls, and they would gun them down like dogs for trying to escape “paradise”.
So you fucking numbskull…..walk the walk….pack your bags and move to your paradise. You wont, because you know its a hell hole. Go back to your BLM or Antifa meeting and keep wasting your life.
My uncle died in the hospital in Cuba because of how poor the service was. Shit water overflowed and covered the entire floor. They could have easily cured him here, but the Cuban health system is horrible. Don’t believe the communist lies.
Very sorry for your Uncle, and for your family’s loss.
Capitalism cures Poverty, and eventually the great Cuban people will be free again from the delusional maniacs who keep killing them in the name of a failed ideology only followed by weak minded imbeciles….
But till then, please have the current Cuban regime come and take Bernie, AOC and that bitch we let in from Somalia who thinks we are the ones who are fucked up back to Havana to stew in their shit.
BTW…Lukus….great article…..really enjoyed it.
Also, great work by The Chicago Thinker…..
People are paying attention to you and your great work.
This past summew, pubwic heawth officiaws fwom the Centews fow Disease Contwow and Pwevention (CDC) decwawed wacism a thweat to pubwic heawth. Physicians, epidemiowogists, and most Democwats, who often cwaim the titwe of pawt-time scientist when it sewves theiw goaws, defended mass pwotests fow waciaw justice duwing the gwobaw pandemic. The mentaw gymnastics weqwiwed to justify mass pwotests, whiwe simuwtaneouswy pweventing businesses fwom weopening, shouwd qwawify these individuaws fow the Owympics. Some of them even defended the ensuing wiots and wooting. Meanwhiwe, fowmew Vice Pwesident Joe Biden and Senatow Kamawa Hawwis encouwaged theiw suppowtews to contwibute to the baiw fund wesponsibwe fow fweeing viowent cwiminaws, duwing the wiots. Leaving aside the ciwcus of absuwdity that unfowded this summew, which the weft-wing estabwishment tacitwy suppowted, pubwic heawth officiaws ought to wecognize a faw mowe insidious thweat to pubwic heawth: Mawxism.
The uwtimate goaw of Mawxism
Genius…
Dis is wuvley…wunderfully wuvley……
I wuv dis…
Wicked and wuvely….
………..
dear god you cannot seriously be a medical student. id be horrified to have you care for anyone I love and care about. total lack of critical thought or humility.
Dear Sad,
Very sorry to of upset you. Not entirely sure what you mean by lack of critical thought, but the key parts of the article are cited from reputable sources. In fact, there is substantial literature on how marxist systems collapse into hell on Earth so I cannot really claim that my article is groundbreaking in any way. If that is not enough, there seems to be a Cuban student in the comments who you could potentially, with humility, listen to about the horrors of marxism. Other than that, I hope you have a pleasant evening.
Lukus,
You are spot on. Sad is just sad….a feeble minded imbecile who cant recall the paradise that existed behind the iron curtain, where guards gunned down those who tried to escape the Marxist dream. Or those who cobble together rafts to push out into the Ocean to escape the Cuban Dream…..people vote with their feet. I think Sad should be a man, grow a set, and show us all how its done….move down to Cuba…..show us all how right you really are….your a spineless, gutless, imbecile, pussy.
Fwiw it looks like he goes to one of the Caribbean med schools for ppl who didn’t quite have the academic stats to get into one in the states (usually). Not to knock them entirely, as they produce many great doctors, but it does mean there is a higher than usual chance that he won’t end up seeing patients at all.
Hey Lucas, I think you misspelled Trumpism. It’s actively claiming lives in the Capitol Building. Or is it just Chicago Thinker policy to remain totally silent on this shameful Republican coup? You all are spineless.
Dear Confused,
As far as I know, the Chicago Thinker team is working on several articles addressing the violence today. I can assure you that the Thinker team will cover the issue, unlike how the national media treated the months of violence the nation suffered this past summer. However, I do want to remind you that no matter what you try and spin my argument into, the facts still remain the same. While I cared enough about your feelings to reply, the facts do not. Have a wonderful evening and stay safe!
Boom ChakaLaka…..nicely done Lukus….
Confused is for sure….confused….
More left wing woke imbeciles……
I feel like you’ve had two months to respond to his lies and bad-faith arguments. You all have certainly been taking your sweet time. (I get it! Being a conservative right now is a little bit cringey) I guess you were all busy writing foolish articles on Animal Crossing or incorrectly analyzing the Georgia Senate run-off races.
Still Confused sums it up quite well.
Try guessing again….
Standing up for American values, praying for the brave men and women in blue, and tearing into Antifa/BLM is the focus of our days. Darwinian evolution will flush the trash away…
Hey Lukus,
It has been 3 weeks since you wrote that. Any updates on these articles? Or is the school not treating the writers well right now?
“Both the Nazis and Soviets attempted to enforce equal outcomes” … I had to stop reading there for a bit. I know it’s a different point you’re technically going after, but you gotta realize the implicit argument there is that socialized medicine will kill as many as the holocaust. If you want to have a discussion on the bioethical implications of slower medicine for all vs faster medicine for the upper/middle class we can do that. But jfc, the argument of “well the nazis tried it and we know how the nazis turned out” is misleading, unproductive, and (according to an article on this site about marxism/CRT) an argumentative style based in Marxism. Perhaps the thinker should have a staff meeting on a.) a definition of Marxism, and b.) their thoughts on using it.
Disappointed,
You want to know what killed even more people than the Holocaust….Marxism & Communism.
So, don’t stop your reading…
Enforcing equal outcomes does not work. Never has, never will.
Sincerely yours,
Empirical Evidence
Lukus,
Is this the kind of rhetoric the chicago thinker aligns itself with? I cannot tell if it’s ironic or not. Jared, if this is you trying to do an offensive caricature of a conservative I think you’re taking it a bit far (especially your pretty racist comments on other posts). I legitimately believe most conservatives are not nearly that bad and it’s unproductive to pretend they are.
Still Disappointed,
Which park confuses you? Is it the addition function?
If you add it up, take it in small steps, you will soon reach conclusion that Marxism and Communism claimed WAY more lives that the Holocaust did. Its not even close.
If the math bothers you, get over it. Its reality.
Grow up snowflake.
I don’t really think we’ve got anything to discuss. Our outlooks on what the ultimate goal of healthcare should be are just too different (as well as, it seems from your comments on other pages, our outlooks on who deserves help from the govt at all). I was hoping Lukus would chime in so we could productively discuss the bioethical point I brought up (credit to him for seeming pretty chill in previous comments), but you just seem angry (I suppose it has been a rough 48 hours for Conservatives). If you’re scared that we’re going down a marxist rabbit hole, I would ask you to reread Biden’s healthcare plan. I think you’re probably going to be alright. However, if you need some additional assistance I’m leaving a link with various helplines that may aid you with any stress/anxiety. I sincerely hope it helps
https://www.mentalhelp.net/anxiety/panic-attack-hotline/
Dear Still Concerned,
Not enough free stuff…..that’s the heart of your complaint. You want to coerce, under the threat of violence, people to provide goods and services for a price below what its worth. That’s your nirvana.
Socialism sux, Marxism sux, Communism sux……
Capitalism cures poverty.
In the course of Capitalism’s history, 80% of the world population was lifted from grinding poverty into a better life.
If you think you have a better idea, I’ll remind you that hubris kills. But go for it you imbecile. It’ll be like going to a NASCAR race and waiting for the crash.
Vroom, vroom you imbecile.
Excellent, timely article, perhaps especially given prior comments by “president-elect” Harris: “Equitable treatment means we all end up in the same place.” UChicago Ph.D alumnus and Hoover Institute Fellow (Chicago’s first black Ph.D economics graduate) discusses these intellectual difficulties at length in his book “Marxism: Philosophy and Economics.” Regards, ’96 Booth
did you even take sosc? marxism is not socialism is not social safety net.
canada, sweden, uk, denmark all have capitalist economies and are not even close to adopting marxist ideology.
equating marxism with the redistribution of services is an 8th-grader’s understanding of political science.
your rhetorical slight of hand just makes you sound like a dumbass lol
Dear Blah Blah,
I’m not sure if I can help you with anything, but I suggest retaking sosc.
Best,
LB
Same energy here https://www.theonion.com/this-war-will-destabilize-the-entire-mideast-region-and-1819594296
New conspiracy theory: The thonker is actually an Onion subsidiary and we (and some of the authors) just haven’t caught on yet. These authors aren’t jackasses obsessed with the maintenance of their own privilege, poorly justified arguments, and a misunderstanding of MaRXisM. They’re **comedians**. Perhaps we’ve all been laughing at them for the wrong reason…
omg Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich i totally buy your theory
“It is hubris, ultimately, that keeps Marxist dreams alive.”
“Otherwise stated, individuals are incredibly diverse.”
“I can already hear the breathless pushback to my argument: ‘But what about Canada?'”
comedy gold!!!
Jesus I get doing premed but you could’ve at least paid a LITTLE attention during SOSC. I mean the university at large collectively laughs at the thinker in fairness, but I can’t help but be a little embarrassed that somebody would unironically publish a piece that doesn’t even get past the level of thought of conservative Twitter. 0 shares gives me hope though, at least people here know better… mostly. What a joke.
Although, and hear me out, what if this is actually a brilliant piece of satire? Like the author went deep under and tried to sneak the most brain dead possible take on Marx past the editors to discredit the thinker even more than it already is? You decide.
I mostly agree. But this isn’t the most brain dead take on this website, so this author isn’t quite the best satirist they’ve got.
Lukas Berber hasn’t noticed that Marxism in the West has switched from traditional economic envy “Marxism” to cultural marxism with very heavy racial, sexual-resentments and hatreds.
Formerly homogeneous societies like Canada, Sweden, Norway did have very extensive social welfare states with high taxations, government control of the economy, These Social Democrat Western societies consistently ranked as the happiest countries in the world.
Our Chicago’s had horrible 2020 crime & violence Chicago’s DA Kim Foxx & top crime judge Tim Evans are pursuing a BLM cultural marxism not traditional economic marxism.
> unironically using the term “cultural marxism”
For anyone else reading, the very idea of “cultural marxism” is an antisemitic conspiracy theory. This particular commenter has also, on multiple occasions, posted “funny comics” from a blog with 88 in the name, which is a well-known Nazi dogwhistle.
Yeah, yeah, yeah – we know.
Everyone who ever notices Chicago’s violent crime (2020 4,000 shootings, ~ 792 murders), or notices the organized BLM mass looting of high end stores on North Michigan Avenue this year, or who notices our country doesn’t have very much to show for 30 years of Neo Conservative war mongering, regime changes, bombing attacks in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Serbia, or who notices that gee Hollywood hasn’t given us a lot of pro Christian Christmas movies like “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “Miracle on 34th Street” lately or anyone who questioned Jussie Smollet’s report of a MAGA Trump supporter hate crime attack in Streeterville Chicago at 2 AM when the temperature was -10 F…..
That person must be a terrible anti Semite like Hitler. Or he might actually be Hitler.
Nope