Relevant Chapters
In America, the left vs right dialectic is designed to lead us into accepting liberal values and right-wing economic policies, when what we need are conservative social values and left-wing economic policies.
And though left-wing economics are stigmatized as “communism,” they merely represent the age-old religious values of charity and welfare, first introduced in Judaism, then Christianity, and perfected under Islam.
But the current controversy over the election of Trump has America divided in a squabble between “conservatives” and “liberals”—derided as SJWs—a confined debate which has prevented them from considering alternative possibilities.
As Leo P. Ribuffo noted, “What Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or neoliberalism.”[1] Neoliberalism is the fascist philosophy of corporatism. It dates back to the Mont Pelerin Society, and the economic theories of Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek, who was influenced by Carl Schmitt, known as the “Crown Jurist” of the Third Reich.
Essentially, what Hayek proposed was that any degree of government interference was tantamount to “totalitarianism.” In this way, Hayek laid the ground for the pseudo-anti-establishment rhetoric of the libertarian fanaticism that is consuming and devouring American conservatism, and which has been exploited by the American elite to advance their corporatist agenda.
To this purpose, since the Cold War, the American public has been propagandized into an almost irrational fear of “communism.”
The history of the vilification of communism begins with revelations of the notorious Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, which were used to attribute the success of the Bolshevik Revolution to a conspiracy of “Jewish” bankers and financiers bent on gaining control of the world. This paranoia was exported to Germany by anti-communist Russian expatriates, who helped create the Nazi party, and finally to the United States with Operation Paperclip, which imported numerous ex-Nazis to bolster America’s Cold War effort against the same Soviet Union.
And since the fall of the Soviet Union, we are made to believe that the only alternative is, despite all its foibles, rapacious free-enterprise capitalism.
There are aspects of communism that are desirable, but not because they were proposed by Karl Marx, but because they represent fundamental values that have been cherished by humanity for centuries. And yet, Christians have been duped into denouncing all progressive economic policies “godless communism,” when in fact communism is ultimately founded on the most Christian of principles: charity.
But, communism itself was a ruse. Marx’s dialectical materialism was merely a modification of the dialectical theory of history first developed by Hegel, who has been shown by Glenn Alexander Magee to have been profoundly influenced by the Illuminati and occult theories.[2]
Nevertheless, the profound appeal of Marxism was due to its promotion of a fair redistribution of wealth, and was therefore eagerly adopted by compassionate and fair-minded people all over the world.
Marxism is, however, merely a node of the dialectic, and also used for manipulative elite purposes. During the 1960s, Herbert Marcuse, a leading member of the Frankfurt School in the employ of the CIA, regarded as the “guru” of the New Left, advanced a Freudian view of history which equated rebellion against social mores with rebellion against the establishment. Ever since, the Left has been inextricably interwoven with what have come to be identified with “liberal” values.
The two are not mutually exclusive. However, right-wing activists in the US have seized on the opportunity of identifying the left’s association with this liberal agenda to characterize all left-wing policies as rooted in “Cultural Marxism,” and thus recruiting them to a neoliberal agenda.
The truth is, neoliberalism is designed to advance the interest of the corporate class, mainly the reduction of taxes and the removal of regulations that represent to them impediments on their activities. These are contrary to the interests of the common person. However, the elite have employed the lie of Adam Smith that the industrial class should be allowed to pursue wealth unrestricted, because an “invisible hand” would distribute their prosperity for all.
The invisible hand is a myth. It has been recognized since the dawn of time that in any society, the wealthy will only seek their own advantage, and if allowed to, will not only hoard money to themselves, but given the opportunity, will infiltrate government structures to ensure their ability to do so, at the expense of the rest of society. The excuse they will provide for their greed is that each man should be responsible for himself. Many will go so far as to suggest that tax is theft.
However, while religion is often confused with various complicated dogma, the truth is that throughout history the underlying message of religious prophets has been to call for charity.
As far back as the ancient Hebrew Bible, it says, “For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land'” (Deuteronomy 15:11). There were several laws which are in effect a sort of tax for the benefit of the poor. Among these are leket, shikhḥah, and pe’ah as well as the special tithe for the poor (see ma’aser). The institution of the sabbatical year (see Sabbatical Year and Jubilee) was in order “that the poor of the people may eat” (Ex. 23: 11) as well as to cancel debts.
Charity is an attribute of God Himself: “For the Lord your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords… He doth execute justice for the fatherless and widow and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment” (10:17, 18), a theme which was developed at considerable length by the psalmist (cf. Ps. 145:15, 16; 132:15). Both the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel considered charity as an indispensable requirement for a life of piety. [3]
Jesus also made a pronouncement that ran parallel to Marx’s prediction, that the meek shall inherit the earth. The very essence of Jesus’ message was to castigate the Jews for having neglected the “spirit” of the Law, by failing to recognize the primary importance of loving one’s neighbor.
The excuse provided by modern-day conservative Christians however is that charity should be exercised by individuals, and not the state. Although, the concepts of welfare and pensions were introduced in early Islamic law as forms of Zakat (charity), one of the Five Pillars of Islam, under the Rashidun Caliphate in the seventh century AD. Zakat is a state-collected tax for the purpose of wealth redistribution. And, unlike the Western income-based tax, which can be easily evaded, Zakat is customarily 2.5% of a Muslim’s total net assets, above a minimum amount known as nisab.
According to the Quran’s Surah Al-Tawba, there are eight categories of people (asnaf) who qualify to benefit from Zakat:
Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of God; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by God, and God is full of knowledge and wisdom.[4]
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, a Companion of Prophet Muhammad, protested against the accumulation of wealth by the ruling class during Uthman’s caliphate and urged the equitable redistribution of wealth.[5] The first Muslim Caliph Abu Bakr introduced a guaranteed minimum standard of income, granting each man, woman, and child ten dirhams annually. This was later increased to twenty dirhams.
Various welfare programs were introduced by Caliph Umar. Equality was extended to all citizens, as Umar believed that “no one, no matter how important, should live in a way that would distinguish him from the rest of the people.” Umar also made sure that the public treasury was not wasted on “unnecessary luxuries” as he believed that “the money would be better spent if it went towards the welfare of the people rather than towards lifeless bricks.”[6] Umar’s innovative welfare reforms included the introduction of social security, including old age and disability pensions, as well as unemployment insurance, which did not appear in the Western world until the nineteenth century.[7]
Regrettably, like Christians, many Muslims have been deluded into denouncing communism and socialism as “atheistic,” going so far as supporting the neoliberal policies of the World Bank and IMF.[8] Like the Jews and Christians before them, they have forgotten the “spirit” of the Law. And for that reason, Islam today has become an empty shell, and list of ritual obligations, which has failed to appeal to the common sentiments of man, who is looking for the ideology which will finally lead to a fair redistribution of wealth and the end of inequality and exploitation.