Posted by
Bob B on Monday, April 27, 2009 12:25:15 PM
The core difference is the goal.
Marxism seeks equal status for all. Capitalism seeks equal opportunity for all.
The two are not just incompatible, they are mutually destructive. Marx declared “from everyone according to their ability, to everyone according to their need”. To achieve equal status the fruits of a more productive person’s labor must be taken away from him and distributed among those of lesser achievement. Equal status can only be reached by unequal treatment.
The Free Market system known as Capitalism inspires achievement because the achiever is given the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of his own achievement. Equality of opportunity is equality of treatment. Marxism, on the other hand, accepts inequality of treatment in order to create equality of status.
Equal status, equal opportunity and equal treatment cannot co-exist.
Winston Churchill said it well when he quipped "The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries."
Or to paraphrase John Hawkins “It is better to be poor with the opportunity to become wealthy through your own efforts, than to be poor with limited opportunity to improve your status restricted to sharing your fate with almost everyone else.”