The Federalist Coalition: Justin Stapley- Karl Marx vs. Thomas Jefferson: Liberal Democracy vs. Communism

Source:Slide Player- "7 Thomas Jefferson Karl Marx Example Subjects to Contrast”

Source:The New Democrat

“Our political conflict can often be boiled down to the stark differences in how Karl Marx and Thomas Jefferson viewed history and their different beliefs about the role of government in crafting the future.”

Read the rest of Justin Stapley’s piece at The Federalist Coalition

Whether Karl Marx is the founder of Communists and communism and the founding father of Socialists and socialism in general, I don’t know that and I’m not sure anyone else does. So instead of writing a piece about Thomas Jefferson, who I believe at least is the father of American liberal democracy, if not liberal democracy in general, with Karl Marx who perhaps at best might be more of a spiritual figure and leader for Socialists and Communist, but perhaps not their founding father, I believe a more appropriate piece would be to look at Thomas Jefferson who for me at least represents the Liberals and liberalism ( Classical Liberals and classical liberalism, if you prefer ) versus Communists and communism.

I think the best way to compare liberal democracy and communism, is to look at what the Founding Fathers in America ( our Founding Liberals ) created in the 1700s and then look at what the Bolsheviks ( Russian Communists ) created in Russia when they created the Soviet Union there 100 years ago.

The Founding Fathers, created a liberal democracy in America built around individual rights and limited government. And of course they really only meant for this freedom to be for European, especially Anglo-Saxon men who owned property, but the fact even if it wasn’t intentional the rights that they created were for everyone in America regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or religion.

The Russian Communists, created a superstate in Russia ( known as the Soviet Union ) that was built around one central, national government in Moscow. Where individual freedom of all levels and all forms was highly discouraged if not outlawed, where everyone was supposed to be taken care of by the national state instead. That is how Socialists tend to operate whether they are democratic or communist: you give up individual freedom and choice, in exchange for personal and economic security.

The real differences between liberal democracy and communism comes down to power and who gets to decide: in a liberal democracy, the power is given to the people to manage their own affairs and lives. In a communist state, the power is given to the national state and is supposed to be used to serve the people. It generally if never works like that in a communist state where those countries tend to the poorest and most corrupt in the world, but that’s what Communists tend to promise for their people. This debate is not about big government versus small government, but about power and who should have it: the state or the people.

“AF-184: Today on the Ancestral Findings Podcast I’ll answer the questions… Who was Thomas Jefferson? Beyond being our third president and author of the Declaration of Independence, who was he? Where did he come from, what was his family like, and what other contributions did he make to our country?”

Source:Ancestral Findings: Thomas Jefferson- Who’s Who in the American Revolution?'- Thomas Jefferson: the father of liberal democracy?