Marxism and Economics

I suppose no discussion of economics and philosophy would be complete until some discussion on Marx was held. Now the Communist Manifesto, probably the most notable and well-known of Marx's works, puts for the following: Class struggles have driven history and modern capitalistic society has the bourgeoisie (basically the rich) versus proletariat (basically the poor, menial workers). Now capitalism, for Marx, is alienating individuals from themselves (or finding meaning, purpose), which, Marx thinks, will eventually lead to some type of proletariat revolution. In other words the dichotomy between the rich and poor in such a political system will eventually grow so large that a revolution must take place.

Now I am certainly not a Communist (I do like America) but I think Marx has truly been misinterpreted by many individuals in our country. You see, when all individuals hear are things of a "red scare" and all the negative propaganda from such "communist" endeavors, you never really can understand the heart at what he was saying. Now I am no Marx expert, but from the little that I do know, I believe Marx had good intentions and was truly trying to help other people with the idea of Communism. Who wouldn't want to live in such a utopia of a society? Still, in my opinion, Marx ultimately fails--and not because what he is saying is bad, but rather, it's simply not practical; communism (though there has never been one; all we have come close to are "crude communisms," aka socialism) is more of an idea than an actual workable system.

I think one things that does interest me though is healthcare. I believe with nearly 40-50 million American individuals not having healthcare (and the dichotomy growing) some type of revolt or revolution (from the people) will take place. Whether you believe in universal healthcare or simply want reforms, I think something has to be done or the people do something about it.