Douglas, I was with you until you mentioned Marx. Communism is a non-starter for me: (1) it is antithetical to the core American values (which I strongly embrace) of individual liberty, individual responsibility, and individual opportunity; (2) communism is a not just a political party or idea, it is a philosophy and a movement, and as such it can be mis-used just as religion is misused to create power for a small group, such as the Communist party leadership in China, Korea, and the former Soviet Union; (3) and as a philosophy and movement, it can spread like a cancer, and it attempts to eliminate all dissent by any means available, not caring about the outcome as long as power is the result.

Marxism was a tool used to create power for a few and great misery for so many people, and it still is today in many parts of the world. Communism is no more the answer to our problems than is Trumpism or nihilism. Communism always produces fascism.

Marx may have been right about some problems that he pointed out, and our current US system of government is clearly broken; but the solutions will not be found among the ideas of communism. We need new thinking and new ideas— not old ones that have proven to be a failure.