John McManus narrates a moving tribute to America and discusses the history of what makes America great and how only we, as informed citizens, can keep the timeless concepts of Americanism alive in our Constitutional Republic.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
~Thomas Jefferson
2.procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3.(in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between (right where WE are now) capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.
socialism is an economic system in which the production and distribution of goods are controlled substantially by the government rather than by private enterprise, and in which cooperation rather than competition guides economic activity. There are many varieties of socialism. Some socialists tolerate capitalism, as long as the government maintains the dominant influence over the economy; others insist on an abolition of private enterprise. All communists are socialists, but not all socialists are communists.
What is Communism? In its simplest form, the definition of communism is a formal economic system in which property, particularly capital property (e.g. factories, machines, tools, etc.), is commonly owned and scarce resources are allocated through planning as opposed to price signals in a free market.
Communism is not a modern idea. Over 2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato perfectly described its ideal:
You'll find the ideal society and state, and the best code of laws, where the old saying "friends' property is genuinely shared" is put into practice as widely as possible throughout the entire state. Now I don't know whether in fact this situation—community of wives, children and all property—exists anywhere today, or will ever exist, but at any rate in such a state the notion of "private property" will have been by hook or by crook completely eliminated from life. Everything possible will have been done to throw into a sort of common pool even what is by nature "my own," like eyes and ears and hands, in the sense that to judge by appearances they all see and hear and act in concert. Everybody feels pleasure and pain at the same things, so that they all praise and blame with complete unanimity. To sum up, the laws in force impose the greatest possible unity on the state.
Communism, then, is not merely an economic theory; in fact, it hardly has anything to do with economics given that resource scarcity is not meaningfully addressed. Communism is the tyranny of all over one, of society over the individual. Communism does not merely seek to abolish property; it seeks to abolish the family, nationality, culture, religion, and every flourish of individuality. Its aim and end is to make the individual and society one and the same.
In the modern age, communism is often equated with Marxism. Strictly speaking, Marxism is a theory of communism and the two terms are not necessarily synonymous. This brief introduction to communism will cover communism from the Marxist perspective.
Scarcity and Marxism
Karl Marx A discussion of relativism is crucial to any definition of communism, for Marx ingeniously used his relativistic theory of historical materialism to escape from the constraints of scarcity.
Put simply, Marx was a "technological determinist": He believed that technology shapes the form of society that we live in and that society in turn conditions our consciousness. Thus, he declares that "the hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill, society with the industrial capitalist."2 In The German Ideology, he notes that "my relation to my surroundings is my consciousness."
For Marx, technology and the property forms it produces constitute a "mode of production." For the purposes of simplification, the mode of production can be thought of as the way in which a society is organized around its production. Hence, the mode of production is a "mode of life."
The mode of production forms the economic base of society. On top of this base rests a political and philosophical superstructure, which is a conditioned form of consciousness:
The mode of production of material life determines the social, political and intellectual life process in general. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their character.
But what does any of this have to do with scarcity? Well, if our political and economic ideas are not our own, if they are merely societal biases that have been imposed upon us, then scarcity is not a fundamental truth like the law of gravity, but a transitory illusion. Resource scarcity may seem like a significant problem, but that is only because our consciousness has been conditioned by the capitalistic mode of production and we cannot see things as they really are.
The Dictatorship of the Proletariat
Marx believed that history is a succession of necessary modes of production, beginning with hunter-gatherer societies and ending with capitalistic production. He thought that with the end of capitalism, history would begin anew and a communist paradise, unconstrained by scarcity, would emerge. The new society would be one founded on the principle, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."
An alternative definition of communism might be "a quest for perfect equality." In a communist society, inequality would cease to exist because labor would no longer be specialized. Everyone would practice many tasks and everyone would live a fulfilled and self-realized life. For example, there would no longer be doctors, merely people who, among other things, practiced medicine.
But given the pervasive nature of the bias that Marx describes, how is a communist society to be realized? For Marx, the answer lay in tyranny. He thought that a temporary, transitional stage of tyranny was necessary in order to move from a capitalistic mode of production to a communist utopia. He called this tyranny the "dictatorship of the proletariat":
Between capitalist and communist society lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat.
The purpose of the dictatorship is to centrally plan the economy until such time as a new, communist consciousness emerges and the state spontaneously "falls away."8 Che Guevara said that "society as a whole must become a gigantic school."9 The dictatorship, then, exists as a ruthless headmaster to ensure that society's students unlearn the distinction between society's interest and their own.
Communism and Totalitarianism
Communism necessarily takes the form of totalitarianism, or the tyranny of all over one. In practice, a totalitarian society looks much the same as a fascist society, which is the tyranny of one over all.
The dictatorship of the proletariat is sometimes euphemized by Marxists as a "workers' democracy." To call the dictatorship a tyranny, they argue, is to misunderstand the definition of communism entirely. But the dictatorship is decidedly not a democracy in the sense that minority views are protected or personal freedoms guaranteed. If a new communist consciousness is to emerge, the rights and freedoms which spread "false consciousness" throughout society must be restricted.
Historically, communist societies have been characterized by the absolute rule of a revolutionary party leader, beneath whom everyone is equally subservient. Just as perfect freedom culminates in the unchallenged will of a single despot, so perfect equality is manifest in the shared slavery of a society subservient to a single will.
1a: a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president, this is what WE are meant to be as a nation.
1b: a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government .
1c: a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law.
1d: a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c: a usually specified republican government of a political unit
The Importance of the Union (1-14)
FEDERALIST No. 1 | General Introduction Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 2 | Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence John Jay |
FEDERALIST No. 3 | Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence (con't) John Jay |
FEDERALIST No. 4 | Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence (con't) John Jay |
FEDERALIST No. 5 | Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence (con't) John Jay |
FEDERALIST No. 6 | Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 7 | Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 8 | The Consequences of Hostilities Between the States Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 9 | The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 10 | The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (con't) James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 11 | The Utility of the Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 12 | The Utility of the Union In Respect to Revenue Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 13 | Advantage of the Union in Respect to Economy in Government Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 14 | Objections to the Proposed Constitution From Extent of Territory Answered James Madison |
Defects of the Articles of Confederation (15-22)
FEDERALIST No. 15 | The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 16 | The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 17 | The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 18 | The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (con't) Alexander Hamilton and James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 19 | The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (con't) Alexander Hamilton and James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 20 | The Insufficiency fo the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (con't) Alexander Hamilton and James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 21 | Other Defects of the Present Confederation Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 22 | Other Defects of the Present Confederation (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
Arguments for the Type of Government Contained in the Constitution (23-36)
FEDERALIST No. 23 | The Necessity of a Government as Energetic as the One Proposed to the Preservation of the Union Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 24 | The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 25 | The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 26 | The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 27 | The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 28 | The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 29 | Concerning the Militia Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 30 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 31 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 32 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 33 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 34 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 35 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 36 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
The Republican Form of Government (37-51)
FEDERALIST No. 37 | Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 38 | The Same Subject Continued, and the Incoherence of the Objections to the New Plan Exposed James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 39 | The Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 40 | The Powers of the Convention to Form a Mixed Government Examined and Sustained James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 41 | General View of the Powers Conferred by The Constitution James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 42 | The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 43 | The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered (con't) James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 44 | Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 45 | The Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments Considered James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 46 | The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 47 | The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 48 | These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 49 | Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 50 | Periodical Appeals to the People Considered Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 51 | The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
The Legislative Branch (52-66)
FEDERALIST No. 52 | The House of Representatives Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 53 | The House of Representatives (con't) Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 54 | The Apportionment of Members Among the States Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 55 | The Total Number of the House of Representatives Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 56 | The Total Number of the House of Representatives (con't) Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 57 | The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of the Many Considered in Connection with Representation Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 58 | Objection That The Number of Members Will Not Be Augmented as the Progress of Population Demands Considered James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 59 | Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 60 | Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 61 | Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 62 | The Senate Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 63 | The Senate (con't) Alexander Hamilton or James Madison |
FEDERALIST No. 64 | The Powers of the Senate John Jay |
FEDERALIST No. 65 | The Powers of the Senate (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 66 | Objections to the Power of the Senate To Set as a Court for Impeachments Further Considered Alexander Hamilton |
The Executive Branch (67-77)
FEDERALIST No. 67 | The Executive Department Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 68 | The Mode of Electing the President Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 69 | The Real Character of the Executive Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 70 | The Executive Department Further Considered Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 70 | The Executive Department Further Considered Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 71 | The Duration in Office of the Executive Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 72 | The Same Subject Continued, and Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 73 | The Provision For The Support of the Executive, and the Veto Power Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 74 | The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Executive Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 75 | The Treaty-Making Power of the Executive Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 76 | The Appointing Power of the Executive Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 77 | The Appointing Power Continued and Other Powers of the Executive Considered Alexander Hamilton |
The Judicial Branch (78-83)
FEDERALIST No. 78 | The Judiciary Department Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 79 | The Judiciary (con't) Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 80 | The Powers of the Judiciary Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 81 | The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 82 | The Judiciary Continued Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 83 | The Judiciary Continued in Relation to Trial by Jury Alexander Hamilton |
Conclusions and Miscellaneous Ideas
FEDERALIST No. 84 | Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and Answered Alexander Hamilton |
FEDERALIST No. 85 | Concluding Remarks Alexander Hamilton |