Marxism and communism have become renewed words of insult in recent American politics. Recalling the Cold War era when “Republicans and Democrats … were fighting communism … on a distant shore,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson now sees that threat in his Democratic colleagues, adding ominously, “it’s here…. The barbarians are in the gate.” Yet Americans might be surprised about how many of their own views have roots in these dreaded ideologies. Modern communism has its origins in the theories and politics of Karl Marx (1818-83). He was both a scholar and an activist, scrutinizing how capitalist free enterprise Read more