Saturday, June 05, 2010

Karl Marx: Eligible for LP Membership

Karl Marx predicted the "withering away of the state", a condition in which people would be able to act any way they wanted without any constraint from a state. And Marx did not favor the prohibition of private property; he merely stated that in the future society, people would have no desire to have private property. Therefore, assuming that the LP's oath or pledge is to be interpreted as ideological rather than procedural, Karl Marx would be eligible for LP membership. The only way to challenge this assertion would be to point out that Marxism in theory is libertarian, but in practice it is not. But the only way to compare theory to practice is to study economics and engage in public policy analysis, two things that are forbidden or irrelevant to LP members. So Karl Marx' membership could not be challenged by any other LP member.