Society is faced with a plethora of different obstacles throughout time periods. Karl Marx was an individual during the 1800’s that was considered to be a historian, sociologist, and even an economist. He provided theories and predictions on the negatives of society and what would happen to society if these negatives continued. Towards the end of the second section in his book The Communist Manifesto, Marx lists ten statements that he believes will happen to nations in the future. “Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes” is the first prediction that Karl Marx makes in respect to the revolution of the proletariat class to develop into the ruling class. This prediction can be translated to the ownership of land is to be removed and that all payments that are made are for public purposes. This prediction seems to have not entirely come to pass. The ownership of land is a hallmark of American society, however, there is evidence that some aspects have in fact been realized. Banks, not people, own most properties. Since banks are private institutions, there are no public purposes that are being taken care of.
Marx predicting that eliminating land ownership would be beneficial for society is in a way prophetic. If the government had removed ownership of property, there would not have been countless citizens applying for bank loans that they could not pay off. We are currently in one of the deepest recessions this country has ever faced. The reason for this recession can be most closely related to a majority of the big banks providing loans to unqualified applicants. If the government didn’t have private land ownership, there is a strong possibility this recession either would not have happened or wouldn’t be nearly as severe.
The next prediction that Marx made was “A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.” Essentially this prediction was describing that individuals with higher incomes would have to pay higher taxes. For the most part, this seems to be accurate in society today. However, the income tax isn’t necessarily black and white. There are so many different deductions that can be made in order for individuals to pay less. If Marx were here today, he would state that the bourgeois is not only still in power, but also possibly more powerful than his time. The government might make it seem like the middle class is being taken care of by forcing those in high tax brackets to pay a significantly higher income tax. For example, my father is the CEO of a insurance brokerage firm, and he told me today after I brought up this topic that “Even though I make way more than my secretary, she probably pays more taxes than I do because I have an accountant that is respectable in his field and can tell me every single way possible that I can pay less, she probably doesn’t have an account nearly as deft.” One of the last predictions Marx makes in the second section of his book is “Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.” Compared to the variety of other predictions that Marx made, this one in particular caught my eye. To state that public school education is free, to an extent is true but in a way false as well. There is currently no specific payment towards public