Today I talked with my philosophy professor for close to an hour after class about Marxism and Communism. 

One of the most misunderstood concepts in America, Communism is fascinating. At times Marx’s words are unbelievably true, at times they are murky and vague. The most important things I gleaned from our discussion are as follows:

Communism as it is practiced today (or during the Soviet-led USSR) is far, far different than the Communism described and imaged by Marx. His works, over 100 in volume, leave incredible amounts of cherry-picking to the hungry revolutionist, which is exactly what Stalin, Lenin, Chairman Mao and countless other leaders have done. Their versions of Communism are loosely based around Marx’s words, truly only “Communism” by name instead of practice. 

A side to this revelation is that out of all the Communist countries today, Cuba is by far the most relatable to what Marx had in mind, and has largely succeeded despite years of attempts to bring down its government. Interestingly enough, Cuba’s revolutionary figure is the same person many Americans idolize: Che Guevara. Why is Guevara, a man who killed so many people, deemed a hero but Stalin, Lenin and Mao are not? My thought is that Guevara was assassinated by the US Government—thus stamping him A Total Badass in the eyes of American youth. 

Oh, America. So full of ideals, ideas and opinions about things we have never studied or bothered to research…