The shrill feminist denunciations of male patriarchy share a common
origin: the
Marxist creed.
In the 1840s, Marx concocted this bizarre theory: Since working men were
oppressed by capitalist economies, then women were doubly-victimized by
the effects of capitalism and patriarchy.
This is how Karl Marx and Frederick Engels explained it in their 1848
Communist Manifesto: "What is the present family based on? On
capitalism, the acquisition of private property...The bourgeois sees in
his wife nothing but an instrument of production."
In his 1884 book, The Origin of the Family, Engels elaborated on the
theme of patriarchal oppression:
"The overthrow of mother right was the world historical defeat of the
female sex. The man took command in the home also; the woman was
degraded and reduced to servitude; she became the slave of his lust and
a mere instrument for the production of children."
These claims are preposterous.
If women were more oppressed than men, then women's lifespans would have
been shorter. But the reverse was true -- in the second half of the
1800s, men's life expectancy in Russia and Europe was
2-3 years shorter
than women's, partly due
to their responsibilities as primary breadwinners.
And Engels' claim that women had become a "mere instrument for the
production of children" is patently absurd. As a result of the
Industrial Revolution, female fertility had
already
begun to fall in
Europe in the mid-1800s.
So Engels' assertion was ridiculous as it was specious.
And 156 years after publication of the Communist Manifesto, what is the
verdict of history?
The simple fact is, over 100 million persons have been killed under
regimes calling themselves Socialist. Ironically, almost all of the
victims were members of the working class. Marx did not care about the
proletariat, he only cared about his pipe dream of achieving a socialist
utopia.
Likewise, it is questionable whether Marx really cared about helping
women. Always mindful of the fact that women represented half of the
population, he and his minions schemed to exploit their largely untapped
labor.
Chairman Mao said
it best: "Many co-operatives are finding themselves
short of labor. It has become necessary to arouse the great mass of
women who did not work in the fields before to take their place on the
labor front."
Karl Marx also viewed women as effective agitators to overthrow
capitalism. As he admitted in a 1868 letter, "major social
transformations are impossible without ferment among the women."
But if there are any lingering doubts about Karl Marx's real attitudes
towards women, just examine his personal life.
According to Joshua Muravchik's brilliant book, Heaven on Earth, Marx
disdained the responsibilities of a husband and father of three girls.
He was inept in managing the household finances. He never even tried to
get a job. Instead, he lived off of his inheritance and a monthly
stipend from Engels.
Nonetheless, Marx did indulge in the bourgeoise custom of hiring a
household maid. Her name was Helene Demuth.
In 1851, Demuth bore an illegitimate son, Henry. Federick Engels soon
admitted his paternity.
Lying on his deathbed in 1895, no longer able to speak, Engels took a
chalk and slate in hand to reveal a well-guarded secret. The father of
the bastard-son was Karl Marx himself.
