On Barack Obama’s comments about the redistribution of wealth: is he a Marxist?

Authors:
Luis Alberto López Rafaschieri and José Alberto López Rafaschieri
www.morochos.net

Seven years ago Obama expressed his dissatisfaction against the United States Supreme Court, considering that this institution has not ever been involved in the redistribution of wealth. And recently, Obama said that if elected president he would redistribute wealth.

These statements are now used by John McCain and his supporters to point out that Barack Obama is a Marxist. However, we have to say that these McCain’s attacks on Obama are not well founded.

The concept of "Redistribution of Wealth" or "Redistribution of Income" is not a socialist idea. It’s true that in theory the communists aspire to a more equal society, but that does not mean that socialism is the only ideology that includes the phrase "Distribution of Wealth" in its proposals.

The ideal of sharing the wealth is found in many political theories. It’s even implicit in ancient texts. The difference lies in how the redistribution is proposed. For example, there are those like us who think that taxes, education programs, opportunities for upward social mobility, charitable works and some state institutions can be used to reduce inequality. But there are also the socialists, who think that abolishing private property is the only way to redistribute wealth.

Therefore, Barack Obama´s remarks on redistribution of wealth are not sufficient to consider him a socialist. To do so it would be required that he affirm, or practice, ideas such as abolishing private property, dictatorship and centralization of power, support for communist guerrillas, attacks on Christianity, one-party system and elimination of individual freedoms.

So, it is wrong to assert that Barack Obama is a communist by believing in the Redistribution of Wealth. Rather, McCain made a big mistake accusing Obama of Marxist by expressing this idea. It could be misunderstood by the public as if the Republican candidate does not share the ideal of redistributing income.

Ironically, McCain also has a plan in his government’s program to combat inequality, but obviously he doesn’t know that such policies are based on the Redistribution of Wealth concept.

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