Karl Marx.  For some, Marx's name conjures thoughts of darkness, predation, and terror.  For others, his name stirs thoughts of revolt, rebellion, and justice.  To the die hard capitalist, Marx is anathema; to many people living under constant economic exploitation and oppression, his name is a beacon of hope, words in which they see glimmers of equity and righteousness.
     Like many things, the truth falls somewhere in between. In Marx's seminal work, Das Kapital, he skillfully dissects the shortcomings of capitalism, noting, rightly, that by its very nature the capitalism breeds inequity, that in its elevation of economic freedom above all else, it overlooks that various cultural contexts prevent everyone from enjoying the fruits of these freedoms.  Writing in the midst of the Industrial Revolution and the many injustices it spawned, Marx understood very well the logic that would, one day, drive capitalism into the ground:  people understand exploitation in vastly different ways.
     Not to say that Marxism is perfect or the ideal solution to economic oppression.  It is not.  But it's far from the total abnegation to which many assign it.  It's easy for those in power to criticize the longings of those subject to them.  It's not so easy for those who are under the thumb of oppression to believe that the oppressors have their good in mind.
     Many years ago, someone told me that, "God ordained capitalism."  Given all the pain that Western capitalism has brought upon the rest of the world, the pain of slavery, imperialism, and sordid monopolistic activity, I find this statement to be rather odd.  Do we really know what, in the big picture, God ultimately chooses?
     One thing we do know.  As God loved the world, so he wants us to love each other.  And we do not need to do this through one economic system only.