Socialist Progressives

It seems we are predisposed to having a powerful ruling class.

Engel mentions the Feudal lords and hereditary monarchs that were overthrown.

Can I assume the developing bourgeoisie happened during Engel's time.
What has become of these bourgeoisie?
They have become captains, dare I say feudal lords, of industry.
Their wealth is passed down, from generation to generation, like hereditary monarchs.

I have a view of corporations, small or large, that go something like this.
We pretend to live in a democracy until we go to work.
At work, we have a small group of leaders who make the decisions.
These leaders are the corporate feudal lords.
Most of us are the serfs who follow orders.
Among the serfs, some are elevated to manager status, to control the other serfs.

Corporations want to concentrate power and grow ever more powerful.
Corporations concentrate power at the top of the corporation.
Corporations integrate together to gain power and market share.
Corporations are our current feudal system.

Small corporations can and do fail all the time.
Many large corporations can and do fail over time...but some are deemed too big to fail.

I think this is one of my problems, but not the only problem, with our present system.
There must be a way to prevent corporations from becoming too big to fail.

I have a second problem with our present system.
A corporation cares only for itself, its management, and sometimes, its shareholders.
Some corporations try to care for their employees, with varying success.
Some corporations try to care for their communities, to varying degrees.

I feel, if we let corporations exist, and with the power corporations have,
corporations should have a special duty, not only to their employees,
but also to the communities, the country, and the world as a whole.

Corporations don't feel this duty exists, which is why many feel, and I feel,
the government should take over these duties and tax the corporations to pay
for these duties corporations refuse to do.

I'm sure those who defend corporations will cite efficiency as one argument for corporations.
Another argument is the ability to do things on a much larger scale.
These arguments don't sway me when corporations fail in their social duty,
or refuse to believe they have a social duty, to begin with.

I don't fully understand what Engel's is proposing regarding government.
It sounds to me like he is saying the government will replace the bourgeoisie.

If this is true, people of power will gravitate to, and try to control, the government.
All the appointees from Goldman Sachs, in both the Bush and Obama administrations,
come to mind.

A corrupt government, or a government run by a corporate elite, may not,
probably will not, feel there is a duty to the people, to the communities,
to the country, or to the world as a whole.

Engel speaks of government fading away. I'm not sure this is practical.
If we had Engel's world where the government owned the means of production,
and government slowly faded away, groups of people would come together,
and form corporations from the remnants of the fading government.
These corporations would become feudal, and we would have the problem start again.

Can't we keep corporations from becoming too big or too important too fail?
Can't we impose social duties on corporations, because corporations gain so much power?

I expect our government will not fade away any time soon anyway.
Our government owns a core means of production, specifically, waging war, keeping peace.
Our government directs the manufacture of weapons, and has a military or police force.

I'm not saying our government doesn't do other things, but this is specific to government.
I wish our government did more social duties and had a more social conscience.

I think of myself as a socialist because I believe health care is a right, not a privilege.
I believe people should have a place to live and food to eat.
I'm certain Republicans don't share my view.
I'm not certain about Democrats or other groups any more.
I used to think Democrats shared my beliefs; I think FDR shared my beliefs.