Often times democrats and those on the left of our political system are criticized for being too ‘communist’. Indeed, the rhetoric was strong in the 2016 presidential campaign, with Bernie Sanders’ mainstream socialism. Many, on both the left and the right, distaste communism and what it stands for. Ever since the Cold War (and, admittedly, before it with the first Red Scare in the early 20th century) communism has been a threat to the very essence of America. Communism means to do away with private property, it seeks to place a central government in control of most all aspects of a person’s public life.

Communism is a threat to capitalism and, in extremes, a threat to our freedoms. Yet, Karl Marx in the “Communist Manifesto” states that communism seeks to abolish all classes, therefore there would be no rulers. Communism seeks to place control in a large central government controlled by all the people. Communism is a largely utopian dream and seem perfect on paper. Bring it into the real world, however, and it simply does not work. When communism replaces the existing government (like the Tzars in Russia falling to the Soviets), the revolters should put in place a system without classes and, thus, without ruling power. However, this is not what happens. The leader of the revolution take control and plunge the country back to how it was before, sometimes worse than before.

Communism is inherently flawed by the very things that created it, human nature. Greed knows no bounds and will continue to be an influential part of all our lives. A perfect system cannot exist in an imperfect world of imperfect beings. So, if communism has failed, what would work?

Conservatives have come up with a plan. Much like communism, it crops up every now and then. The right calls it trickle down economics. It is the go to plan for solving all of America's economic woes. except it won’t and it does not, ever. It has failed in the past; it will continue to fail. Basically, money is handed to corporate leaders and the elite, who are then supposed to ‘trickle’ the money down all the way to the lowest classes. Ideally, everyone should have enough. The simple idea sounds great, and it should, by all accounts, work. Just like communism, however, it does not. Greed gets in the way. Instead of trickling the money down, it sits in the already rich laps of the elite.

Just like communism, trickle down comes back to haunt us time and time again. Neither system will work, indeed capitalism does not work. A democracy does not work. A republic does not work. No systems, political or economic, will ever work on their own. The United States is a capitalistic nation with bits of socialism thrown in. We are a republic, represented democratically by our president and Congress. No system is stable on its own. The Greeks, with their democracy, suffered. So too did the Romans with their Republic. Communism does not work, neither does the cross aisle counterpart of trickle down economics. Capitalism is great for quick growth but ultimately is unsustainable. Socialism too is unsustainable.

A healthy government, and nation recognizes that a mesh of all these systems is necessary to keep the health, safety, privacy, and voices of the general populace heard, seen, and protected.