Comment on unsure why we are surprised lol
Cowbee@lemmy.ml 6 months agoSomeone better tell these people they all could be arrested at any moment!
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_USA
No but seriously it’s an unenforceable junk law that no one has bothered to take the time to repeal that was never even really used in the first place. I mean, the communist party runs candidates for office to this day. Someone finally tried to use it in 1972 to keep a communist candidate off the ballot and a federal district Court promptly ruled it unconstitutional.
Ah, fair, didn’t see that it got repealed. My original point was more to state that the legal system works against Communism, America is a thoroughly anti-Communist project both within and without.
I’d say more broadly the legal and political system works against any organizations that threaten the status quo, but yes America’s attitudes toward communism have been pretty obvious throughout the twentieth century. I just took issue with the idea that political parties or idealogies are illegal in and of themselves in the US, constitution still manages to protects some things.
At least at face-value, sure. Communism itself is a threat to America.
“Communist Party” and “Communism” are not equivalent concepts
Who makes that distinction? Plus, the idea of destroying the state, Capitalism, class divides, and money definitely is legally opposed.
Who makes that distinction?
… literally anyone who thinks about it? The US Communist Party is one party, there are plenty of other parties that identify as communist.
Laws are interpreted and wielded by those in power. The Democrats are already called Communists, what happens if a genuine Socialist party takes some amount of power?
Who makes that distinction?
Anyone versed in basic political theory.
An ideology and a political organization are obviously different. Just like republicanism and The Republican Party, democracy and The Democratic Party, socialism and The Socialist Party, etc.
destroying the state
That’s technically sedition, so, yes, illegal.
Capitalism
Nowhere in U.S. jurisprudence is “capitalism” (verbatim) explicitly protected as an economic system. The 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause prevents the state from taking someone’s life, liberty, or property without a proper justification under the laws of the land. The Constitution protects individuals from the government. Freedom to contract is a principle that underpins the basis for a free-market economy.
After the Great Depression, the Court began to treat the freedom to contract as less than absolute, asserting that such freedom may be limited by the State’s interest to protect its citizens. Capitalism is a right guaranteed by the constitution but limited in scope to protect individuals against the dangers of laissez-faire capitalism.
class divides
There are no explicit laws in U.S. jurisprudence (that I know of or have turned up on brief internet searches) that enforce “class divides”.
money
Be it resources, precious metals, or legal tender, money is protected by the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
So we can conclude that the advocacy or practice of communism isn’t legal. Forcing people to practice it or overthrowing the government and dissolving The Bill of Rights in order to for people to practice most certainly is.
In my opinion, that’s a good thing.
Communism isn’t Communalism. Advocating for Communism and attempting to implement Communism at a national level is illegal, as you’ve shown.
oatscoop@midwest.social 6 months ago
If you had actually read the Wikipedia article:
So yes, the law passed during the the McCarthy era … and was afterwards declared unconstitutional.
Cowbee@lemmy.ml 6 months ago
Ah, fair, didn’t see that it got repealed. My original point was more to state that the legal system works against Communism, America is a thoroughly anti-Communist project both within and without.
fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee 6 months ago
You shills must have a special team just for moving the goalposts.
nyctre@lemmy.world 6 months ago
.ml account with 28 comments in this thread. Makes sense.