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Are atheists communists?

“I am whatever you say I am.
If I wasn't then why would I say I am?”

Marshall Mathers III

I am by now quite used to redneck Americans assuming that I am some kind of communist because I actually mention and quote Marx, Lenin, Mao and John Lennon. This misunderstanding is quite understandable for people who have grown up in a single ideology environment like the USA. I do not consider myself to be a Communist, far from it. I am not even a socialist, I am a liberal, with some views that you might not expect.

I believe in democracy with republican and federal structures. I believe that the free market is the best way to operate most activity.

I believe in the right of majorities to govern themselves, without subjecting themselves to the tyranny of the minority or the tyranny of the dead. That makes me an anti-libertarian. Libertarians believe in the absolute power of veto of minorities and the dead, in the form of written constitutions. I don't. I believe that those that are alive now have the power to decide what they want to do, and should be allowed to do it. I also believe that majorities, when competently led by democratically elected elites, will want to secure the rights of minorities. I believe that people can be trusted to govern themselves and can be trusted to elect competent elites to govern them more effectively, and most people prefer the latter option.

I do not believe that that there is an option for society to run without a government. It cannot be uninvented. The choice is between types of government, walking away from government would lead to a coup. Armies exist to fight the foes of the people, it follows that there must be foes, there must be a people in need of protection and that the threat is ever present. As soon as you draw a line in the sand and call yourself a nation an army is created, and needs to be paid, the choice is taxation or pillage, nobody prefers pillage so government machinery follows on. All this happens before sunset on day one. Government is self perpetuating, we cannot choose not to have one, but we can choose how to run it. As there is no effective choice but to have a government and no power bigger than the government to stop it doing what it wants to do it seems rather obvious to me that the trick is to ensure that the government does what we the people want it to do, no more, no less.

Let's see which labels fit:-

democrat

Yes. I believe in majority rule. That doesn't mean it never terrifies me to think what majorities are capable of.

liberal

This one means so many things to so many people. I believe that I qualify because I value freedom, although not in infinite amounts or infinite extent.

republican

I believe in government of the people by the people for the people. I am not an anarchist, a monarchist or a believer in rule by permanent elites. Republican (small r!) seems a good label.

socialist

I do not believe in the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange as being a good thing in and of itself. I support social ownership as a tactic to attain other specified goals in particular and very limited circumstances. Socialism is not the end, it can be a means to some of my ends. I do not consider myself to be a socialist although I consider myself as of the left, for what it's worth, but a left that has a very different idea of the nature of human nature than any common forms of socialism. I am of the Darwinian left.

nationalist

A nationalist believes in his nation and its right to exist. I believe that England is one of the last colonies of the British Empire. I want freedom from oppression for my people. I don't feel comfortable with foreign troops marching through the streets of London, that includes Scots. But I do not believe in any fundamental right of any nation to stand alone, separate and independent from the rest of humanity. My nationalism is rather limited.

fascist

As I am not a socialist nor a nationalist I think that I can rule out National Socialist as a reasonable label for my views.

internationalist

Excellent label. I believe that the future of our society and culture depends upon international co-operation to begin with, leading to the creation of a federal world state. The abolition of nations as nation-states with the power of veto and the power to fight wars is a vital step towards the creation of a democratic federal republic of Earth. India has a federal structure of a billion people within a single democracy, I suggest if it can operate over one billion people with several thousand languages and many religions there is no reason to believe that it cannot work on the next level.

utilitarian

This one seems to fit. While I do not believe it is possible to literally and explicitly calculate the greatest good to the greatest number it seems to me to be the only truly honourable way to decide policy aims. I never put ideology ahead of practicality. If I have any ideology this is it: be practical, achieve desirable ends through legitimate and defensible means.

environmentalist

I believe that we must respect the environment we live in in order that we maintain overall utility for ourselves, including our own self respect as people and a culture. We also owe a duty of care to the future, whether you see that in terms of family, race, species, nation or culture, the result is rather similar, we need a clean environment not denuded of basic resources.

A tree hugger? Why not.

communist

Not even close. I respect Marx as a sociologist, much less as an economist and barely at all as a political philosopher.
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