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Without having the familiarity of Marx that I probably should have to properly discuss this subject, off the cuff (and from memory of studying it 8+ years ago in undergrad), I recall Marx advocating removing God from the public vocabulary -- from the public mind even -- as he saw organized religion as a major impediment to his vision of the all-powerful state.

I seem to also recall though, that at his most "philosophical", Marx's theories advocated that there would be no real "government", because the utopia he envisioned would just sort of "run" without any need for formal framework, etc. Course, to GET to that point, anything/everything was permissible (the whole "omelette/breaking eggs" addage fits in here). I can recall a professor saying, with wide-eyed breathless excitement, how wonderful such a thing would be.

So, that's a theory of Marx's that I think has credibility -- removing God/religion from society removes a major road block to his grand vision.

Also, Marx's beliefs on class warfare -- that is, destroy the middle class in order to precipitate the "revolution", is fairly accurate. Without having studied it except generally, isn't that what happened basically in the Russian and French revolutions? You had the disappearance of the middle class, a lot of have-nots and a few haves? I know that's greatly oversimplifying both historical events, but generally at least, I believe that's an accurate statement.

I guess my larger point is that, generally speaking, whenever I hold an opinion and find that someone whose opinion I reject and find detestable on nearly every other subject holds the same belief, it gives me pause to consider whether or not there's more than meet's the eye on the subject in question.

I guess a person could just as easily say "Well, OK, so Marx was right on that ONE THING...but, well, a sun shines on a dog's a** some days." But it seems to me that the thoughtful person might take a moment or two to re-examine the merits of the opposite position.

There really wasn't a middle class, as you know it, in France, at the time of the Revolution and the one in Russia was tiny. Neither were "destroyed", so that the revolution could happen.

Yes, you really shouldn't try to discuss things you know so little about.

Also, Marx's beliefs on class warfare

If you are interested in further understanding of the class warfare aspects of "free trade", just go to www.wto.org.

Search their documentation, and see how often they use the concept of "rich" countries vs "poor" countries. The World Bank and the IMF are the same. The WTO has predicated it policy of multilateralism as a way to 'advantage' the "poor" countries so they can be convinced to sign away their sovereignty via "free trade".