Marxism Scarlet Letter

Marxism is the complete opposite of capitalism, it is what Russia became, the Soviet Union based on this principle. It separates people saying that all are equal, as in they all get the same things in the same amount. The government regulates this and is in complete control of the peoples lives. To Americans, this does not sound right, as the same would it be with the Puritans in the Scarlet Letter.

The origin of Marxism comes from Karl Marx, a German philosopher, socialist, and economists who disagreed with American (usually referred to as Western as most of Europe Karl Marx was against) capitalism. Karl Marx, alongside Friedrich Engels, wrote the Communist Manifesto. He was much against oppression of the working class because he saw them

as the backbone of a country.
This ties in because in the Scarlet Letter, in the Puritan colony, the colonists have to be a Puritan to live in the colony. In a way they are oppressed by their own religion as superstitious beliefs hold them down with so much power. And in the book, it shows that if you mess up you will be humiliated greatly for everyone to see.
The book Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein, Earth is ruled by the Terran Federation. The book explains that democracy and communism failed the planet and inevitable destroyed it. It was rebuilt by a military wanting the planet to grow back into a superpower. But, to have any real rights, the people have to have served in the military.
"You.

Tell me the moral difference, if any, between the citizen and the civilian?" "The difference lies in the field of civic virtue. A citizen accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic, of which he is a member, defending it, if need be, with his life. The civilian does not." Exact words of the text. This is proven when the main character Juan/Johnny Rico joins the Mobile Infantry (the Terran Federation's army), and is thrown into an interstellar war with mankind and the Bugs, an insectoid race of aliens. Johnny Rico loses many friends and when he returns home he realizes dying for a few rights in not right. (The few rights are that he can vote and run for election upon completion of his military

service).
Starship Troopers also shows the oppression of the civilians, a working class, by the government, and that how they are inferior to citizens. This is completely against Marxism (Karl Marx would role in his no where to find grave). Though much life about the civilians is not shown, its made clearly obvious they are not as good as their citizen counterparts.
Robert Heinlein was branded a communist for Starship Troopers, since it referenced the fall of democracy (this book was released in the fifties during the Cold War).

Robert Heinlein and Karl Marx would agree on a few points though, one, democracy and communism could never mix, two, both would be the end of the planet, and three, oppression of the lower and working class is not acceptable.

In the Scarlet Letter, the people of the Puritan colony are humiliated, adulterers are made to wear a large "A" wherever they went. In Starship Troopers, civilians are made to wear they dress differently from citizens, and Karl Marx wanted everyone to be equal, though it truly did not work as everyone became oppressed by their government.

Starship Troopers though (adding feminism) did not discriminate between male and females. They are seen as equals, females are able to join and do the same things as men, such as operate power suits and go through the six month boot camp. In some cases the females were regarded higher than their male counterparts, but it does not touch too much into it as the main focus was the war and Johnny Rico getting through it. (In the book his best friend is Dizzy but he dies, in the movie adaptation, Dizzy is a female and one of Johnny's lovers, dies later on but fights just as well as the

males).
In conclusion, Robert Heinlein and Karl Marx had similar ideas (branding Heinlein as a communist) and showing that a westerner and communist see the same things. The oppression of everyone!