Socialism¶
The rejection of God leads to the deification of man -- and to unimaginable horrors.
History¶
The roots of socialism trace back to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution of 1789, which challenged traditional hierarchies and sparked ideas of equality and communal ownership. Emerging as a response to the Industrial Revolution's harsh capitalism, socialism sought to address worker exploitation by advocating collective control of production. Intellectual foundations were claimed to be in ancient texts like Plato's Republic, but modern socialism crystallized in the 19th century with figures like Robert Owen, who coined the term and attempted to build utopian communities.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels formalized it in The Communist Manifesto (1848), envisioning a classless society through proletarian revolution. Russian nihilists and radicals, as depicted in Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Sons (1862), embraced it, leading to the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the Soviet Union -- the first major socialist state. The 20th century saw socialism spread via wars and ideologies, from China's Maoist regime to Cuba's Castro, often blending with communism and resulting in authoritarian rule, and more genocide and murder than the world had ever seen.
Atheistic Roots¶
As Fr. Seraphim Rose observed, socialism's core ideas are atheistic and materialistic, naively placing faith in science and human progress while driven by a passion to dismantle the existing order -- which inevitably produces a meaning crisis amidst existential horrors.
Fr. Seraphim Rose
These ideas were atheistic, materialistic, extremely naive: science is the answer to everything. The philosophy itself is extremely stupid and there is nothing much worth believing, but his [Marx’s] power comes from his passion to overthrow the existing order.
This rejection of divine Truth inevitably elevates man to god-like status, promising utopia but delivering tyranny, despair and ultimately death.
Horrors¶
Socialism's implementation has unleashed abject horrors, with communist regimes responsible for over 100 million deaths, as documented in The Black Book of Communism. The Soviet Union's gulags imprisoned and killed millions in forced labor camps. Stalin's purges and famines, like the Holodomor in Ukraine, starved millions to death.
In China, Mao's Great Leap Forward caused the deadliest famine in history, killing tens of millions. The Cultural Revolution brought further terror, destroying lives and heritage. Cambodia's Khmer Rouge, under Pol Pot, murdered nearly a quarter of the population in pursuit of agrarian socialism.
Under socialism, more Christians were murdered -- targeted because of their faith -- in the twentieth century than in all prior centuries combined. The Red Terror during the Spanish Civil War exemplified this anti-Christian violence, with leftists desecrating churches, raping and murdering nuns, and executing clergy.
These atrocities stem inevitably from socialism's godless foundation, where human life becomes expendable for the "greater good" -- which of course means all morally abhorrent behavior becomes acceptable towards anything or anyone that is not part of that "greater good".
Romans 1:28-32
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Fascism¶
Fascism emerged as a reactionary movement to socialism -- the flip-side of the atrocities of socialism -- particularly in the turbulent aftermath of World War I, when economic crises and the threat of communist revolutions gripped Europe. Born in Italy under Benito Mussolini in 1919, fascism positioned itself as a fierce opponent to Bolshevism, mobilizing the middle classes and disillusioned veterans into violent squads to crush socialist organizations and labor movements. In Germany, the National Socialists adapted fascist principles, blending ultranationalism, racism, and anti-communism into a totalitarian regime that promised to restore order amid economic despair.
Though ostensibly anti-socialist, fascism is a reactionary movement, and shares socialism's godless foundation, deifying the state and the leader (as all socialist governments inevitably do). This of course led to more unimaginable horrors: the Holocaust, where Jews, Christians, Romani, disabled, and political dissidents -- were systematically murdered; Italian colonial atrocities in Ethiopia; and the devastation of World War II itself, claiming tens of millions of lives. Fascism, as the inverted mirror of socialism, rejects divine Truth, exalts human power, and views human lives as mere instruments for ideological ends -- ultimately attacking the very image and likeness of God.
Romans 1:20-22
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools
Meaning Crisis¶
Socialism's fruits (including fascism) extend to a profound meaning crisis, where individuals, bombarded by ideology, lose their true self. As Fr. Roman Braga warns, constant immersion in quotations and doctrines leaves no room for authentic existence -- a spiritual void echoing the broader rejection of Christ.
For reflection, watch God is not in the books, where Fr. Braga notes: "you don't have time to be yourself because you are made out of quotations."
Socialism's history of horrors reveals the peril of all godless ideologies. Only in Christ, the true source of justice and love, can humanity find genuine equality and purpose, free from the chains of man-made "utopias".
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.