 If you're a red-blooded communist, the last thing you want to do is actively participate in the evils of capitalism. So when we, at the Communist Manifesto for Personal Finance, tell you to invest in a stock market Index fund You probably think to yourself How can they tell us to invest in the stock market? Don't they realize that will make us complicit in capitalist oppression? Do they even believe in socialism? First of all, we believe in Marxism as much as any communist in China Second, let me ask you one question Do you buy groceries? Yeah Do you pay rent? Global pandemic, not withstanding, yes I do Do you work at a job where your labor increases your employer's revenue? I guess Wouldn't you agree that doing any one of these things already makes you complicit in capitalism? Well, we have to do those things If we want to survive working, buying groceries, and paying rent are all necessary functions So is investing As we've explained before, if you don't invest your money, you fall victim to Inflation Meaning, the money you save will slowly decline in value So if you don't put your money into an asset that grows in value over time, like the stock market You'll find yourself caught in an endless cycle of wage slavery until the day you die All the while, you'll still be complicit in capitalism Okay, but you realize there are poor and working class people who are already caught in an endless cycle of wage slavery How can you tell us to invest in the stock market when millions of Americans can't even afford basic necessities? This is a valid point There are many Americans who can barely afford to survive, let alone retire We agree 100% But we must ask the question If A, you're a middle-class socialist who can afford to invest And B, already complicit in capitalism, how are you helping the poor and working class by not investing in the stock market? Well, I take the money I'd be investing and give it to charity Okay, but if you're a bourgeoisie socialist, or as we like to call you, a You can probably afford to give to charity and invest at the same time Also, if you're a Marxist, you realize charity doesn't solve the problem of inequality If anything, charity perpetuates inequality because it enables systemic injustices to continue So even if you give away most of your money, you're still complicit in capitalism Basically, you're setting yourself on fire and not even keeping other people warm Yeah, well at least I'll still have my Marxist principles What does that mean? It means I can sleep at night, knowing I'm not one of those bourgeoisie capitalists who invest in the stock market Bourgeoisie capitalists like Karl Marx Exactly, just like Karl Marx What? Yes, Karl Marx, our socialist prophet, not only invested in the stock market, he speculated in the stock market He probably got the money from his partner Friedrich Engels, who owned a textile factory Wait a minute, are you telling me that the founders of modern socialism were not only members of the bourgeoisie, but one of them was a capitalist pig? Look, all arguments aside, whether you decide to invest or not is your choice Until communism establishes global hegemony, you have free will But if you decide not to invest in the stock market, don't delude yourself into thinking you're hurting capitalism All you're doing is hurting yourself So I beg you comrades, invest your money After all, Marx and Engels never told us to give away all our possessions and help the poor That was Jesus I'm Comrade Rourke and you are the Revolution Like our program on how we form habits Produced in collaboration with Fort Collins Public Media