Written by Johnathan Turner.

Vice President Kamala Harris has recently sparked a debate with her rhetoric that closely mirrors the ideology of Karl Marx, the author of The Communist Manifesto. In her attempts to explain “equity,” Harris has drawn attention for her views on the equitable distribution of resources and ensuring that “everybody ends up in the same place.”

A video compilation shared by the page End Wokeness on Friday captured Harris discussing the concepts of “equitable distribution” and “everybody ends up in the same place.” Her remarks aimed to delineate the difference between “equality” and “equity” and emphasize the need for the latter in public policy.

“It has to be about a goal saying, ‘Everybody should end up in the same place.’ And since we didn’t start in the same place, some folks might need more. Equitable distribution,” Harris stated in an undated video.

Defining Equity vs. Equality

Harris further elaborated on this distinction in a C-SPAN video, explaining, “Equality suggests often, ‘Everybody should get the same thing.’ Well, that often assumes everybody started out in the same place. As opposed to equity, which is everyone should end up in the same place.”

End Wokeness responded by labeling Harris’s words as “communism,” echoing long-standing concerns that discussions about equity often carry communistic undertones.

Rob Jenkins, an author and professor at Georgia State University, critiqued this notion in a 2023 opinion piece for Campus Reform, describing equity as “Marxist redistributionism writ large.” Jenkins argued that Marx sought to dismantle long-standing systems and replace them with what he perceived as more just alternatives. “We know how that worked out,” Jenkins remarked, reflecting on the historical outcomes of Marxist policies.

Academic and Political Reactions

Dr. Bradley Gitz, a professor at Lyon College and columnist for The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, echoed Jenkins’s concerns in a 2021 column. Gitz contended that equity is now being used to deceptively market a new form of Marxism, which has become a focal point of the Biden administration’s agenda.

“In the traditional Marxist approach, inequalities were unjust consequences of the private ownership of property that defined capitalism; in the new Marxist approach, racial disparities are the unjust consequences of racism and the broader system of white supremacy,” Dr. Gitz elaborated.

In the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, then-candidate Joe Biden faced scrutiny over his policies, which some feared were influenced by Marxist ideas. Biden defended himself by asking, “Do I look like a socialist? Look at my career — my whole career. I am not a socialist,” distancing himself from such accusations.

Ultimately, Biden chose Harris, who had run for the Democratic nomination to his left, as his vice-presidential pick. This choice further fueled discussions about the ideological direction of the administration.

Our Take

Kamala Harris’s rhetoric on equity raises significant concerns about the ideological direction of current public policy. By advocating for policies that aim for everyone to “end up in the same place,” Harris treads dangerously close to Marxist principles of redistribution, which history has shown can lead to significant economic and social upheaval. This approach threatens to undermine the values of individual achievement and meritocracy, fundamental to the American ethos.

Equity, as framed by Harris, necessitates unequal treatment to achieve equal outcomes, a concept that contradicts the principles of fairness and justice. This philosophy risks creating a society where individual effort and initiative are devalued, and where government intervention becomes the primary means of achieving social and economic goals. The implications for public policy are profound and troubling, potentially leading to increased dependency on government support and a reduction in personal responsibility and freedom.