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percent of the world’s population, but we are responsible for a large percentage of the global environmental damage. As China and Third World nations establish capitalist systems, the pollution and destruction of nature will accelerate, putting more pressure on our already stressed planet.
    It is no coincidence that modern capitalism was born in Europe, the center of Christianity, for Christianity provided the moral climate necessary for the development of capitalism. Christianity taught Europeans that the world was evil, that man must overcome nature, and that God gave man dominion over the earth. Capitalism could only have arisen in a society with those or similar beliefs because capitalism is based upon the manipulation of men and nature without regard for their rights. Capitalism could not have emerged in native societies or in the East because those cultures understand that God lives on the earth.
    Armed with Christian beliefs, Europeans were ready to conquer the world, and when Columbus “discovered” America and trade routes were opened to Africa and the Far East, the perfect opportunities appeared. From the 16th through the 19th centuries, and in many cases well into the 20th century, Christians murdered and enslaved the people and looted the wealth of the American, Asian, and African continents. We can trace many of our troubles today to this unleashing of Christianity on the world.
    We are nearing the end of the material age, which began when Western man decided to deny his connection with the earth. Today we are beginning to reawaken to that truth still known in native cultures, that “we are part of the earth and it is part of us,” in the words of Chief Seattle. Once we understand this, we will not be able to treat the earth as a thing to be used and thrown away, for we will realize that what we do to the earth we do to ourselves.
     
     
    True Communism Is Christlike
     
    And all who believed were together and held all things in common. And would sell their possessions and goods and distribute them all according as anyone had need.
     
    Acts Of The Apostles, 2:44-5
     
    True communism, which is community ownership of property, is based upon love and sharing. The first Christians were true communists. Saint Francis of Assisi, who gave all his property away and spent the rest of his life serving others, was a true communist. Mahatma Gandhi, who dedicated his life to the people of India and set up communal farms wherever he lived, was a true communist. Mother Theresa, who nurses and feeds the poor, is a true communist. Lenin, Stalin, and Mao Tse-tung believed in a Communism that was as far from true communism as the Inquisition was from true Christianity.
    Party doctrine says Communist society is classless and democratic. In fact, Party and military leaders and the bureaucrats are an elite. They receive the best housing, education, medical care, food, and jobs. To retain control they do not allow open elections. As China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba adopt capitalist systems, these same Party and military leaders will become major owners of property and the means of production—members of the class of exploiters Marx denounced in The Communist Manifesto .
    The integration of love with Communist ideals results in a communism that recognizes the sacredness of the individual and that does not resort to violence to achieve its goals. In Israel, responsible people living by the principle of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,” have created over two hundred prosperous, autonomous communities called kibbutzim.
    Marxist Communism is correct in one very important sense: The rights of workers to a decent income are superior to the rights of property owners to a decent return on their investments. The Communist Party is wrong when it says—and herein lies the main mistake of Communism—that the rights of the state are superior to all other rights. The state has no rights, only