Week 2 Story: Rand and Marx's Manifesto
In a world where the specter of Capitalism no longer haunts Europe, the Bodhisatta was born into the form of our lord and savior, Karl Marx. During his time in this world, he worked to bring peace and prosperity through the philosophy of his holy book, The Communist Manifesto. By this point, he had managed to exorcise the accursed spirit from Europe, but his work was far from over.
Not everyone was happy about his actions. There was one particularly disgruntled capitalist: Ayn Rand. She despised how the prosperity of the land was seeping with altruism; she desired said prosperity for herself and her fellow "elite," individualistic heathens. She pondered how to accomplish this. Then she thought, "Perhaps if I could steal and destroy The Communist Manifesto, I would be able to seize the means of production for myself..." Wringing her hands in delight, she set out to find him.
Beloved Marx sat meditating under a pine tree. "Dearest Marx," Rand said to him, "how can you sit so while there are still workers of the world to free, means of production to seize? The revolution is not yet over. Please, sir, allow me to guide you with your ultimate book to a place nearby where there are yet people to be radicalized." Karl Marx, with his purest of heart, agreed to follow.
Ayn Rand led him away from the tree some ways into an abandoned building. Once inside she cornered him with a knife. "Ha! Did you really think that I would help you and your movement ?" she laughed. "Now if you value your life and safety, you will hand over The Communist Manifesto."
Marx slowly blinked at her and smiled. "My dear Ayn Rand, I cannot give you my book, for I do not have it. It was not on my person when you found me, and you did not allow me the chance to go and get it when we departed. If you want it so badly, you can find it in the hands of the Worker."
"The Worker? Who is the Worker?"
"The Worker is not too hard to find. I am sure that no matter where you go, you will find the Worker. I would suggest looking in the nearby factory."
She stared at him. "Fine. But if you are lying to me, old man, I will be coming back for you!"
So she went to the nearby factory. She approached the first person she saw. "Do you know who the Worker is?"
He looked at her in confusion and said, "Well, I suppose that would be myself and the others here. What can I help you with?"
"I am looking for The Communist Manifesto."
"I see. Here, if could go out an distribute the bread in this box to others you come across, you should be able to find it at the very bottom."
With frustration yet no questions, Ayn Rand did as she was told. Soon enough the box was empty, yet there was no book. She returned to the Worker. "Where is the book?" she yelled.
Baffled, the Worker replied, "Book? You wanted the book? I thought you wanted to understand the philosophy of the book, which is why I sent you to distribute that box of bread. I would find Karl Marx if you wish for the book."
In a blind rage, Ayn Rand blazed away to once again find Karl Marx. "Old man, you lied to me! Where is the book?" she screamed.
"You fool, do you think I would really let you have my book?" Marx scoffed. "In your reckless abandon to destroy the altruism of our society, you chose to partake in such a society that resulted the benefit of others and, as you were expecting, yourself. Having gone against your own philosophy, what have you to gain now?"
She stood there with her mouth agape. With no words to defend herself, she hung her head and walked home in defeat.
Author's Note. This story was based on "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" from the Jataka Anthology. This original story was about a crocodile who was sent by his mate to take the heart of a monkey she saw. The crocodile attempts to trick the monkey with the promise of incredible fruits across the river and to let the monkey on his back to reach them. When the crocodile reveals his intentions, the monkey then tricks the crocodile by saying his heart is really kept in a nearby fig tree on land and escapes when the crocodile takes him to the tree.
The obvious changes here were in the characters. The monkey became Karl Marx, and the crocodile became Ayn Rand. The heart became The Communist Manifesto, and the fig tree became the philosophy of altruism. It should be noted that nothing in this story was meant to make a political, economical, or philosophical statement. In all honesty, this was a joke idea that came up when I mentioned this assignment to a friend, and it just seemed like a fun idea for a story.
Bibliography. "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" by Marie L. Shedlock, from the Jataka Anthology. Web Source.
Image of Karl Marx meditating under a tree; drawn by me in Microsoft Paint (August 31, 2017).
Monochrome image of Karl Marx's head. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Image of an angry-looking Ayn Rand. Web Source: DonkeyHotey on Flickr.
Not everyone was happy about his actions. There was one particularly disgruntled capitalist: Ayn Rand. She despised how the prosperity of the land was seeping with altruism; she desired said prosperity for herself and her fellow "elite," individualistic heathens. She pondered how to accomplish this. Then she thought, "Perhaps if I could steal and destroy The Communist Manifesto, I would be able to seize the means of production for myself..." Wringing her hands in delight, she set out to find him.
Ayn Rand led him away from the tree some ways into an abandoned building. Once inside she cornered him with a knife. "Ha! Did you really think that I would help you and your movement ?" she laughed. "Now if you value your life and safety, you will hand over The Communist Manifesto."
Marx slowly blinked at her and smiled. "My dear Ayn Rand, I cannot give you my book, for I do not have it. It was not on my person when you found me, and you did not allow me the chance to go and get it when we departed. If you want it so badly, you can find it in the hands of the Worker."
"The Worker? Who is the Worker?"
"The Worker is not too hard to find. I am sure that no matter where you go, you will find the Worker. I would suggest looking in the nearby factory."
She stared at him. "Fine. But if you are lying to me, old man, I will be coming back for you!"
So she went to the nearby factory. She approached the first person she saw. "Do you know who the Worker is?"
He looked at her in confusion and said, "Well, I suppose that would be myself and the others here. What can I help you with?"
"I am looking for The Communist Manifesto."
"I see. Here, if could go out an distribute the bread in this box to others you come across, you should be able to find it at the very bottom."
With frustration yet no questions, Ayn Rand did as she was told. Soon enough the box was empty, yet there was no book. She returned to the Worker. "Where is the book?" she yelled.
Baffled, the Worker replied, "Book? You wanted the book? I thought you wanted to understand the philosophy of the book, which is why I sent you to distribute that box of bread. I would find Karl Marx if you wish for the book."
In a blind rage, Ayn Rand blazed away to once again find Karl Marx. "Old man, you lied to me! Where is the book?" she screamed.
"You fool, do you think I would really let you have my book?" Marx scoffed. "In your reckless abandon to destroy the altruism of our society, you chose to partake in such a society that resulted the benefit of others and, as you were expecting, yourself. Having gone against your own philosophy, what have you to gain now?"
She stood there with her mouth agape. With no words to defend herself, she hung her head and walked home in defeat.
Author's Note. This story was based on "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" from the Jataka Anthology. This original story was about a crocodile who was sent by his mate to take the heart of a monkey she saw. The crocodile attempts to trick the monkey with the promise of incredible fruits across the river and to let the monkey on his back to reach them. When the crocodile reveals his intentions, the monkey then tricks the crocodile by saying his heart is really kept in a nearby fig tree on land and escapes when the crocodile takes him to the tree.
The obvious changes here were in the characters. The monkey became Karl Marx, and the crocodile became Ayn Rand. The heart became The Communist Manifesto, and the fig tree became the philosophy of altruism. It should be noted that nothing in this story was meant to make a political, economical, or philosophical statement. In all honesty, this was a joke idea that came up when I mentioned this assignment to a friend, and it just seemed like a fun idea for a story.
Bibliography. "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" by Marie L. Shedlock, from the Jataka Anthology. Web Source.
Image of Karl Marx meditating under a tree; drawn by me in Microsoft Paint (August 31, 2017).
Monochrome image of Karl Marx's head. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Image of an angry-looking Ayn Rand. Web Source: DonkeyHotey on Flickr.
Wow Molly, that was quite the transformation. I wasn't expecting such in depth political theory to be interwoven with a Jataka tale. But I must say I enjoyed it. The metaphor of Ayn Rand handing out bread as the Communist Manifesto was brilliantly thought out. I enjoyed the references to such deep theoretics being applied to such a simple and whimsical narrative.
ReplyDeleteGreat work! I look forward to more!