You're welcome. He's got some shorter stuff up there too.

Marx did have another system in mind, he co-authored the Communist Manifesto after all. But not everyone who calls themselves a Marxist is a communist, and some of us would contend that authoritarian philosophies such as Marxism-Leninism actually go against the ideals he espoused. You are correct though, as far as people taking his ideas and running with them. I wouldn't say that's necessarily a bad thing, he lived during a different time.

Many of the professionals I associate with don't really have an understanding of class consciousness. They tend to bad-mouth workers and misunderstand the conditions that cause our shared plight. A lot of workers misunderstand the issues as well, but they have the excuse of lacking an education or the free time to pursue one. The professionals just squandered their privilege, and now they find themselves wondering why their lives are coming to resemble those of the workers they've looked down on for so long more every year.

I'm getting a bit rhetorical here, but like I said, this is kind of *the* core issue. Lefties argue amongst ourselves as far as how exactly to tackle that bigger problem, but the mentality you speak of is one we address. It's also the subject of a great many union-organizing meetings. :)