Karl Marx and Collapse of Communism * 68

 I have been wondering how a theory that should have benefited the working class failed. I am talking of Karl Marx which in the 21^st century is hardly mentioned. But there was a time when his theory fueled idealism and people thought a new dawn was coming..Thatwas the age of revolution and people though that a new messiah has come witha great theory.
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial revolution led to the development of the Karl Marx theory. The famous adage  ‘dictatorship of the proletariat ’was Marx's  innovation. Marx was of the view that religion was a creation of the Bourgeois and was a tool to suppress the workers who would rise and be the owners ultimately. In retrospect perhaps it was just rhetoric, as Marx never spelled out the means of achieving this "dictatorship of the proleteriat"

Marx and Governance
Again Marx laid out only an economic theory and talked little of the sinews of governance and how the working class would rule. This interpretation was given by revolutionaries like Lenin who read Marx and adapted it for their needs. They interpreted Marxist theory to mean a dictatorship and a complete negation of human values.  Perhaps Marx never laid any stress on this aspect and just presented a utopian theory that negated human emotion and creativity. This was perhaps the biggest flaw of the theory envisaged by Marx.
Marxism in Russia
The first communist regime was ushered into Russia by lenin.He was a brilliant intellectual, but again he also had no comprehension of the freedom and spirit of man. The result was that at the first sign of weakening of resolve in the central leadership, the edifice built by Lenin collapsed. Thus the October revolution of 1917 that ushered in a soviet republic collapsed within six decades.
The Future
The only professed communist states now are China and Korea. They also in real terms do not follow classical Marxism and are just one party ruled government that tolerates no dissent.
Where do we place Marx now? He was a great thinker but what he wrote needs better interpretation. Classical Marxism is in my view is in real terms practiced in the west where the lot of the workers and their health is paramount.But perhaps if the Marxist theory had been applied in Russia and human values respected then perhaps Marxism would have a had longer reign