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The whole of Germany shall be declared a united, indivisible republic.
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Every German who is 21 years old shall be a voter and be eligible for election, assuming he has not been sentenced for a criminal offence.
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Representatives of the people shall be paid so that workers may also sit in the parliament of the German people.
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Universal arming of the people. In future armies shall at the same time be workers’ armies so that the armed forces will not only consume, as in the past, but produce even more than it costs to maintain them.
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Maintenance of justice shall be free of charge.
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All feudal burdens, all fees, labour services, tithes etc. which have previously oppressed the peasantry shall be abolished without any compensation.
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All baronial and other feudal estates, all mines, pits etc. shall be converted into state property. On these estates agriculture shall be practised on a large scale and with the most modern scientific tools for the benefit of all.
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The mortgages on peasant farms shall be declared state property. The interest for these mortgages shall be paid by the peasants to the state.
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In the areas where leasing has developed the ground rent or lease payment shall be paid to the state as a tax.
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All private banks will be replaced by a state bank whose bonds will have the character of legal tender.
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All means of transport: railways, canals, steamships, roads, posts etc. shall be taken in hand by the state. They shall be converted into state property and made available free of charge to the class without financial resources.
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In the remuneration of all civil servants there shall be no difference except that those with a family, i.e. with greater needs, shall also receive a larger salary than the others.
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Complete separation of church and state. The clergy of all denominations shall only be paid by their own voluntary congregations.
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Limitation of inheritance.
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Introduction of strongly progressive taxes and abolition of taxes on consumption.
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Establishment of national workshops. The state shall guarantee the livelihood of all workers and provide for those unable to work.
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Universal free education of the people.
These are the 1848 Demands of the Communist Party in Germany, Marx and Engels.
The whole of Germany shall be declared a united, indivisible republic.
Not really for a non German to say, but see no reason why not.
Every German who is 21 years old shall be a voter and be eligible for election, assuming he has not been sentenced for a criminal offence.
I'd say 18, make it he or she, and remove the criminal offence part.
Representatives of the people shall be paid so that workers may also sit in the parliament of the German people.
No to this - unelected representatives are accountable to nobody.
Universal arming of the people. In future armies shall at the same time be workers’ armies so that the armed forces will not only consume, as in the past, but produce even more than it costs to maintain them.
Absolutely not. Arming the entire population sounds like complete insanity.
Maintenance of justice shall be free of charge.
Depends exactly what is meant by that - certainly I don't think people should have to pay for the police to uphold the law and I think there should be some form of legal support so that those who cannot afford lawyers can still have competent representation when they need it.
All feudal burdens, all fees, labour services, tithes etc. which have previously oppressed the peasantry shall be abolished without any compensation.
Agreed
All baronial and other feudal estates, all mines, pits etc. shall be converted into state property. On these estates agriculture shall be practised on a large scale and with the most modern scientific tools for the benefit of all.
Depends on specifics, but generally, yes, I'd agree with this (although I'd also not want coal mining, etc, to be a mainstay of the economy given the environmental issues it causes)
The mortgages on peasant farms shall be declared state property. The interest for these mortgages shall be paid by the peasants to the state.
Not sure about this one. I don't have a problem with people having private property, as long as there are significant balances to protect the least fortunate through tax-funded national social programmes.
In the areas where leasing has developed the ground rent or lease payment shall be paid to the state as a tax.
Not sure I follow what this means. Is it saying that the state would become the landlord? Bit dubious about that, but it's hard to say.
All private banks will be replaced by a state bank whose bonds will have the character of legal tender.
No, don't agree with this. Having a range of competing banks seems better to me, as long as there is also strong and enforced regulation of their practices.
All means of transport: railways, canals, steamships, roads, posts etc. shall be taken in hand by the state. They shall be converted into state property and made available free of charge to the class without financial resources.
Certainly in favour of national infrastructure being nationalised, and of either free or heavily subsided use for those who need it. Although that could be hard to establish in a cost effective way, so perhaps just universal subsidy instead of means-tested.
In the remuneration of all civil servants there shall be no difference except that those with a family, i.e. with greater needs, shall also receive a larger salary than the others.
Feels unlikely to work IMO - firstly because you'd not be paying more senior people more, even though they'd be taking on more work/responsibility, and partly because I don't think it's government's job to incentivise having larger families.
Complete separation of church and state. The clergy of all denominations shall only be paid by their own voluntary congregations.
Agreed.
Limitation of inheritance.
Depends on the type of limitation - taxation, yes, absolute limits, no.
Introduction of strongly progressive taxes and abolition of taxes on consumption.
In general, yes, but it's a bit vague this.
Establishment of national workshops. The state shall guarantee the livelihood of all workers and provide for those unable to work.
Second part, definitely. Not sure about the guarantee of livelihood, feels like it would be bad for productivity and innovation. Again though, it's a bit vague to really say.
Universal free education of the people.
Yes. And healthcare too.
Agree on this idea, but I am a bit confused by the way the original demand was worded. Is it suggesting that workers deserve to occupy otherwise elected seats, or simply that workers be allowed to attend sessions of government as an audience? I'd agree with the latter.
This one is saying not that the state owns the property, but that they take over the mortgage. They'd "own" it in the sense that banks own the properties they provide mortgages for and can thereby seize them for lack of payment, though they don't own everything in it. Following the later suggestion where the state takes over the banks, they would logically be the ones to take over the mortgages owned by those banks. Presumably, once the worker who "owns" the property has paid off the mortgage, they would then own the property in full as private property.
Think of it like insurance. If you work at a mine but the mine goes dry, the government will help you find a new job and pay you unemployment to make sure you don't go under due to factors beyond your control. Presumably, with these being "national workshops", they believe state operation of the industry will reduce the need to bail out businesses for bad practices/mass layoffs if it is going to end up costing the state either way.