Dr. Paul Kengor at the Heritage Foundation, June 4, 2026/By Patricia Leslie
The program was billed as "Communism at America 250," the third annual Lee Edwards Lecture in Conservative Leadership at the Heritage Foundation.
Dr. Paul Kengor spoke on the principles of Marxism versus Conservatism.
He rarely used the word "communism" other than to say (a couple of times) that communists do not permit elections.
Dr. Lee Edwards's daughter, Dr. Elizabeth Edwards Spalding, the chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, served as moderator.
Dr. Paul Kengor and Dr. Elizabeth Edwards Spalding at the Heritage Foundation, June 4, 2026/By Patricia Leslie
Dr. Kengor is the author of 20 books, including The Devil and Karl Marx, and teaches separate classes on Marxism and Conservatism at Grove City College, both, quite popular classes, it seemed from his remarks.He began his talk with Gallup statistics which says that 67% of American college students have a positive or neutral attitude towards socialism while only 40% have a positive view of capitalism.
Dr. Paul Kengor at the Heritage Foundation, June 4, 2026/By Patricia Leslie
No two philosophies present a clearer contrast than Marxism and Conservatism, he said, describing Marxism in one sentence: “the abolition of private property” requiring “gulags and guns to take away."
He presented a 10-point plan of Marxism, and said, with the assistance of a student, he had conducted a content analysis of the Communist Manifesto. 1998 was the 150th anniversary of its publication.
In their study, they never found the word "love," but they found the most popular word to be "abolition" as in, Marxism seeks to take away inheritances and spread population so that people are equally distributed between town and country.
Marxism requires a forcible withdrawal of all existing social conditions to achieve its goals, including the necessity of separating children from parents.
“Communism begins where atheism begins“ and "it's hard to be a conservative if you are an atheist."
He featured Ronald Reagan and the principles of conservatism which is the opposite of progressivism.
While conservatives believe in an enduring moral order, progressives believe in an evolving moral order. The principles of conservatism are unchanging.
Reagan believed that “every person is a sacred reality and the individual is superior to the state.”
Republicans are grounded by moral laws.
Reagan was pictured on the big screen with some of his famous quotes, followed by photos and quotes of Russell Kirk, Edmund Burke, and G.K. Chesterton.
In the question and answer session, Dr. Spalding said conservative curriculum has been developed for elementary through college level students.
That's where the Heritage Foundation comes in, according to Kengor, because it comes down to "education and education and education."
The first time Trump’s name came up was when Kengor talked about the likeability of Ronald Reagan and how happy he was. Reagan was not an angry man; he was not hated by the majority and he carried 49 of 50 states in 1984.
Trump’s name came up again when Kengor quoted Reagan‘s “peace through strength“ which he said Trump uses a lot.
Surprisingly, the speaker devoted quite a bit of time to Pope Leo XIV whom he called a Republican but, when it comes to peace and the pope's opposition to war, well, maybe he's a liberal in that aspect, after all.
He said 108 of the 133 electors voted for Pope Leo (a confidential number, he said). The Catholics wanted a return to normalcy, while the Italians favored Leo because he was “the least American of Americans.”
Dr. Paul Kengor at the Heritage Foundation, June 4, 2026/By Patricia Leslie
Dr. Spalding invited all present to a candlelight vigil and the third sponsored anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre at Massachusetts and New Jersey avenues at 8 p.m. that night (June 4).
A reception with beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres followed the presentation. Security was tight.
From its press release: "The Heritage Foundation established the annual Lee Edwards Lecture in recognition of Dr. Edwards’s long service as a Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought at The Heritage Foundation, during which he wrote most of his 25 books about the leading individuals and institutions of the modern conservative movement. In addition to biographies of President Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley Jr. and Edwin Meese III, Dr. Edwards wrote histories of The Heritage Foundation, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and the conservative movement."
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