How did we get here?

Karl Marx was paid by the "League of the Just" (later named the "Communist League") in 1847 to write the Communist Manifesto and paid again to rewrite it in 1848. The Manifesto was intended to incite violent revolution, was a recipe for tyranny itself, and was later used as propaganda (a 'glorious goal' to believe in) to blind followers to the realities of the brutal dictatorships that oppressed all workers and slaughtered millions under Communist rule.  Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and Mao's "Little Red Book" served similar evil and deadly purposes. Many dictators throughout history and today attempt to disguise their tyranny with fancy labels and phony philosophies to make slavery seem somehow just and essential--another example was the earlier doctrine of "divine rule of kings." These 10 steps are just a part of the Manifesto, the full text of which can be found on the web.

Western nations including the United States have gradually implemented virtually all of Marx's 10 key steps toward creating a dictatorship. What are some examples you can find?  

Karl Marx's "10 Planks" to seize power and destroy freedom:

1. Abolition of Property in Land and Application of all Rents of Land to Public Purpose.
2. A Heavy Progressive or Graduated Income Tax.
3. Abolition of All Rights of Inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the Property of All Emigrants and Rebels.
5. Centralization of Credit in the Hands of the State, by means of a National Bank with State Capital and an Exclusive Monopoly.
6. Centralization of the Means of Communication and Transport in the Hands of the State.
7. Extension of Factories and Instruments of Production Owned by the State, the Bringing into Cultivation of Waste Lands, and the Improvement of the Soil Generally in Accordance with a Common Plan.
8. Equal Liability of All to Labor. Establishment of Industrial Armies, Especially for Agriculture.
9. Combination of Agriculture with Manufacturing Industries; Gradual Abolition of the Distinction Between Town and Country by a More Equable Distribution of the Population over the Country.
10. Free Education for All Children in Public Schools. Abolition of Children's Factory Labor in its Present Form. Combination of Education with Industrial Production.

Proletariat - The poorest class of working people.