Perhaps I misunderstood. My take-away was that, if he truly believed in Communist principles, he would give his money away. The fact that he didn't, shows his party affiliation wasn't a principled stance. I can acknowledge there are other more pragmatic motivators for being a Communist/Ba'athist/[insert political party of choice here].

I'm certainly not making a case for Communism. Again, it's telling that that is the lens you view these discussion through.

My lens is pretty transparent(!). I've baldly stated it several times. I make no secret of my world view.

This is true. My point is not everything should be shoehorned into that dynamic. It’s not unlike when someone twists any misgiving into evidence of their pet cause, whether it’s racism, statism, misogyny, etc. The existence of those doesn’t mean every bad thing in society should be attributed to them.