The Dalai Lama identified himself as a Marxist during a speech in India about the need for world peace.
“We must have a human approach,” he said, while delivering remarks for his “A Human Approach to World Peace” lecture for the Presidency University, Newsweek reported. “As far as socioeconomic theory, I am Marxist.”
He also went on to blame capitalism for the world’s ills.
“In capitalist countries, there is an increasing gap between the rich and poor,” he said, Newsweek reported. “In Marxism, there is emphasis on equal distribution … [and] many Marxist leaders are now capitalists in their thinking.”
It’s not the first time the Dalai Lama has claimed a Marxist bent.
In 2011, he said before a conference crowd in Minneapolis: “I consider myself a Marxist … but not a Leninist.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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