BIBLIOGRAPHY Sympathetic and favorable expositions: THOMPSON, Constructive Programme of Socialism. Milwaukee, 1908. New York, 1909. MANN, Import and Outlook of Socialism. Boston, 1910. BAX, Ethics of Socialism, "Social Science Series," 1907. BEBEL, Woman under Socialism. New York, 1910. GHENT, Mass and Class. New York, 1905. Critical and hostile : WILSON, The Menace of Socialism. New York, 1909.. MALLOCK, A Critical Examination of Socialism. New York, 1907. The Case against Socialism: a Handbook for Speakers and Candidates. New York, 1909. LE ROSSIGNOL, Orthodox Socialism: a Criticism. New York, 1907. KOREN, Economic Aspects of the Liquor Problem. Boston, 1889. HOPKINS, Wealth and Waste. New York, 1902. WARNER, Social Welfare and the Liquor Problem. New York, 1909. REEVE, The Cost of Competition. New York, 1906. GILMAN, Women and Economics. New York, 1902. VIII THE IDEALS OF SOCIALISM ARE THEY PRACTICABLE? I SOCIAL discontent, properly understood, is a symptom of social health, an index of the progress of mankind. The man of to-day is a larger man than the man of fifty years ago; he is more intelligent, he is more aspiring; as a member of a more complex society, he has more wants and is dissatisfied with a standard of living that would have more than satisfied his grandfather. What makes his discontent acute is his perception of the fact that, under present industrial conditions, no effort of his can make possible to the average man the reasonable satisfaction of his new wants. Our newspaper humorists jest at the man who has "champagne tastes and a beer income," but the jocular phrase aptly describes the larger part of society to-day — all, in fact, but those who have the wealth to buy the "champagne.' The progress of civilization has consisted in the attainment of greater liberty, the successful effort of man to free himself from the restraints by which he finds himself surrounded restraints of physical environment, restraints from his fellows, restraints of ignorance. He has progressed in civilization as he has conquered nature, established social order, and gained knowledge. With the conquest of nature has come leisure, order has given security, knowledge makes culture possible. Leisure, security, and culture are the ideals of civilization. But as yet these blessings are very imperfectly possessed, and very inequally distributed so far as possessed. Leisure is the possession only of the idle rich and the idle poor; security is the possession of any only in a relative degree; culture is possible only to the favored few. No liberty is worth having that does not bestow all three upon all. Socialism has as its ideal, in a word, the completion of what civilization has only well begun. The present great obstacle to further progress, socialists find in Capitalism, and the competitive system that Capitalism implies and compels. Society has been struggling for ages towards the complete elimination of private war, of personal strife among men, and the attainment of absolute security of person from violence and property from robbery. The age-long struggle is not yet crowned with entire success, but, as compared with the state of barbarism from which mankind has risen, the end has been measurably attained; what we call law and order has taken the place of constant strife and violence and robbery. But society has permitted strife to continue between men in the realm of industry, and has even encouraged it. While personal violence was condemned from prehistoric times, and private war was allowed only during the prevalence of feudalism, and now the educated Christian conscience declares that even international war is wrong, industrial war is declared by that same conscience to be not only right but necessary, and even laudable. The majority of Christians refuse to believe that any better system is possible. Society exists for the development of the race by mutual aid and coöperation. Competition is therefore necessarily antisocial.1 Society strives for the greatest good of all; competition means the greatest good of the smallest number. Competition inevitably makes for the things that disintegrate society and hinder the upward march of humanity. It is the flat denial of the Golden Rule. No Christian can defend competition without intellectual and moral hara-kiri. And the antichristian and antisocial character of competition is equalled only by its anti-economic character. The iniquity of Capitalism, even as described by its severest critics, is surpassed by its stupidity. For the competitive system is a system of wanton wastefulness. The only possible way by which a community can learn that it does not need more of a certain article is by producing more than it needs, and the process of learning drives employers into bankruptcy and employees into want. "Business" is nothing more than a gigantic gamble. For this rule-of-thumb method Socialism proposes to substitute scientific methods: the definite ascertainment of the needs of the community, and the adjustment of production to need. Over-production, in any embarrassing sense, would be impossible under Socialism; because, though an exact adjustment of production to need would not be possible, any surplus of production in any single line during one year would be relatively small, and could mean only so much accumulated wealth for the whole community, and therefore so much less labor required in that line for the coming year. The waste of human energy and the cost of human agony that are inseparable 1 This applies to all forms of hostile competition. Emulative competition is wholesome and ethical, and society should encourage it. T |