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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:15:33 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:15:33 -0700 |
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diff --git a/690-h/690-h.htm b/690-h/690-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed0437b --- /dev/null +++ b/690-h/690-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5822 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> + <title> + Proposed Roads to Freedom, by Bertrand Russell + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + body { margin:15%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-align: justify; font-size: 80%; font-style: italic;} + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + .xx-small {font-size: 60%;} + .x-small {font-size: 75%;} + .small {font-size: 85%;} + .large {font-size: 115%;} + .x-large {font-size: 130%;} + .indent5 { margin-left: 5%;} + .indent10 { margin-left: 10%;} + .indent15 { margin-left: 15%;} + .indent20 { margin-left: 20%;} + .indent25 { margin-left: 25%;} + .indent30 { margin-left: 30%;} + .indent35 { margin-left: 35%;} + .indent40 { margin-left: 40%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: 0.6em; + font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; + text-align: right; background-color: #FFFACD; + border: 1px solid; padding: 0.3em;text-indent: 0em;} + .side { float: left; font-size: 75%; width: 15%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + .head { float: left; font-size: 90%; width: 98%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0} + span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 0.8 } + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PROPOSED ROADS TO FREEDOM ***</div> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + PROPOSED ROADS TO FREEDOM + </h1> + <h2> + By Bertrand Russell + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_PART2"> PART I — HISTORICAL </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I — MARX AND SOCIALIST DOCTRINE + </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II — BAKUNIN AND ANARCHISM </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III — THE SYNDICALIST REVOLT </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_PART"> PART II — PROBLEMS OF THE FUTURE </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV — WORK AND PAY </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V — GOVERNMENT AND LAW </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI — INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII — SCIENCE AND ART UNDER + SOCIALISM </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII — THE WORLD AS IT COULD BE + MADE </a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_FOOT"> FOOTNOTES: </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION + </h2> + <p> + THE attempt to conceive imaginatively a better ordering of human society + than the destructive and cruel chaos in which mankind has hitherto existed + is by no means modern: it is at least as old as Plato, whose "Republic" + set the model for the Utopias of subsequent philosophers. Whoever + contemplates the world in the light of an ideal—whether what he + seeks be intellect, or art, or love, or simple happiness, or all together—must + feel a great sorrow in the evils that men needlessly allow to continue, + and—if he be a man of force and vital energy—an urgent desire + to lead men to the realization of the good which inspires his creative + vision. It is this desire which has been the primary force moving the + pioneers of Socialism and Anarchism, as it moved the inventors of ideal + commonwealths in the past. In this there is nothing new. What is new in + Socialism and Anarchism, is that close relation of the ideal to the + present sufferings of men, which has enabled powerful political movements + to grow out of the hopes of solitary thinkers. It is this that makes + Socialism and Anarchism important, and it is this that makes them + dangerous to those who batten, consciously or unconsciously upon the evils + of our present order of society. + </p> + <p> + The great majority of men and women, in ordinary times, pass through life + without ever contemplating or criticising, as a whole, either their own + conditions or those of the world at large. They find themselves born into + a certain place in society, and they accept what each day brings forth, + without any effort of thought beyond what the immediate present requires. + Almost as instinctively as the beasts of the field, they seek the + satisfaction of the needs of the moment, without much forethought, and + without considering that by sufficient effort the whole conditions of + their lives could be changed. A certain percentage, guided by personal + ambition, make the effort of thought and will which is necessary to place + themselves among the more fortunate members of the community; but very few + among these are seriously concerned to secure for all the advantages which + they seek for themselves. It is only a few rare and exceptional men who + have that kind of love toward mankind at large that makes them unable to + endure patiently the general mass of evil and suffering, regardless of any + relation it may have to their own lives. These few, driven by sympathetic + pain, will seek, first in thought and then in action, for some way of + escape, some new system of society by which life may become richer, more + full of joy and less full of preventable evils than it is at present. But + in the past such men have, as a rule, failed to interest the very victims + of the injustices which they wished to remedy. The more unfortunate + sections of the population have been ignorant, apathetic from excess of + toil and weariness, timorous through the imminent danger of immediate + punishment by the holders of power, and morally unreliable owing to the + loss of self-respect resulting from their degradation. To create among + such classes any conscious, deliberate effort after general amelioration + might have seemed a hopeless task, and indeed in the past it has generally + proved so. But the modern world, by the increase of education and the rise + in the standard of comfort among wage-earners, has produced new + conditions, more favorable than ever before to the demand for radical + reconstruction. It is above all the Socialists, and in a lesser degree the + Anarchists (chiefly as the inspirers of Syndicalism), who have become the + exponents of this demand. + </p> + <p> + What is perhaps most remarkable in regard to both Socialism and Anarchism + is the association of a widespread popular movement with ideals for a + better world. The ideals have been elaborated, in the first instance, by + solitary writers of books, and yet powerful sections of the wage-earning + classes have accepted them as their guide in the practical affairs of the + world. In regard to Socialism this is evident; but in regard to Anarchism + it is only true with some qualification. Anarchism as such has never been + a widespread creed, it is only in the modified form of Syndicalism that it + has achieved popularity. Unlike Socialism and Anarchism, Syndicalism is + primarily the outcome, not of an idea, but of an organization: the fact of + Trade Union organization came first, and the ideas of Syndicalism are + those which seemed appropriate to this organization in the opinion of the + more advanced French Trade Unions. But the ideas are, in the main, derived + from Anarchism, and the men who gained acceptance for them were, for the + most part, Anarchists. Thus we may regard Syndicalism as the Anarchism of + the market-place as opposed to the Anarchism of isolated individuals which + had preserved a precarious life throughout the previous decades. Taking + this view, we find in Anarchist-Syndicalism the same combination of ideal + and organization as we find in Socialist political parties. It is from + this standpoint that our study of these movements will be undertaken. + </p> + <p> + Socialism and Anarchism, in their modern form, spring respectively from + two protagonists, Marx and Bakunin, who fought a lifelong battle, + culminating in a split in the first International. We shall begin our + study with these two men—first their teaching, and then the + organizations which they founded or inspired. This will lead us to the + spread of Socialism in more recent years, and thence to the Syndicalist + revolt against Socialist emphasis on the State and political action, and + to certain movements outside France which have some affinity with + Syndicalism— notably the I. W. W. in America and Guild Socialism in + England. From this historical survey we shall pass to the consideration of + some of the more pressing problems of the future, and shall try to decide + in what respects the world would be happier if the aims of Socialists or + Syndicalists were achieved. + </p> + <p> + My own opinion—which I may as well indicate at the outset—is + that pure Anarchism, though it should be the ultimate ideal, to which + society should continually approximate, is for the present impossible, and + would not survive more than a year or two at most if it were adopted. On + the other hand, both Marxian Socialism and Syndicalism, in spite of many + drawbacks, seem to me calculated to give rise to a happier and better + world than that in which we live. I do not, however, regard either of them + as the best practicable system. Marxian Socialism, I fear, would give far + too much power to the State, while Syndicalism, which aims at abolishing + the State, would, I believe, find itself forced to reconstruct a central + authority in order to put an end to the rivalries of different groups of + producers. The BEST practicable system, to my mind, is that of Guild + Socialism, which concedes what is valid both in the claims of the State + Socialists and in the Syndicalist fear of the State, by adopting a system + of federalism among trades for reasons similar to those which are + recommending federalism among nations. The grounds for these conclusions + will appear as we proceed. + </p> + <p> + Before embarking upon the history of recent movements In favor of radical + reconstruction, it will be worth while to consider some traits of + character which distinguish most political idealists, and are much + misunderstood by the general public for other reasons besides mere + prejudice. I wish to do full justice to these reasons, in order to show + the more effectually why they ought not to be operative. + </p> + <p> + The leaders of the more advanced movements are, in general, men of quite + unusual disinterestedness, as is evident from a consideration of their + careers. Although they have obviously quite as much ability as many men + who rise to positions of great power, they do not themselves become the + arbiters of contemporary events, nor do they achieve wealth or the + applause of the mass of their contemporaries. Men who have the capacity + for winning these prizes, and who work at least as hard as those who win + them, but deliberately adopt a line which makes the winning of them + impossible, must be judged to have an aim in life other than personal + advancement; whatever admixture of self-seeking may enter into the detail + of their lives, their fundamental motive must be outside Self. The + pioneers of Socialism, Anarchism, and Syndicalism have, for the most part, + experienced prison, exile, and poverty, deliberately incurred because they + would not abandon their propaganda; and by this conduct they have shown + that the hope which inspired them was not for themselves, but for mankind. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, though the desire for human welfare is what at bottom + determines the broad lines of such men's lives, it often happens that, in + the detail of their speech and writing, hatred is far more visible than + love. The impatient idealist—and without some impatience a man will + hardly prove effective—is almost sure to be led into hatred by the + oppositions and disappointments which he encounters in his endeavors to + bring happiness to the world. The more certain he is of the purity of his + motives and the truth of his gospel, the more indignant he will become + when his teaching is rejected. Often he will successfully achieve an + attitude of philosophic tolerance as regards the apathy of the masses, and + even as regards the whole-hearted opposition of professed defenders of the + status quo. But the men whom he finds it impossible to forgive are those + who profess the same desire for the amelioration of society as he feels + himself, but who do not accept his method of achieving this end. The + intense faith which enables him to withstand persecution for the sake of + his beliefs makes him consider these beliefs so luminously obvious that + any thinking man who rejects them must be dishonest, and must be actuated + by some sinister motive of treachery to the cause. Hence arises the spirit + of the sect, that bitter, narrow orthodoxy which is the bane of those who + hold strongly to an unpopular creed. So many real temptations to treachery + exist that suspicion is natural. And among leaders, ambition, which they + mortify in their choice of a career, is sure to return in a new form: in + the desire for intellectual mastery and for despotic power within their + own sect. From these causes it results that the advocates of drastic + reform divide themselves into opposing schools, hating each other with a + bitter hatred, accusing each other often of such crimes as being in the + pay of the police, and demanding, of any speaker or writer whom they are + to admire, that he shall conform exactly to their prejudices, and make all + his teaching minister to their belief that the exact truth is to be found + within the limits of their creed. The result of this state of mind is + that, to a casual and unimaginative attention, the men who have sacrificed + most through the wish to benefit mankind APPEAR to be actuated far more by + hatred than by love. And the demand for orthodoxy is stifling to any free + exercise of intellect. This cause, as well as economic prejudice, has made + it difficult for the "intellectuals" to co-operate prac- tically with the + more extreme reformers, however they may sympathize with their main + purposes and even with nine-tenths of their program. + </p> + <p> + Another reason why radical reformers are misjudged by ordinary men is that + they view existing society from outside, with hostility towards its + institutions. Although, for the most part, they have more belief than + their neighbors in human nature's inherent capacity for a good life, they + are so conscious of the cruelty and oppression resulting from existing + institutions that they make a wholly misleading impression of cynicism. + Most men have instinctively two entirely different codes of behavior: one + toward those whom they regard as companions or colleagues or friends, or + in some way members of the same "herd"; the other toward those whom they + regard as enemies or outcasts or a danger to society. Radical reformers + are apt to concentrate their attention upon the behavior of society toward + the latter class, the class of those toward whom the "herd" feels + ill-will. This class includes, of course, enemies in war, and criminals; + in the minds of those who consider the preservation of the existing order + essential to their own safety or privileges, it includes all who advocate + any great political or economic change, and all classes which, through + their poverty or through any other cause, are likely to feel a dangerous + degree of discontent. The ordinary citizen probably seldom thinks about + such individuals or classes, and goes through life believing that he and + his friends are kindly people, because they have no wish to injure those + toward whom they entertain no group-hostility. But the man whose attention + is fastened upon the relations of a group with those whom it hates or + fears will judge quite differently. In these relations a surprising + ferocity is apt to be developed, and a very ugly side of human nature + comes to the fore. The opponents of capitalism have learned, through the + study of certain historical facts, that this ferocity has often been shown + by the capitalists and by the State toward the wage-earning classes, + particularly when they have ventured to protest against the unspeakable + suffering to which industrialism has usually condemned them. Hence arises + a quite different attitude toward existing society from that of the + ordinary well-to-do citizen: an attitude as true as his, perhaps also as + untrue, but equally based on facts, facts concerning his relations to his + enemies instead of to his friends. + </p> + <p> + The class-war, like wars between nations, produces two opposing views, + each equally true and equally untrue. The citizen of a nation at war, when + he thinks of his own countrymen, thinks of them primarily as he has + experienced them, in dealings with their friends, in their family + relations, and so on. They seem to him on the whole kindly, decent folk. + But a nation with which his country is at war views his compatriots + through the medium of a quite different set of experiences: as they appear + in the ferocity of battle, in the invasion and subjugation of a hostile + territory, or in the chicanery of a juggling diplomacy. The men of whom + these facts are true are the very same as the men whom their compatriots + know as husbands or fathers or friends, but they are judged differently + because they are judged on different data. And so it is with those who + view the capitalist from the standpoint of the revolutionary wage-earner: + they appear inconceivably cynical and misjudging to the capitalist, + because the facts upon which their view is based are facts which he either + does not know or habitually ignores. Yet the view from the outside is just + as true as the view from the inside. Both are necessary to the complete + truth; and the Socialist, who emphasizes the outside view, is not a cynic, + but merely the friend of the wage-earners, maddened by the spectacle of + the needless misery which capitalism inflicts upon them. + </p> + <p> + I have placed these general reflections at the beginning of our study, in + order to make it clear to the reader that, whatever bitterness and hate + may be found in the movements which we are to examine, it is not + bitterness or hate, but love, that is their mainspring. It is difficult + not to hate those who torture the objects of our love. Though difficult, + it is not impossible; but it requires a breadth of outlook and a + comprehensiveness of understanding which are not easy to preserve amid a + desperate contest. If ultimate wisdom has not always been preserved by + Socialists and Anarchists, they have not differed in this from their + opponents; and in the source of their inspiration they have shown + themselves superior to those who acquiesce ignorantly or supinely in the + injustices and oppressions by which the existing system is preserved. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + PROPOSED ROADS TO FREEDOM: SOCIALISM, ANARCHISM AND SYNDICALISM + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART" id="link2H_PART"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART I — HISTORICAL + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I — MARX AND SOCIALIST DOCTRINE + </h2> + <p> + SOCIALISM, like everything else that is vital, is rather a tendency than a + strictly definable body of doctrine. A definition of Socialism is sure + either to include some views which many would regard as not Socialistic, + or to exclude others which claim to be included. But I think we shall come + nearest to the essence of Socialism by defining it as the advocacy of + communal ownership of land and capital. Communal ownership may mean + ownership by a democratic State, but cannot be held to include ownership + by any State which is not democratic. Communal ownership may also be + understood, as Anarchist Communism understands it, in the sense of + ownership by the free association of the men and women in a community + without those compulsory powers which are necessary to constitute a State. + Some Socialists expect communal ownership to arrive suddenly and + completely by a catastrophic revolution, while others expect it to come + gradually, first in one industry, then in another. Some insist upon the + necessity of completeness in the acquisition of land and capital by the + public, while others would be content to see lingering islands of private + ownership, provided they were not too extensive or powerful. What all + forms have in common is democracy and the abolition, virtual or complete, + of the present capitalistic system. The distinction between Socialists, + Anarchists and Syndicalists turns largely upon the kind of democracy which + they desire. Orthodox Socialists are content with parliamentary democracy + in the sphere of government, holding that the evils apparent in this form + of constitution at present would disappear with the disappearance of + capitalism. Anarchists and Syndicalists, on the other hand, object to the + whole parliamentary machinery, and aim at a different method of regulating + the political affairs of the community. But all alike are democratic in + the sense that they aim at abolishing every kind of privilege and every + kind of artificial inequality: all alike are champions of the wage- earner + in existing society. All three also have much in common in their economic + doctrine. All three regard capital and the wages system as a means of + exploiting the laborer in the interests of the possessing classes, and + hold that communal ownership, in one form or another, is the only means of + bringing freedom to the producers. But within the framework of this common + doctrine there are many divergences, and even among those who are strictly + to be called Socialists, there is a very considerable diversity of + schools. + </p> + <p> + Socialism as a power in Europe may be said to begin with Marx. It is true + that before his time there were Socialist theories, both in England and in + France. It is also true that in France, during the revolution of 1848, + Socialism for a brief period acquired considerable influence in the State. + But the Socialists who preceded Marx tended to indulge in Utopian dreams + and failed to found any strong or stable political party. To Marx, in + collaboration with Engels, are due both the formulation of a coherent body + of Socialist doctrine, sufficiently true or plausible to dominate the + minds of vast numbers of men, and the formation of the International + Socialist movement, which has continued to grow in all European countries + throughout the last fifty years. + </p> + <p> + In order to understand Marx's doctrine, it is necessary to know something + of the influences which formed his outlook. He was born in 1818 at Treves + in the Rhine Provinces, his father being a legal official, a Jew who had + nominally accepted Christianity. Marx studied jurisprudence, philosophy, + political economy and history at various German universities. In + philosophy he imbibed the doctrines of Hegel, who was then at the height + of his fame, and something of these doctrines dominated his thought + throughout his life. Like Hegel, he saw in history the development of an + Idea. He conceived the changes in the world as forming a logical + development, in which one phase passes by revolution into another, which + is its antithesis—a conception which gave to his views a certain + hard abstractness, and a belief in revolution rather than evolution. But + of Hegel's more definite doctrines Marx retained nothing after his youth. + He was recognized as a brilliant student, and might have had a prosperous + career as a professor or an official, but his interest in politics and his + Radical views led him into more arduous paths. Already in 1842 he became + editor of a newspaper, which was suppressed by the Prussian Government + early in the following year on account of its advanced opinions. This led + Marx to go to Paris, where he became known as a Socialist and acquired a + knowledge of his French predecessors.<a href="#linknote-1" + name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a> Here in the + year 1844 began his lifelong friendship with Engels, who had been hitherto + in business in Manchester, where he had become acquainted with English + Socialism and had in the main adopted its doctrines.<a href="#linknote-2" + name="linknoteref-2" id="linknoteref-2"><small>2</small></a> In 1845 Marx + was expelled from Paris and went with Engels to live in Brussels. There he + formed a German Working Men's Association and edited a paper which was + their organ. Through his activities in Brussels he became known to the + German Communist League in Paris, who, at the end of 1847, invited him and + Engels to draw up for them a manifesto, which appeared in January, 1848. + This is the famous "Communist Manifesto," in which for the first time + Marx's system is set forth. It appeared at a fortunate moment. In the + following month, February, the revolution broke out in Paris, and in March + it spread to Germany. Fear of the revolution led the Brussels Government + to expel Marx from Belgium, but the German revolution made it possible for + him to return to his own country. In Germany he again edited a paper, + which again led him into a conflict with the authorities, increasing in + severity as the reaction gathered force. In June, 1849, his paper was + suppressed, and he was expelled from Prussia. He returned to Paris, but + was expelled from there also. This led him to settle in England—at + that time an asylum for friends of freedom—and in England, with only + brief intervals for purposes of agitation, he continued to live until his + death in 1883. + </p> + <p> + The bulk of his time was occupied in the composition of his great book, + "Capital."<a href="#linknote-3" name="linknoteref-3" id="linknoteref-3"><small>3</small></a> + His other important work during his later years was the formation and + spread of the International Working Men's Association. From 1849 onward + the greater part of his time was spent in the British Museum, + accumulating, with German patience, the materials for his terrific + indictment of capitalist society, but he retained his hold on the + International Socialist movement. In several countries he had sons-in-law + as lieutenants, like Napoleon's brothers, and in the various internal + contests that arose his will generally prevailed. + </p> + <p> + The most essential of Marx's doctrines may be reduced to three: first, + what is called the material- istic interpretation of history; second, the + law of the concentration of capital; and, third, the class-war. + </p> + <p> + 1. The Materialistic Interpretation of History.— Marx holds that in + the main all the phenomena of human society have their origin in material + conditions, and these he takes to be embodied in economic systems. + Political constitutions, laws, religions, philosophies—all these he + regards as, in their broad outlines, expressions of the economic regime in + the society that gives rise to them. It would be unfair to represent him + as maintaining that the conscious economic motive is the only one of + importance; it is rather that economics molds character and opinion, and + is thus the prime source of much that appears in consciousness to have no + connection with them. He applies his doctrine in particular to two + revolutions, one in the past, the other in the future. The revolution in + the past is that of the bourgeoisie against feudalism, which finds its + expression, according to him, particularly in the French Revolution. The + one in the future is the revolution of the wage- earners, or proletariat, + against the bourgeoisie, which is to establish the Socialist Commonwealth. + The whole movement of history is viewed by him as necessary, as the effect + of material causes operating upon human beings. He does not so much + advocate the Socialist revolution as predict it. He holds, it is true, + that it will be beneficent, but he is much more concerned to prove that it + must inevitably come. The same sense of necessity is visible in his + exposition of the evils of the capitalist system. He does not blame + capitalists for the cruelties of which he shows them to have been guilty; + he merely points out that they are under an inherent necessity to behave + cruelly so long as private ownership of land and capital continues. But + their tyranny will not last forever, for it generates the forces that must + in the end overthrow it. + </p> + <p> + 2. The Law of the Concentration of Capital.— Marx pointed out that + capitalist undertakings tend to grow larger and larger. He foresaw the + substitution of trusts for free competition, and predicted that the number + of capitalist enterprises must diminish as the magnitude of single + enterprises increased. He supposed that this process must involve a + diminution, not only in the number of businesses, but also in the number + of capitalists. Indeed, he usually spoke as though each business were + owned by a single man. Accordingly, he expected that men would be + continually driven from the ranks of the capitalists into those of the + proletariat, and that the capitalists, in the course of time, would grow + numerically weaker and weaker. He applied this principle not only to + industry but also to agriculture. He expected to find the landowners + growing fewer and fewer while their estates grew larger and larger. This + process was to make more and more glaring the evils and injustices of the + capitalist system, and to stimulate more and more the forces of + opposition. + </p> + <p> + 3. The Class War.—Marx conceives the wage- earner and the capitalist + in a sharp antithesis. He imagines that every man is, or must soon become, + wholly the one or wholly the other. The wage- earner, who possesses + nothing, is exploited by the capitalists, who possess everything. As the + capitalist system works itself out and its nature becomes more clear, the + opposition of bourgeoisie and proletariat becomes more and more marked. + The two classes, since they have antagonistic interests, are forced into a + class war which generates within the capitalist regime internal forces of + disruption. The working men learn gradually to combine against their + exploiters, first locally, then nationally, and at last internationally. + When they have learned to combine internationally they must be victorious. + They will then decree that all land and capital shall be owned in common; + exploitation will cease; the tyranny of the owners of wealth will no + longer be possible; there will no longer be any division of society into + classes, and all men will be free. + </p> + <p> + All these ideas are already contained in the "Communist Manifesto," a work + of the most amazing vigor and force, setting forth with terse compression + the titanic forces of the world, their epic battle, and the inevitable + consummation. This work is of such importance in the development of + Socialism and gives such an admirable statement of the doctrines set forth + at greater length and with more pedantry in "Capital," that its salient + passages must be known by anyone who wishes to understand the hold which + Marxian Socialism has acquired over the intellect and imagination of a + large proportion of working-class leaders. + </p> + <p> + "A spectre is haunting Europe," it begins, "the spectre of Communism. All + the Powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise + this spectre—Pope and Czar, Metternich and Guizot, French Radicals + and German police-spies. Where is the party in opposition that has not + been decried as communistic by its opponents in power? Where the + Opposition that has not hurled back the branding reproach of Communism + against the more advanced opposition parties, as well as against its + re-actionary adversaries?" + </p> + <p> + The existence of a class war is nothing new: "The history of all hitherto + existing society is the history of class struggles." In these struggles + the fight "each time ended, either in a revolutionary re-constitution of + society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes." + </p> + <p> + "Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie . . . has simplified the class + antagonisms. Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two + great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: + Bourgeoisie and Proletariat." Then follows a history of the fall of + feudalism, leading to a description of the bourgeoisie as a revolutionary + force. "The bourgeoisie, historically, has played a most revolutionary + part." "For exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it + has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation." "The need + of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie + over the whole surface of the globe." "The bourgeoisie, during its rule of + scarce one hundred years, has created more massive and more colossal + productive forces than have all preceding generations together." Feudal + relations became fetters: "They had to be burst asunder; they were burst + asunder. . . . A similar movement is going on before our own eyes." "The + weapons with which the bourgeoisie felled feudalism to the ground are now + turned against the bourgeoisie itself. But not only has the bourgoisie + forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has also called into + existence the men who are to wield those weapons— the modern working + class—the proletarians." + </p> + <p> + The cause of the destitution of the proletariat are then set forth. "The + cost of production of a workman is restricted, almost entirely, to the + means of subsistence that he requires for his maintenance and for the + propagation of his race. But the price of a commodity, and therefore also + of labor, is equal to its cost of production. In proportion, therefore, as + the repulsiveness of the work increases, the wage decreases. Nay more, in + proportion as the use of machinery and diversion of labor increases, in + the same proportion the burden of toil also increases." + </p> + <p> + "Modern industry has converted the little workshop of the patriarchal + master into the great factory of the industrial capitalist. Masses of + laborers, crowded into the factory, are organized like soldiers. As + privates of the industrial army they are placed under the command of a + perfect hierarchy of officers and sergeants. Not only are they slaves of + the bourgeois class, and of the bourgeois State, they are daily and hourly + enslaved by the machine, by the over-looker, and, above all, by the + individual bourgeois manufacturer himself. The more openly this despotism + proclaims gain to be its end and aim, the more petty, the more hateful, + and the more embittering it is." + </p> + <p> + The Manifesto tells next the manner of growth of the class struggle. "The + proletariat goes through various stages of development. With its birth + begins its struggle with the bourgeoisie. At first the contest is carried + on by individual laborers, then by the workpeople of a factory, then by + the operatives of one trade, in one locality, against the individual + bourgeois who directly exploits them. They direct their attacks not + against the bourgeois conditions of production, but against the + instruments of production themselves." + </p> + <p> + "At this stage the laborers still form an incoherent mass scattered over + the whole country, and broken up by their mutual competition. If anywhere + they unite to form more compact bodies, this is not yet the consequence of + their own active union, but of the union of the bourgeoisie, which class, + in order to attain its own political ends, is compelled to set the whole + proletariat in motion, and is moreover yet, for a time, able to do so." + </p> + <p> + "The collisions between individual workmen and individual bourgeois take + more and more the character of collisions between two classes. Thereupon + the workers begin to form combinations (Trades Unions) against the + bourgeois; they club together in order to keep up the rate of wages; they + found permanent associations in order to make provision beforehand for + these occasional revolts. Here and there the contest breaks out into + riots. Now and then the workers are victorious, but only for a time. The + real fruit of their battles lies, not in the immediate result, but in the + ever-expanding union of the workers. This union is helped on by the im- + proved means of communication that are created by modern industry, and + that place the workers of different localities in contact with one + another. It was just this contact that was needed to centralize the + numerous local struggles, all of the same character, into one national + struggle between classes. But every class struggle is a political + struggle. And that union, to attain which the burghers of the Middle Ages, + with their miserable highways, required centuries, the modern + proletarians, thanks to railways, achieve in a few years. This + organization of the proletarians into a class, and consequently into a + political party, is continually being upset again by the competition + between the workers themselves. But it ever rises up again, stronger, + firmer, mightier. It compels legislative recognition of particular + interests of the workers, by taking advantage of the divisions among the + bourgeoisie itself." + </p> + <p> + "In the conditions of the proletariat, those of old society at large are + already virtually swamped. The proletarian is without property; his + relation to his wife and children has no longer anything in common with + the bourgeois family-relations; modern industrial labor, modern subjection + to capital, the same in England as in France, in America as in Germany, + has stripped him of every trace of national character. Law, morality, + religion, are to him so many bourgeois prejudices, behind which lurk in + ambush just as many bourgeois interests. All the preceding classes that + got the upper hand, sought to fortify their already acquired status by + subjecting society at large to their conditions of appropriation. The + proletarians cannot become masters of the productive forces of society, + except by abolishing their own previous mode of appropriation, and thereby + also every other previous mode of appropriation. They have nothing of + their own to secure and to fortify; their mission is to destroy all + previous securities for, and insurances of, individual property. All + previous historical movements were movements of minorities, or in the + interest of minorities. The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, + independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the + immense majority. The proletariat, the lowest stratum of our present + society, cannot stir, cannot raise itself up, without the whole super- + incumbent strata of official society being sprung into the air." + </p> + <p> + The Communists, says Marx, stand for the proletariat as a whole. They are + international. "The Communists are further reproached with desiring to + abolish countries and nationality. The working men have no country. We + cannot take from them what they have not got." + </p> + <p> + The immediate aim of the Communists is the conquests of political power by + the proletariat. "The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the + single sentence: Abolition of private property." + </p> + <p> + The materialistic interpretation of history is used to answer such charges + as that Communism is anti-Christian. "The charges against Communism made + from a religious, a philosophical, and, generally, from an ideological + standpoint, are not deserving of serious examination. Does it require deep + intuition to comprehend that man's ideas, views and conceptions, in one + word, man's consciousness, changes with every change in the conditions of + his material existence, in his social relations, and in his social life?" + </p> + <p> + The attitude of the Manifesto to the State is not altogether easy to + grasp. "The executive of the modern State," we are told, "is but a + Committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie." + Nevertheless, the first step for the proletariat must be to acquire + control of the State. "We have seen above, that the first step in the + revolution by the working class, is to raise the proletariat to the + position of ruling class, to win the battle of democracy. The proletariat + will use its political supremacy to wrest, by degrees, all capital from + the bourgeoisie, to centralize all instruments of production in the hands + of the State, i.e., of the proletariat organized as the ruling class; and + to increase the total of productive forces as rapidly as possible." + </p> + <p> + The Manifesto passes on to an immediate program of reforms, which would in + the first instance much increase the power of the existing State, but it + is contended that when the Socialist revolution is accomplished, the + State, as we know it, will have ceased to exist. As Engels says elsewhere, + when the proletariat seizes the power of the State "it puts an end to all + differences of class and antagonisms of class, and consequently also puts + an end to the State as a State." Thus, although State Socialism might, in + fact, be the outcome of the proposals of Marx and Engels, they cannot + themselves be accused of any glorification of the State. + </p> + <p> + The Manifesto ends with an appeal to the wage- earners of the world to + rise on behalf of Communism. "The Communists disdain to conceal their + views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only + by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the + ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have + nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of + all countries, unite!" + </p> + <p> + In all the great countries of the Continent, except Russia, a revolution + followed quickly on the publication of the Communist Manifesto, but the + revolution was not economic or international, except at first in France. + Everywhere else it was inspired by the ideas of nationalism. Accordingly, + the rulers of the world, momentarily terrified, were able to recover power + by fomenting the enmities inherent in the nationalist idea, and + everywhere, after a very brief triumph, the revolution ended in war and + reaction. The ideas of the Communist Manifesto appeared before the world + was ready for them, but its authors lived to see the beginnings of the + growth of that Socialist movement in every country, which has pressed on + with increasing force, influencing Governments more and more, dominating + the Russian Revolution, and perhaps capable of achieving at no very + distant date that international triumph to which the last sentences of the + Manifesto summon the wage-earners of the world. + </p> + <p> + Marx's magnum opus, "Capital," added bulk and substance to the theses of + the Communist Manifesto. It contributed the theory of surplus value, which + professed to explain the actual mechanism of capitalist exploitation. This + doctrine is very complicated and is scarcely tenable as a contribution to + pure theory. It is rather to be viewed as a translation into abstract + terms of the hatred with which Marx regarded the system that coins wealth + out of human lives, and it is in this spirit, rather than in that of + disinterested analysis, that it has been read by its admirers. A critical + examination of the theory of surplus value would require much difficult + and abstract discussion of pure economic theory without having much + bearing upon the practical truth or falsehood of Socialism; it has + therefore seemed impossible within the limits of the present volume. To my + mind the best parts of the book are those which deal with economic facts, + of which Marx's knowledge was encyclopaedic. It was by these facts that he + hoped to instil into his disciples that firm and undying hatred that + should make them soldiers to the death in the class war. The facts which + he accumulates are such as are practically unknown to the vast majority of + those who live comfortable lives. They are very terrible facts, and the + economic system which generates them must be acknowledged to be a very + terrible system. A few examples of his choice of facts will serve to + explain the bitterness of many Socialists:— + </p> + <p> + Mr. Broughton Charlton, county magistrate, declared, as chairman of a + meeting held at the Assembly Rooms, Nottingham, on the 14th January, 1860, + "that there was an amount of privation and suffering among that portion of + the population connected with the lace trade, unknown in other parts of + the kingdom, indeed, in the civilized world. . . . Children of nine or ten + years are dragged from their squalid beds at two, three, or four o clock + in the morning and compelled to work for a bare subsistence until ten, + eleven, or twelve at night, their limbs wearing away, their frames + dwindling, their faces whitening, and their humanity absolutely sinking + into a stone-like torpor, utterly horrible to contemplate."<a + href="#linknote-4" name="linknoteref-4" id="linknoteref-4"><small>4</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Three railway men are standing before a London coroner's jury—a + guard, an engine-driver, a signalman. A tremendous railway accident has + hurried hundreds of passengers into another world. The negligence of the + employes is the cause of the misfortune. They declare with one voice + before the jury that ten or twelve years before, their labor only lasted + eight hours a day. During the last five or six years it had been screwed + up to 14, 18, and 20 hours, and under a specially severe pressure of + holiday-makers, at times of excursion trains, it often lasted 40 or 50 + hours without a break. They were ordinary men, not Cyclops. At a certain + point their labor-power failed. Torpor seized them. Their brain ceased to + think, their eyes to see. The thoroughly "respectable" British jurymen + answered by a verdict that sent them to the next assizes on a charge of + manslaughter, and, in a gentle "rider" to their verdict, expressed the + pious hope that the capitalistic magnates of the railways would, in + future, be more extravagant in the purchase of a sufficient quantity of + labor-power, and more "abstemious," more "self-denying," more "thrifty," + in the draining of paid labor-power.<a href="#linknote-5" + name="linknoteref-5" id="linknoteref-5"><small>5</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In the last week of June, 1863, all the London daily papers published a + paragraph with the "sensational" heading, "Death from simple over-work." + It dealt with the death of the milliner, Mary Anne Walkley, 20 years of + age, employed in a highly respectable dressmaking establishment, exploited + by a lady with the pleasant name of Elise. The old, often-told story was + once more recounted. This girl worked, on an average, 16 1/2 hours, during + the season often 30 hours, without a break, whilst her failing labor-power + was revived by occasional supplies of sherry, port, or coffee. It was just + now the height of the season. It was necessary to conjure up in the + twinkling of an eye the gorgeous dresses for the noble ladies bidden to + the ball in honor of the newly- imported Princess of Wales. Mary Anne + Walkley had worked without intermission for 26 1/2 hours, with 60 other + girls, 30 in one room, that only afforded 1/3 of the cubic feet of air + required for them. At night, they slept in pairs in one of the stifling + holes into which the bedroom was divided by partitions of board. And this + was one of the best millinery establishments in London. Mary Anne Walkley + fell ill on the Friday, died on Sunday, without, to the astonishment of + Madame Elise, having previously completed the work in hand. The doctor, + Mr. Keys, called too late to the death bed, duly bore witness before the + coroner's jury that "Mary Anne Walkley had died from long hours of work in + an over- crowded workroom, and a too small and badly ventilated bedroom." + In order to give the doctor a lesson in good manners, the coroner's jury + thereupon brought in a verdict that "the deceased had died of apoplexy, + but there was reason to fear that her death had been accelerated by + over-work in an over-crowded workroom, &c." "Our white slaves," cried + the "Morning Star," the organ of the free-traders, Cobden and Bright, "our + white slaves, who are toiled into the grave, for the most part silently + pine and die."<a href="#linknote-6" name="linknoteref-6" id="linknoteref-6"><small>6</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Edward VI: A statue of the first year of his reign, 1547, ordains that if + anyone refuses to work, he shall be condemned as a slave to the person who + has denounced him as an idler. The master shall feed his slave on bread + and water, weak broth and such refuse meat as he thinks fit. He has the + right to force him to do any work, no matter how disgusting, with whip and + chains. If the slave is absent a fortnight, he is condemned to slavery for + life and is to be branded on forehead or back with the letter S; if he + runs away thrice, he is to be executed as a felon. The master can sell + him, bequeath him, let him out on hire as a slave, just as any other + personal chattel or cattle. If the slaves attempt anything against the + masters, they are also to be executed. Justices of the peace, on + information, are to hunt the rascals down. If it happens that a vagabond + has been idling about for three days, he is to be taken to his birthplace, + branded with a redhot iron with the letter V on the breast and be set to + work, in chains, in the streets or at some other labor. If the vagabond + gives a false birthplace, he is then to become the slave for life of this + place, of its inhabitants, or its corporation, and to be branded with an + S. All persons have the right to take away the children of the vagabonds + and to keep them as apprentices, the young men until the 24th year, the + girls until the 20th. If they run away, they are to become up to this age + the slaves of their masters, who can put them in irons, whip them, &c., + if they like. Every master may put an iron ring around the neck, arms or + legs of his slave, by which to know him more easily and to be more certain + of him. The last part of this statute provides that certain poor people + may be employed by a place or by persons, who are willing to give them + food and drink and to find them work. This kind of parish-slaves was kept + up in England until far into the 19th century under the name of + "roundsmen."<a href="#linknote-7" name="linknoteref-7" id="linknoteref-7"><small>7</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Page after page and chapter after chapter of facts of this nature, each + brought up to illustrate some fatalistic theory which Marx professes to + have proved by exact reasoning, cannot but stir into fury any passionate + working-class reader, and into unbearable shame any possessor of capital + in whom generosity and justice are not wholly extinct. + </p> + <p> + Almost at the end of the volume, in a very brief chapter, called + "Historical Tendency of Capitalist Accumulation," Marx allows one moment's + glimpse of the hope that lies beyond the present horror:— + </p> + <p> + As soon as this process of transformation has sufficiently decomposed the + old society from top to bottom, as soon as the laborers are turned into + proletarians, their means of labor into capital, as soon as the capitalist + mode of production stands on its own feet, then the further socialization + of labor and further transformation of the land and other means of + production into so- cially exploited and, therefore, common means of + production, as well as the further expropriation of private proprietors, + takes a new form. That which is now to be expropriated is no longer the + laborer working for himself, but the capitalist exploiting many laborers. + This expropriation is accomplished by the action of the immanent laws of + capitalistic production itself, by the centralization of capital. One + capitalist always kills many, and in hand with this centralization, or + this expropriation of many capitalists by few, develop, on an ever + extending scale, the co-operative form of the labor-process, the conscious + technical application of science, the methodical cultivation of the soil, + the transformation of the instruments of labor into instruments of labor + only usable in common, the economizing of all means of production by their + use as the means of production of combined, socialized labor, the + entanglement of all peoples in the net of the world-market, and with this, + the international character of the capitalistic regime. Along with the + constantly diminishing number of the magnates of capital, who usurp and + monopolize all advantages of this process of transformation, grows the + mass of misery, oppression, slavery, degradation, exploitation; but with + this, too, grows the revolt of the working- class, a class always + increasing in numbers, and disciplined, united, organized by the very + mechanism of the process of capitalist production itself. The monopoly of + capital becomes a fetter upon the mode of production, which has sprung up + and flourished along with, and under it. Centralization of the means of + production and socialization of labor at last reach a point where they + become incompatible with their capitalist integument. This integument is + burst asunder. The knell of capitalist private property sounds. The + expropriators are expropriated,<a href="#linknote-8" name="linknoteref-8" + id="linknoteref-8"><small>8</small></a> + </p> + <p> + That is all. Hardly another word from beginning to end is allowed to + relieve the gloom, and in this relentless pressure upon the mind of the + reader lies a great part of the power which this book has acquired. + </p> + <p> + Two questions are raised by Marx's work: First, Are his laws of historical + development true? Second, Is Socialism desirable? The second of these + questions is quite independent of the first. Marx professes to prove that + Socialism must come, but scarcely concerns himself to argue that when it + comes it will be a good thing. It may be, however, that if it comes, it + will be a good thing, even though all Marx's arguments to prove that it + must come should be at fault. In actual fact, time has shown many flaws in + Marx's theories. The development of the world has been sufficiently like + his prophecy to prove him a man of very unusual penetration, but has not + been sufficiently like to make either political or economic history + exactly such as he predicted that it would be. Nationalism, so far from + diminishing, has increased, and has failed to be conquered by the + cosmopolitan tendencies which Marx rightly discerned in finance. Although + big businesses have grown bigger and have over a great area reached the + stage of monopoly, yet the number of shareholders in such enterprises is + so large that the actual number of individuals interested in the + capitalist system has continually increased. Moreover, though large firms + have grown larger, there has been a simultaneous increase in firms of + medium size. Meanwhile the wage-earners, who were, according to Marx, to + have remained at the bare level of subsistence at which they were in the + England of the first half of the nineteenth century, have instead profited + by the general increase of wealth, though in a lesser degree than the + capitalists. The supposed iron law of wages has been proved untrue, so far + as labor in civilized countries is concerned. If we wish now to find + examples of capitalist cruelty analogous to those with which Marx's book + is filled, we shall have to go for most of our material to the Tropics, or + at any rate to regions where there are men of inferior races to exploit. + Again: the skilled worker of the present day is an aristocrat in the world + of labor. It is a question with him whether he shall ally himself with the + unskilled worker against the capitalist, or with the capitalist against + the unskilled worker. Very often he is himself a capitalist in a small + way, and if he is not so individually, his trade union or his friendly + society is pretty sure to be so. Hence the sharpness of the class war has + not been maintained. There are gradations, intermediate ranks between rich + and poor, instead of the clear-cut logical antithesis between the workers + who have nothing and the capitalists who have all. Even in Germany, which + became the home of orthodox Marxianism and developed a powerful + Social-Democratic party, nominally accepting the doctrine of "Das Kapital" + as all but verbally inspired, even there the enormous increase of wealth + in all classes in the years preceding the war led Socialists to revise + their beliefs and to adopt an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary + attitude. Bernstein, a German Socialist who lived long in England, + inaugurated the "Revisionist" movement which at last conquered the bulk of + the party. His criticisms of Marxian orthodoxy are set forth in his + "Evolutionary Socialism."<a href="#linknote-9" name="linknoteref-9" + id="linknoteref-9"><small>9</small></a> Bernstein's work, as is common in + Broad Church writers, consists largely in showing that the Founders did + not hold their doctrines so rigidly as their followers have done. There is + much in the writings of Marx and Engels that cannot be fitted into the + rigid orthodoxy which grew up among their disciples. Bernstein's main + criticisms of these disciples, apart from such as we have already + mentioned, consist in a defense of piecemeal action as against revolution. + He protests against the attitude of undue hostility to Liberalism which is + common among Socialists, and he blunts the edge of the Internationalism + which undoubtedly is part of the teachings of Marx. The workers, he says, + have a Fatherland as soon as they become citizens, and on this basis he + defends that degree of nationalism which the war has since shown to be + prevalent in the ranks of Socialists. He even goes so far as to maintain + that European nations have a right to tropical territory owing to their + higher civilization. Such doctrines diminish revolutionary ardor and tend + to transform Socialists into a left wing of the Liberal Party. But the + increasing prosperity of wage-earners before the war made these + developments inevitable. Whether the war will have altered conditions in + this respect, it is as yet impossible to know. Bernstein concludes with + the wise remark that: "We have to take working men as they are. And they + are neither so universally paupers as was set out in the Communist + Manifesto, nor so free from prejudices and weaknesses as their courtiers + wish to make us believe." + </p> + <p> + In March, 1914, Bernstein delivered a lecture in Budapest in which he + withdrew from several of the positions he had taken up (vide Budapest + "Volkstimme," March 19, 1914). + </p> + <p> + Berstein represents the decay of Marxian orthodoxy from within. + Syndicalism represents an attack against it from without, from the + standpoint of a doctrine which professes to be even more radical and more + revolutionary than that of Marx and Engels. The attitude of Syndicalists + to Marx may be seen in Sorel's little book, "La Decomposition du + Marxisme," and in his larger work, "Reflections on Violence," authorized + translation by T. E. Hulme (Allen & Unwin, 1915). After quoting + Bernstein, with approval in so far as he criticises Marx, Sorel proceeds + to other criticisms of a different order. He points out (what is true) + that Marx's theoretical economics remain very near to Manchesterism: the + orthodox political economy of his youth was accepted by him on many points + on which it is now known to be wrong. According to Sorel, the really + essential thing in Marx's teaching is the class war. Whoever keeps this + alive is keeping alive the spirit of Socialism much more truly than those + who adhere to the letter of Social-Democratic orthodoxy. On the basis of + the class war, French Syndicalists developed a criticism of Marx which + goes much deeper than those that we have been hitherto considering. Marx's + views on historical development may have been in a greater or less degree + mistaken in fact, and yet the economic and political system which he + sought to create might be just as desirable as his followers suppose. + Syndicalism, however, criticises, not only Marx's views of fact, but also + the goal at which he aims and the general nature of the means which he + recommends. Marx's ideas were formed at a time when democracy did not yet + exist. It was in the very year in which "Das Kapital" appeared that urban + working men first got the vote in England and universal suffrage was + granted by Bismarck in Northern Germany. It was natural that great hopes + should be entertained as to what democracy would achieve. Marx, like the + orthodox economists, imagined that men's opinions are guided by a more or + less enlightened view of economic self-interest, or rather of economic + class interest. A long experience of the workings of political democracy + has shown that in this respect Disraeli and Bismarck were shrewder judges + of human nature than either Liberals or Socialists. It has become + increasingly difficult to put trust in the State as a means to liberty, or + in political parties as instruments sufficiently powerful to force the + State into the service of the people. The modern State, says Sorel, "is a + body of intellectuals, which is invested with privileges, and which + possesses means of the kind called political for defending itself against + the attacks made on it by other groups of intellectuals, eager to possess + the profits of public employment. Parties are constituted in order to + acquire the conquest of these employments, and they are analogous to the + State."<a href="#linknote-10" name="linknoteref-10" id="linknoteref-10"><small>10</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Syndicalists aim at organizing men, not by party, but by occupation. This, + they say, alone represents the true conception and method of the class + war. Accordingly they despise all POLITICAL action through the medium of + Parliament and elections: the kind of action that they recommend is direct + action by the revolutionary syndicate or trade union. The battle- cry of + industrial versus political action has spread far beyond the ranks of + French Syndicalism. It is to be found in the I. W. W. in America, and + among Industrial Unionists and Guild Socialists in Great Britain. Those + who advocate it, for the most part, aim also at a different goal from that + of Marx. They believe that there can be no adequate individual freedom + where the State is all-powerful, even if the State be a Socialist one. + Some of them are out-and- out Anarchists, who wish to see the State wholly + abolished; others only wish to curtail its authority. Owing to this + movement, opposition to Marx, which from the Anarchist side existed from + the first, has grown very strong. It is this opposition in its older form + that will occupy us in our next chapter. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II — BAKUNIN AND ANARCHISM + </h2> + <p> + IN the popular mind, an Anarchist is a person who throws bombs and commits + other outrages, either because he is more or less insane, or because he + uses the pretense of extreme political opinions as a cloak for criminal + proclivities. This view is, of course, in every way inadequate. Some + Anarchists believe in throwing bombs; many do not. Men of almost every + other shade of opinion believe in throwing bombs in suitable + circumstances: for example, the men who threw the bomb at Sarajevo which + started the present war were not Anarchists, but Nationalists. And those + Anarchists who are in favor of bomb-throwing do not in this respect differ + on any vital principle from the rest of the community, with the exception + of that infinitesimal portion who adopt the Tolstoyan attitude of + non-resistance. Anarchists, like Socialists, usually believe in the + doctrine of the class war, and if they use bombs, it is as Governments use + bombs, for purposes of war: but for every bomb manufactured by an + Anarchist, many millions are manufactured by Governments, and for every + man killed by Anarchist violence, many millions are killed by the violence + of States. We may, therefore, dismiss from our minds the whole question of + violence, which plays so large a part in the popular imagination, since it + is neither essential nor peculiar to those who adopt the Anarchist + position. + </p> + <p> + Anarchism, as its derivation indicates, is the theory which is opposed to + every kind of forcible government. It is opposed to the State as the + embodiment of the force employed in the government of the community. Such + government as Anarchism can tolerate must be free government, not merely + in the sense that it is that of a majority, but in the sense that it is + that assented to by all. Anarchists object to such institutions as the + police and the criminal law, by means of which the will of one part of the + community is forced upon another part. In their view, the democratic form + of government is not very enormously preferable to other forms so long as + minorities are compelled by force or its potentiality to submit to the + will of majorities. Liberty is the supreme good in the Anarchist creed, + and liberty is sought by the direct road of abolishing all forcible + control over the individual by the community. + </p> + <p> + Anarchism, in this sense, is no new doctrine. It is set forth admirably by + Chuang Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, who lived about the year 300 B. C.:— + </p> + <p> + Horses have hoofs to carry them over frost and snow; hair, to protect them + from wind and cold. They eat grass and drink water, and fling up their + heels over the champaign. Such is the real nature of horses. Palatial + dwellings are of no use to them. + </p> + <p> + One day Po Lo appeared, saying: "I understand the management of horses." + </p> + <p> + So he branded them, and clipped them, and pared their hoofs, and put + halters on them, tying them up by the head and shackling them by the feet, + and disposing them in stables, with the result that two or three in every + ten died. Then he kept them hungry and thirsty, trotting them and + galloping them, and grooming, and trimming, with the misery of the + tasselled bridle before and the fear of the knotted whip behind, until + more than half of them were dead. + </p> + <p> + The potter says: "I can do what I will with Clay. If I want it round, I + use compasses; if rectangular, a square." + </p> + <p> + The carpenter says: "I can do what I will with wood. If I want it curved, + I use an arc; if straight, a line." + </p> + <p> + But on what grounds can we think that the natures of clay and wood desire + this application of compasses and square, of arc and line? Nevertheless, + every age extols Po Lo for his skill in managing horses, and potters and + carpenters for their skill with clay and wood. Those who govern the empire + make the same mistake. + </p> + <p> + Now I regard government of the empire from quite a different point of + view. + </p> + <p> + The people have certain natural instincts:—to weave and clothe + themselves, to till and feed themselves. These are common to all humanity, + and all are agreed thereon. Such instincts are called "Heaven-sent." + </p> + <p> + And so in the days when natural instincts prevailed, men moved quietly and + gazed steadily. At that time there were no roads over mountains, nor + boats, nor bridges over water. All things were produced, each for its own + proper sphere. Birds and beasts multiplied, trees and shrubs grew up. The + former might be led by the hand; you could climb up and peep into the + raven's nest. For then man dwelt with birds and beasts, and all creation + was one. There were no distinctions of good and bad men. Being all equally + without knowledge, their virtue could not go astray. Being all equally + without evil desires, they were in a state of natural integrity, the + perfection of human existence. + </p> + <p> + But when Sages appeared, tripping up people over charity and fettering + them with duty to their neighbor, doubt found its way into the world. And + then, with their gushing over music and fussing over ceremony, the empire + became divided against itself.<a href="#linknote-11" name="linknoteref-11" + id="linknoteref-11"><small>11</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The modern Anarchism, in the sense in which we shall be concerned with it, + is associated with belief in the communal ownership of land and capital, + and is thus in an important respect akin to Socialism. This doctrine is + properly called Anarchist Com- munism, but as it embraces practically all + modern Anarchism, we may ignore individualist Anarchism altogether and + concentrate attention upon the communistic form. Socialism and Anarchist + Communism alike have arisen from the perception that private capital is a + source of tyranny by certain individuals over others. Orthodox Socialism + believes that the individual will become free if the State becomes the + sole capitalist. Anarchism, on the contrary, fears that in that case the + State might merely inherit the tyrannical propensities of the private + capitalist. Accordingly, it seeks for a means of reconciling communal + ownership with the utmost possible diminution in the powers of the State, + and indeed ultimately with the complete abolition of the State. It has + arisen mainly within the Socialist movement as its extreme left wing. + </p> + <p> + In the same sense in which Marx may be regarded as the founder of modern + Socialism, Bakunin may be regarded as the founder of Anarchist Communism. + But Bakunin did not produce, like Marx, a finished and systematic body of + doctrine. The nearest approach to this will be found in the writings of + his follower, Kropotkin. In order to explain modern Anarchism we shall + begin with the life of Bakunin<a href="#linknote-12" name="linknoteref-12" + id="linknoteref-12"><small>12</small></a> and the history of his conflicts + with Marx, and shall then give a brief account of Anarchist theory as set + forth partly in his writings, but more in those of Kropotkin.<a + href="#linknote-13" name="linknoteref-13" id="linknoteref-13"><small>13</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Michel Bakunin was born in 1814 of a Russian aristocratic family. His + father was a diplomatist, who at the time of Bakunin's birth had retired + to his country estate in the Government of Tver. Bakunin entered the + school of artillery in Petersburg at the age of fifteen, and at the age of + eighteen was sent as an ensign to a regiment stationed in the Government + of Minsk. The Polish insurrection of 1880 had just been crushed. "The + spectacle of terrorized Poland," says Guillaume, "acted powerfully on the + heart of the young officer, and contributed to inspire in him the horror + of despotism." This led him to give up the military career after two + years' trial. In 1834 he resigned his commission and went to Moscow, where + he spent six years studying philosophy. Like all philosophical students of + that period, he became a Hegelian, and in 1840 he went to Berlin to + continue his studies, in the hope of ultimately becoming a professor. But + after this time his opinions underwent a rapid change. He found it + impossible to accept the Hegelian maxim that whatever is, is rational, and + in 1842 he migrated to Dresden, where he became associated with Arnold + Ruge, the publisher of "Deutsche Jahrbuecher." By this time he had become + a revolutionary, and in the following year he incurred the hostility of + the Saxon Government. This led him to go to Switzerland, where he came in + contact with a group of German Communists, but, as the Swiss police + importuned him and the Russian Government demanded his return, he removed + to Paris, where he remained from 1843 to 1847. These years in Paris were + important in the formation of his outlook and opinions. He became + acquainted with Proudhon, who exercised a considerable influence on him; + also with George Sand and many other well- known people. It was in Paris + that he first made the acquaintance of Marx and Engels, with whom he was + to carry on a lifelong battle. At a much later period, in 1871, he gave + the following account of his relations with Marx at this time:— + </p> + <p> + Marx was much more advanced than I was, as he remains to-day not more + advanced but incomparably more learned than I am. I knew then nothing of + political economy. I had not yet rid myself of metaphysical abstractions, + and my Socialism was only instinctive. He, though younger than I, was + already an atheist, an instructed materialist, a well-considered + Socialist. It was just at this time that he elaborated the first + foundations of his present system. We saw each other fairly often, for I + respected him much for his learning and his passionate and serious + devotion (always mixed, however, with personal vanity) to the cause of the + proletariat, and I sought eagerly his conversation, which was always + instructive and clever, when it was not inspired by a paltry hate, which, + alas! happened only too often. But there was never any frank intimacy + between as. Our temperaments would not suffer it. He called me a + sentimental idealist, and he was right; I called him a vain man, + perfidious and crafty, and I also was right. + </p> + <p> + Bakunin never succeeded in staying long in one place without incurring the + enmity of the authorities. In November, 1847, as the result of a speech + praising the Polish rising of 1830, he was expelled from France at the + request of the Russian Embassy, which, in order to rob him of public + sympathy, spread the unfounded report that he had been an agent of the + Russian Government, but was no longer wanted because he had gone too far. + The French Government, by calculated reticence, encouraged this story, + which clung to him more or less throughout his life. + </p> + <p> + Being compelled to leave France, he went to Brussels, where he renewed + acquaintance with Marx. A letter of his, written at this time, shows that + he entertained already that bitter hatred for which afterward he had so + much reason. "The Germans, artisans, Bornstedt, Marx and Engels—and, + above all, Marx—are here, doing their ordinary mischief. Vanity, + spite, gossip, theoretical overbearingness and practical pusillanimity—reflections + on life, action and simplicity, and complete absence of life, action and + simplicity—literary and argumentative artisans and repulsive + coquetry with them: `Feuerbach is a bourgeois,' and the word `bourgeois' + grown into an epithet and repeated ad nauseum, but all of them themselves + from head to foot, through and through, provincial bourgeois. With one + word, lying and stupidity, stupidity and lying. In this society there is + no possibility of drawing a free, full breath. I hold myself aloof from + them, and have declared quite decidedly that I will not join their + communistic union of artisans, and will have nothing to do with it." + </p> + <p> + The Revolution of 1848 led him to return to Paris and thence to Germany. + He had a quarrel with Marx over a matter in which he himself confessed + later that Marx was in the right. He became a member of the Slav Congress + in Prague, where he vainly endeavored to promote a Slav insurrection. + Toward the end of 1848, he wrote an "Appeal to Slavs," calling on them to + combine with other revolutionaries to destroy the three oppressive + monarchies, Russia, Austria and Prussia. Marx attacked him in print, + saying, in effect, that the movement for Bohemian independence was futile + because the Slavs had no future, at any rate in those regions where they + hap- pened to be subject to Germany and Austria. Bakunin accused Mars of + German patriotism in this matter, and Marx accused him of Pan-Slavism, no + doubt in both cases justly. Before this dispute, however, a much more + serious quarrel had taken place. Marx's paper, the "Neue Rheinische + Zeitung," stated that George Sand had papers proving Bakunin to be a + Russian Government agent and one of those responsible for the recent + arrest of Poles. Bakunin, of course, repudiated the charge, and George + Sand wrote to the "Neue Rheinische Zeitung," denying this statement in + toto. The denials were published by Marx, and there was a nominal + reconciliation, but from this time onward there was never any real + abatement of the hostility between these rival leaders, who did not meet + again until 1864. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the reaction had been everywhere gaining ground. In May, 1849, + an insurrection in Dresden for a moment made the revolutionaries masters + of the town. They held it for five days and established a revolutionary + government. Bakunin was the soul of the defense which they made against + the Prussian troops. But they were overpowered, and at last Bakunin was + captured while trying to escape with Heubner and Richard Wagner, the last + of whom, fortunately for music, was not captured. + </p> + <p> + Now began a long period of imprisonment in many prisons and various + countries. Bakunin was sentenced to death on the 14th of January, 1850, + but his sentence was commuted after five months, and he was delivered over + to Austria, which claimed the privilege of punishing him. The Austrians, + in their turn, condemned him to death in May, 1851, and again his sentence + was commuted to imprisonment for life. In the Austrian prisons he had + fetters on hands and feet, and in one of them he was even chained to the + wall by the belt. There seems to have been some peculiar pleasure to be + derived from the punishment of Bakunin, for the Russian Government in its + turn demanded him of the Austrians, who delivered him up. In Russia he was + confined, first in the Peter and Paul fortress and then in the + Schluesselburg. There be suffered from scurvy and all his teeth fell out. + His health gave way completely, and he found almost all food impossible to + assimilate. "But, if his body became enfeebled, his spirit remained + inflexible. He feared one thing above all. It was to find himself some day + led, by the debilitating action of prison, to the condition of degradation + of which Silvio Pellico offers a well-known type. He feared that he might + cease to hate, that he might feel the sentiment of revolt which upheld him + becoming extinguished in his hearts that he might come to pardon his + persecutors and resign himself to his fate. But this fear was superfluous; + his energy did not abandon him a single day, and he emerged from his cell + the same man as when he entered."<a href="#linknote-14" + name="linknoteref-14" id="linknoteref-14"><small>14</small></a> + </p> + <p> + After the death of the Tsar Nicholas many political prisoners were + amnested, but Alexander II with his own hand erased Bakunin's name from + the list. When Bakunin's mother succeeded in obtaining an interview with + the new Tsar, he said to her, "Know, Madame, that so long as your son + lives, he can never be free." However, in 1857, after eight years of + captivity, he was sent to the comparative freedom of Siberia. From there, + in 1861, he succeeded in escaping to Japan, and thence through America to + London. He had been imprisoned for his hostility to governments, but, + strange to say, his sufferings had not had the intended effect of making + him love those who inflicted them. From this time onward, he devoted + himself to spreading the spirit of Anarchist revolt, without, however, + having to suffer any further term of imprisonment. For some years he lived + in Italy, where he founded in 1864 an "International Fraternity" or + "Alliance of Socialist Revolutionaries." This contained men of many + countries, but apparently no Germans. It devoted itself largely to + combating Mazzini's nationalism. In 1867 he moved to Switzerland, where in + the following year he helped to found the "International Alliance of So- + cialist Democracy," of which he drew up the program. This program gives a + good succinct resume of his opinions:— + </p> + <p> + The Alliance declares itself atheist; it desires the definitive and entire + abolition of classes and the political equality and social equalization of + individuals of both sexes. It desires that the earth, the instrument of + labor, like all other capital, becoming the collective property of society + as a whole, shall be no longer able to be utilized except by the workers, + that is to say, by agricultural and industrial associations. It recognizes + that all actually existing political and authoritarian States, reducing + themselves more and more to the mere administrative functions of the + public services in their respective countries, must disappear in the + universal union of free associations, both agricultural and industrial. + </p> + <p> + The International Alliance of Socialist Democracy desired to become a + branch of the International Working Men's Association, but was refused + admission on the ground that branches must be local, and could not + themselves be international. The Geneva group of the Alliance, however, + was admitted later, in July, 1869. + </p> + <p> + The International Working Men's Association had been founded in London in + 1864, and its statutes and program were drawn up by Marx. Bakunin at first + did not expect it to prove a success and refused to join it. But it spread + with remarkable rapidity in many countries and soon became a great power + for the propagation of Socialist ideas. Originally it was by no means + wholly Socialist, but in successive Congresses Marx won it over more and + more to his views. At its third Congress, in Brussels in September, 1868, + it became definitely Socialist. Meanwhile Bakunin, regretting his earlier + abstention, had decided to join it, and he brought with him a considerable + following in French-Switzerland, France, Spain and Italy. At the fourth + Congress, held at Basle in September, 1869, two currents were strongly + marked. The Germans and English followed Marx in his belief in the State + as it was to become after the abolition of private property; they followed + him also in his desire to found Labor Parties in the various countries, + and to utilize the machinery of democracy for the election of + representatives of Labor to Parliaments. On the other hand, the Latin + nations in the main followed Bakunin in opposing the State and + disbelieving in the machinery of representative government. The conflict + between these two groups grew more and more bitter, and each accused the + other of various offenses. The statement that Bakunin was a spy was + repeated, but was withdrawn after investigation. Marx wrote in a + confidential communication to his German friends that Bakunin was an agent + of the Pan-Slavist party and received from them 25,000 francs a year. + Meanwhile, Bakunin became for a time interested in the attempt to stir up + an agrarian revolt in Russia, and this led him to neglect the contest in + the International at a crucial moment. During the Franco-Prussian war + Bakunin passionately took the side of France, especially after the fall of + Napoleon III. He endeavored to rouse the people to revolutionary + resistance like that of 1793, and became involved in an abortive attempt + at revolt in Lyons. The French Government accused him of being a paid + agent of Prussia, and it was with difficulty that he escaped to + Switzerland. The dispute with Marx and his followers had become + exacerbated by the national dispute. Bakunin, like Kropotkin after him, + regarded the new power of Germany as the greatest menace to liberty in the + world. He hated the Germans with a bitter hatred, partly, no doubt, on + account of Bismarck, but probably still more on account of Marx. To this + day, Anarchism has remained confined almost exclusively to the Latin + countries, and has been associated with, a hatred of Germany, growing out + of the contests between Marx and Bakunin in the International. + </p> + <p> + The final suppression of Bakunin's faction occurred at the General + Congress of the International at the Hague in 1872. The meeting-place was + chosen by the General Council (in which Marx was unopposed), with a view—so + Bakunin's friends contend— to making access impossible for Bakunin + (on account of the hostility of the French and German governments) and + difficult for his friends. Bakunin was expelled from the International as + the result of a report accusing him inter alia of theft backed; up by + intimidation. + </p> + <p> + The orthodoxy of the International was saved, but at the cost of its + vitality. From this time onward, it ceased to be itself a power, but both + sections continued to work in their various groups, and the Socialist + groups in particular grew rapidly. Ultimately a new International was + formed (1889) which continued down to the outbreak of the present war. As + to the future of International Socialism it would be rash to prophesy, + though it would seem that the international idea has acquired sufficient + strength to need again, after the war, some such means of expression as it + found before in Socialist congresses. + </p> + <p> + By this time Bakunin's health was broken, and except for a few brief + intervals, he lived in retirement until his death in 1876. + </p> + <p> + Bakunin's life, unlike Marx's, was a very stormy one. Every kind of + rebellion against authority always aroused his sympathy, and in his + support he never paid the slightest attention to personal risk. His + influence, undoubtedly very great, arose chiefly through the influence of + his personality upon important individuals. His writings differ from + Marx's as much as his life does, and in a similar way. They are chaotic, + largely, aroused by some passing occasion, abstract and metaphysical, + except when they deal with current politics. He does not come to close + quarters with economic facts, but dwells usually in the regions of theory + and metaphysics. When he descends from these regions, he is much more at + the mercy of current international politics than Marx, much less imbued + with the consequences of the belief that it is economic causes that are + fundamental. He praised Marx for enunciating this doctrine,<a + href="#linknote-15" name="linknoteref-15" id="linknoteref-15"><small>15</small></a> + but nevertheless continued to think in terms of nations. His longest work, + "L'Empire Knouto-Germanique et la Revolution Sociale," is mainly concerned + with the situation in France during the later stages of the + Franco-Prussian War, and with the means of resisting German imperialism. + Most of his writing was done in a hurry in the interval between two + insurrections. There is something of Anarchism in his lack of literary + order. His best-known work is a fragment entitled by its editors "God and + the State."<a href="#linknote-16" name="linknoteref-16" id="linknoteref-16"><small>16</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In this work he represents belief in God and belief in the State as the + two great obstacles to human liberty. A typical passage will serve to + illustrate its style. + </p> + <p> + The State is not society, it is only an historical form of it, as brutal + as it is abstract. It was born historically in all countries of the + marriage of violence, rapine, pillage, in a word, war and conquest, with + the gods successively created by the theological fantasy of nations. It + has been from its origin, and it remains still at present, the divine + sanction of brutal force and triumphant inequality. + </p> + <p> + The State is authority; it is force; it is the ostentation and infatuation + of force: it does not insinuate itself; it does not seek to convert. . . . + Even when it commands what is good, it hinders and spoils it, just because + it commands it, and because every command provokes and excites the + legitimate revolts of liberty; and because the good, from the moment that + it is commanded, becomes evil from the point of view of true morality, of + human morality (doubtless not of divine), from the point of view of human + respect and of liberty. Liberty, morality, and the human dignity of man + consist precisely in this, that he does good, not because it is commanded, + but because he conceives it, wills it and loves it. + </p> + <p> + We do not find in Bakunin's works a clear picture of the society at which + he aimed, or any argument to prove that such a society could be stable. If + we wish to understand Anarchism we must turn to his followers, and + especially to Kropotkin—like him, a Russian aristocrat familiar with + the prisons of Europe, and, like him, an Anarchist who, in spite of his + internationalism, is imbued with a fiery hatred of the Germans. + </p> + <p> + Kropotkin has devoted much of his writing to technical questions of + production. In "Fields, Factories and Workshops" and "The Conquest of + Bread" he has set himself to prove that, if production were more + scientific and better organized, a comparatively small amount of quite + agreeable work would suffice to keep the whole population in comfort. Even + assuming, as we probably must, that he somewhat exaggerates what is + possible with our present scientific knowledge, it must nevertheless be + conceded that his contentions contain a very large measure of truth. In + attacking the subject of production he has shown that he knows what is the + really crucial question. If civilization and progress are to be compatible + with equality, it is necessary that equality should not involve long hours + of painful toil for little more than the necessaries of life, since, where + there is no leisure, art and science will die and all progress will become + impossible. The objection which some feel to Socialism and Anarchism alike + on this ground cannot be upheld in view of the possible productivity of + labor. + </p> + <p> + The system at which Kropotkin aims, whether or not it be possible, is + certainly one which demands a very great improvement in the methods of + production above what is common at present. He desires to abolish wholly + the system of wages, not only, as most Socialists do, in the sense that a + man is to be paid rather for his willingness to work than for the actual + work demanded of him, but in a more fundamental sense: there is to be no + obligation to work, and all things are to be shared in equal proportions + among the whole population. Kropotkin relies upon the possibility of + making work pleasant: he holds that, in such a community as he foresees, + practically everyone will prefer work to idleness, because work will not + involve overwork or slavery, or that excessive specialization that + industrialism has brought about, but will be merely a pleasant activity + for certain hours of the day, giving a man an outlet for his spontaneous + constructive impulses. There is to be no compulsion, no law, no government + exercising force; there will still be acts of the community, but these are + to spring from universal consent, not from any enforced submission of even + the smallest minority. We shall examine in a later chapter how far such an + ideal is realizable, but it cannot be denied that Kropotkin presents it + with extraordinary persuasiveness and charm. + </p> + <p> + We should be doing more than justice to Anarchism if we did not say + something of its darker side, the side which has brought it into conflict + with the police and made it a word of terror to ordinary citizens. In its + general doctrines there is nothing essentially involving violent methods + or a virulent hatred of the rich, and many who adopt these general + doctrines are personally gentle and temperamentally averse from violence. + But the general tone of the Anarchist press and public is bitter to a + degree that seems scarcely sane, and the appeal, especially in Latin + countries, is rather to envy of the fortunate than to pity for the + unfortunate. A vivid and readable, though not wholly reliable, account, + from a hostile point of view, is given in a book called "Le Peril + Anarchiste," by Felix Dubois,<a href="#linknote-17" name="linknoteref-17" + id="linknoteref-17"><small>17</small></a> which incidentally reproduces a + number of cartoons from anarchist journals. The revolt against law + naturally leads, except in those who are controlled by a real passion for + humanity, to a relaxation of all the usually accepted moral rules, and to + a bitter spirit of retaliatory cruelty out of which good can hardly come. + </p> + <p> + One of the most curious features of popular Anarchism is its martyrology, + aping Christian forms, with the guillotine (in France) in place of the + cross. Many who have suffered death at the hands of the authorities on + account of acts of violence were no doubt genuine sufferers for their + belief in a cause, but others, equally honored, are more questionable. One + of the most curious examples of this outlet for the repressed religious + impulse is the cult of Ravachol, who was guillotined in 1892 on account of + various dynamite outrages. His past was dubious, but he died defiantly; + his last words were three lines from a well-known Anarchist song, the + "Chant du Pere Duchesne":— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Si tu veux etre heureux, + Nom de Dieu! + Pends ton proprietaire. +</pre> + <p> + As was natural, the leading Anarchists took no part in the canonization of + his memory; nevertheless it proceeded, with the most amazing + extravagances. + </p> + <p> + It would be wholly unfair to judge Anarchist doctrine, or the views of its + leading exponents, by such phenomena; but it remains a fact that Anarchism + attracts to itself much that lies on the borderland of insanity and common + crime.<a href="#linknote-18" name="linknoteref-18" id="linknoteref-18"><small>18</small></a> + This must be remembered in exculpation of the authorities and the + thoughtless public, who often confound in a common detestation the + parasites of the movement and the truly heroic and high-minded men who + have elaborated its theories and sacrificed comfort and success to their + propagation. + </p> + <p> + The terrorist campaign in which such men as Ravachol were active + practically came to an end in 1894. After that time, under the influence + of Pelloutier, the better sort of Anarchists found a less harmful outlet + by advocating Revolutionary Syndicalism in the Trade Unions and Bourses du + Travail.<a href="#linknote-19" name="linknoteref-19" id="linknoteref-19"><small>19</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The ECONOMIC organization of society, as conceived by Anarchist + Communists, does not differ greatly from that which is sought by + Socialists. Their difference from Socialists is in the matter of + government: they demand that government shall require the consent of all + the governed, and not only of a majority. It is undeniable that the rule + of a majority may be almost as hostile to freedom as the rule of a + minority: the divine right of majorities is a dogma as little possessed of + absolute truth as any other. A strong democratic State may easily be led + into oppression of its best citizens, namely, those those independence of + mind would make them a force for progress. Experience of democratic + parliamentary government has shown that it falls very far short of what + was expected of it by early Socialists, and the Anarchist revolt against + it is not surprising. But in the form of pure Anarchism, this revolt has + remained weak and sporadic. It is Syndicalism, and the movements to which + Syndicalism has given rise, that have popularized the revolt against + parliamentary government and purely political means of emancipating the + wage earner. But this movement must be dealt with in a separate chapter. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III — THE SYNDICALIST REVOLT + </h2> + <p> + SYNDICALISM arose in France as a revolt against political Socialism, and + in order to understand it we must trace in brief outline the positions + attained by Socialist parties in the various countries. + </p> + <p> + After a severe setback, caused by the Franco- Prussian war, Socialism + gradually revived, and in all the countries of Western Europe Socialist + parties have increased their numerical strength almost continuously during + the last forty years; but, as is invariably the case with a growing sect, + the intensity of faith has diminished as the number of believers has + increased. + </p> + <p> + In Germany the Socialist party became the strongest faction of the + Reichstag, and, in spite of differences of opinion among its members, it + preserved its formal unity with that instinct for military discipline + which characterizes the German nation. In the Reichstag election of 1912 + it polled a third of the total number of votes cast, and returned 110 + members out of a total of 397. After the death of Bebel, the Revisionists, + who received their first impulse from Bernstein, overcame the more strict + Marxians, and the party became in effect merely one of advanced + Radicalism. It is too soon to guess what will be the effect of the split + between Majority and Minority Socialists which has occurred during the + war. There is in Germany hardly a trace of Syndicalism; its characteristic + doctrine, the preference of industrial to political action, has found + scarcely any support. + </p> + <p> + In England Marx has never had many followers. Socialism there has been + inspired in the main by the Fabians (founded in 1883), who threw over the + advocacy of revolution, the Marxian doctrine of value, and the class-war. + What remained was State Socialism and a doctrine of "permeation." Civil + servants were to be permeated with the realization that Socialism would + enormously increase their power. Trade Unions were to be permeated with + the belief that the day for purely industrial action was past, and that + they must look to government (inspired secretly by sympathetic civil + servants) to bring about, bit by bit, such parts of the Socialist program + as were not likely to rouse much hostility in the rich. The Independent + Labor Party (formed in 1893) was largely inspired at first by the ideas of + the Fabians, though retaining to the present day, and especially since the + outbreak of the war, much more of the original Socialist ardor. It aimed + always at co-operation with the industrial organizations of wage-earners, + and, chiefly through its efforts, the Labor Party<a href="#linknote-20" + name="linknoteref-20" id="linknoteref-20"><small>20</small></a> was formed + in 1900 out of a combination of the Trade Unions and the political + Socialists. To this party, since 1909, all the important Unions have + belonged, but in spite of the fact that its strength is derived from Trade + Unions, it has stood always for political rather than industrial action. + Its Socialism has been of a theoretical and academic order, and in + practice, until the outbreak of war, the Labor members in Parliament (of + whom 30 were elected in 1906 and 42 in December, 1910) might be reckoned + almost as a part of the Liberal Party. + </p> + <p> + France, unlike England and Germany, was not content merely to repeat the + old shibboleths with continually diminishing conviction. In France<a + href="#linknote-21" name="linknoteref-21" id="linknoteref-21"><small>21</small></a> + a new movement, originally known as Revolutionary Syndicalism—and + afterward simply as Syndicalism— kept alive the vigor of the + original impulse, and remained true to the spirit of the older Socialists, + while departing from the letter. Syndicalism, unlike Socialism and + Anarchism, began from an existing organization and developed the ideas + appropriate to it, whereas Socialism and Anarchism began with the ideas + and only afterward developed the organizations which were their vehicle. + In order to understand Syndicalism, we have first to describe Trade Union + organization in France, and its political environment. The ideas of + Syndicalism will then appear as the natural outcome of the political and + economic situation. Hardly any of these ideas are new; almost all are + derived from the Bakunist section of the old International. + The old International had considerable success in France before the + Franco- Prussian War; indeed, in 1869, it is estimated to have had a + French membership of a quarter of a million. What is practically the + Syndicalist program was advocated by a French delegate to the Congress of + the International at Bale in that same year.<a href="#linknote-22" + name="linknoteref-22" id="linknoteref-22"><small>22</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The war of 1870 put an end for the time being to the Socialist Movement in + France. Its revival was begun by Jules Guesde in 1877. Unlike the Ger- man + Socialists, the French have been split into many different factions. In + the early eighties there was a split between the Parliamentary Socialists + and the Communist Anarchists. The latter thought that the first act of the + Social Revolution should be the destruction of the State, and would + therefore have nothing to do with Parliamentary politics. The Anarchists, + from 1883 onward, had success in Paris and the South. The Socialists + contended that the State will disappear after the Socialist society has + been firmly established. In 1882 the Socialists split between the + followers of Guesde, who claimed to represent the revolutionary and + scientific Socialism of Marx, and the followers of Paul Brousse, who were + more opportunist and were also called possibilists and cared little for + the theories of Marx. In 1890 there was a secession from the Broussists, + who followed Allemane and absorbed the more revolutionary elements of the + party and became leading spirits in some of the strongest syndicates. + Another group was the Independent Socialists, among whom were Jaures, + Millerand and Viviani.<a href="#linknote-23" name="linknoteref-23" + id="linknoteref-23"><small>23</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The disputes between the various sections of Socialists caused + difficulties in the Trade Unions and helped to bring about the resolution + to keep politics out of the Unions. From this to Syndicalism was an easy + step. + </p> + <p> + Since the year 1905, as the result of a union between the Parti Socialiste + de France (Part; Ouvrier Socialiste Revolutionnaire Francais led by + Guesde) and the Parti Socialiste Francais (Jaures), there have been only + two groups of Socialists, the United Socialist Party and the Independents, + who are intellectuals or not willing to be tied to a party. At the General + Election of 1914 the former secured 102 members and the latter 30, out of + a total of 590. + </p> + <p> + Tendencies toward a rapprochement between the various groups were + seriously interfered with by an event which had considerable importance + for the whole development of advanced political ideas in France, namely, + the acceptance of office in the Waldeck- Rousseau Ministry by the + Socialist Millerand in 1899. Millerand, as was to be expected, soon ceased + to be a Socialist, and the opponents of political action pointed to his + development as showing the vanity of political triumphs. Very many French + politicians who have risen to power have begun their political career as + Socialists, and have ended it not infrequently by employing the army to + oppress strikers. Millerand's action was the most notable and dramatic + among a number of others of a similar kind. Their cumulative effect has + been to produce a certain cynicism in regard to politics among the more + class-conscious of French wage-earners, and this state of mind greatly + assisted the spread of Syndicalism. + </p> + <p> + Syndicalism stands essentially for the point of view of the producer as + opposed to that of the consumer; it is concerned with reforming actual + work, and the organization of industry, not MERELY with securing greater + rewards for work. From this point of view its vigor and its distinctive + character are derived. It aims at substituting industrial for political + action, and at using Trade Union organization for purposes for which + orthodox Socialism would look to Parliament. "Syndicalism" was originally + only the French name for Trade Unionism, but the Trade Unionists of France + became divided into two sections, the Reformist and the Revolutionary, of + whom the latter only professed the ideas which we now associate with the + term "Syndicalism." It is quite impossible to guess how far either the + organization or the ideas of the Syndicalists will remain intact at the + end of the war, and everything that we shall say is to be taken as + applying only to the years before the war. It may be that French + Syndicalism as a distinctive movement will be dead, but even in that case + it will not have lost its importance, since it has given a new impulse and + direction to the more vigorous part of the labor movement in all civilized + countries, with the possible exception of Germany. + </p> + <p> + The organization upon which Syndicalism de- pended was the Confederation + Generale du Travail, commonly known as the C. G. T., which was founded in + 1895, but only achieved its final form in 1902. It has never been + numerically very powerful, but has derived its influence from the fact + that in moments of crisis many who were not members were willing to follow + its guidance. Its membership in the year before the war is estimated by + Mr. Cole at somewhat more than half a million. Trade Unions (Syndicats) + were legalized by Waldeck-Rousseau in 1884, and the C. G. T., on its + inauguration in 1895, was formed by the Federation of 700 Syndicats. + Alongside of this organization there existed another, the Federation des + Bourses du Travail, formed in 1893. A Bourse du Travail is a local + organization, not of any one trade, but of local labor in general, + intended to serve as a Labor Exchange and to perform such functions for + labor as Chambers of Commerce perform for the employer.<a + href="#linknote-24" name="linknoteref-24" id="linknoteref-24"><small>24</small></a> + A Syndicat is in general a local organization of a single industry, and is + thus a smaller unit than the Bourse du Travail.<a href="#linknote-25" + name="linknoteref-25" id="linknoteref-25"><small>25</small></a> Under the + able leadership of Pelloutier, the Federation des Bourses prospered more + than the C. G. T., and at last, in 1902, coalesced with it. The result was + an organization in which the local Syndicat was fed- erated twice over, + once with the other Syndicat in its locality, forming together the local + Bourse du Travail, and again with the Syndicats in the same industry in + other places. "It was the purpose of the new organization to secure twice + over the membership of every syndicat, to get it to join both its local + Bourse du Travail and the Federation of its industry. The Statutes of the + C. G. T. (I. 3) put this point plainly: `No Syndicat will be able to form + a part of the C. G. T. if it is not federated nationally and an adherent + of a Bourse du Travail or a local or departmental Union of Syndicats + grouping different associations.' Thus, M. Lagardelle explains, the two + sections will correct each other's point of view: national federation of + industries will prevent parochialism (localisme), and local organization + will check the corporate or `Trade Union' spirit. The workers will learn + at once the solidarity of all workers in a locality and that of all + workers in a trade, and, in learning this, they will learn at the same + time the complete solidarity of the whole working-class."<a + href="#linknote-26" name="linknoteref-26" id="linknoteref-26"><small>26</small></a> + </p> + <p> + This organization was largely the work of Pellouties, who was Secretary of + the Federation des Bourses from 1894 until his death in 1901. He was an + Anarchist Communist and impressed his ideas upon the Federation and thence + posthumously on the C. G. T. after its combination with the Federation des + Bourses. He even carried his principles into the government of the + Federation; the Committee had no chairman and votes very rarely took + place. He stated that "the task of the revolution is to free mankind, not + only from all authority, but also from every institution which has not for + its essential purpose the development of production." + </p> + <p> + The C. G. T. allows much autonomy to each unit in the organization. Each + Syndicat counts for one, whether it be large or small. There are not the + friendly society activities which form so large a part of the work of + English Unions. It gives no orders, but is purely advisory. It does not + allow politics to be introduced into the Unions. This decision was + originally based upon the fact that the divisions among Socialists + disrupted the Unions, but it is now reinforced in the minds of an + important section by the general Anarchist dislike of politics. The C. G. + T. is essentially a fighting organization; in strikes, it is the nucleus + to which the other workers rally. + </p> + <p> + There is a Reformist section in the C. G. T., but it is practically always + in a minority, and the C. G. T. is, to all intents and purposes, the organ + of revolutionary Syndicalism, which is simply the creed of its leaders. + </p> + <p> + The essential doctrine of Syndicalism is the class- war, to be conducted + by industrial rather than politi- cal methods. The chief industrial + methods advocated are the strike, the boycott, the label and sabotage. + </p> + <p> + The boycott, in various forms, and the label, showing that the work has + been done under trade- union conditions, have played a considerable part + in American labor struggles. + </p> + <p> + Sabotage is the practice of doing bad work, or spoiling machinery or work + which has already been done, as a method of dealing with employers in a + dispute when a strike appears for some reason undesirable or impossible. + It has many forms, some clearly innocent, some open to grave objections. + One form of sabotage which has been adopted by shop assistants is to tell + customers the truth about the articles they are buying; this form, however + it may damage the shopkeeper's business, is not easy to object to on moral + grounds. A form which has been adopted on railways, particularly in + Italian strikes, is that of obeying all rules literally and exactly, in + such a way as to make the running of trains practically impossible. + Another form is to do all the work with minute care, so that in the end it + is better done, but the output is small. From these innocent forms there + is a continual progression, until we come to such acts as all ordinary + morality would consider criminal; for example, causing railway accidents. + Advocates of sabotage justify it as part of war, but in its more violent + forms (in which it is seldom defended) it is cruel and probably + inexpedient, while even in its milder forms it must tend to encourage + slovenly habits of work, which might easily persist under the new regime + that the Syndicalists wish to introduce. At the same time, when + capitalists express a moral horror of this method, it is worth while to + observe that they themselves are the first to practice it when the + occasion seems to them appropriate. If report speaks truly, an example of + this on a very large scale has been seen during the Russian Revolution. + </p> + <p> + By far the most important of the Syndicalist methods is the strike. + Ordinary strikes, for specific objects, are regarded as rehearsals, as a + means of perfecting organization and promoting enthusiasm, but even when + they are victorious so far as concerns the specific point in dispute, they + are not regarded by Syndicalists as affording any ground for industrial + peace. Syndicalists aim at using the strike, not to secure such + improvements of detail as employers may grant, but to destroy the whole + system of employer and employed and win the complete emancipation of the + worker. For this purpose what is wanted is the General Strike, the + complete cessation of work by a sufficient proportion of the wage-earners + to secure the paralysis of capitalism. Sorel, who represents Syndicalism + too much in the minds of the reading public, suggests that the General + Strike is to be regarded as a myth, like the Second Coming in Christian + doctrine. But this view by no means suits the active Syndicalists. If they + were brought to believe that the General Strike is a mere myth, their + energy would flag, and their whole outlook would become disillusioned. It + is the actual, vivid belief in its possibility which inspires them. They + are much criticised for this belief by the political Socialists who + consider that the battle is to be won by obtaining a Parliamentary + majority. But Syndicalists have too little faith in the honesty of + politicians to place any reliance on such a method or to believe in the + value of any revolution which leaves the power of the State intact. + </p> + <p> + Syndicalist aims are somewhat less definite than Syndicalist methods. The + intellectuals who endeavor to interpret them—not always very + faithfully— represent them as a party of movement and change, + following a Bergsonian elan vital, without needing any very clear + prevision of the goal to which it is to take them. Nevertheless, the + negative part, at any rate, of their objects is sufficiently clear. + </p> + <p> + They wish to destroy the State, which they regard as a capitalist + institution, designed essentially to terrorize the workers. They refuse to + believe that it would be any better under State Socialism. They desire to + see each industry self-governing, but as to the means of adjusting the + relations between different industries, they are not very clear. They are + anti-militarist because they are anti-State, and because French troops + have often been employed against them in strikes; also because they are + internationalists, who believe that the sole interest of the working man + everywhere is to free himself from the tyranny of the capitalist. Their + outlook on life is the very reverse of pacifist, but they oppose wars + between States on the ground that these are not fought for objects that in + any way concern the workers. Their anti-militarism, more than anything + else, brought them into conflict with the authorities in the years + preceding the war. But, as was to be expected, it did not survive the + actual invasion of France. + </p> + <p> + The doctrines of Syndicalism may be illustrated by an article introducing + it to English readers in the first number of "The Syndicalist Railwayman," + September, 1911, from which the following is quoted:— + </p> + <p> + "All Syndicalism, Collectivism, Anarchism aims at abolishing the present + economic status and existing private ownership of most things; but while + Collectivism would substitute ownership by everybody, and Anarchism + ownership by nobody, Syndicalism aims at ownership by Organized Labor. It + is thus a purely Trade Union reading of the economic doctrine and the + class war preached by Socialism. It vehemently repudiates Parliamentary + action on which Collectivism relies; and it is, in this respect, much more + closely allied to Anarchism, from which, indeed, it differs in practice + only in being more limited in range of action." (Times, Aug. 25, 1911). + </p> + <p> + In truth, so thin is the partition between Syndicalism and Anarchism that + the newer and less familiar "ism" has been shrewdly defined as "Organized + Anarchy." It has been created by the Trade Unions of France; but it is + obviously an international plant, whose roots have already found the soil + of Britain most congenial to its growth and fructification. + </p> + <p> + Collectivist or Marxian Socialism would have us believe that it is + distinctly a LABOR Movement; but it is not so. Neither is Anarchism. The + one is substantially bourgeois; the other aristocratic, plus an abundant + output of book-learning, in either case. Syndicalism, on the contrary, is + indubitably laborist in origin and aim, owing next to nothing to the + "Classes," and, indeed,, resolute to uproot them. The Times (Oct. 13, + 1910), which almost single-handed in the British Press has kept creditably + abreast of Continental Syndicalism, thus clearly set forth the + significance of the General Strike: + </p> + <p> + "To understand what it means, we must remember that there is in France a + powerful Labor Organization which has for its open and avowed object a + Revolution, in which not only the present order of Society, but the State + itself, is to be swept away. This movement is called Syndicalism. It is + not Socialism, but, on the contrary, radically opposed to Socialism, + because the Syndicalists hold that the State is the great enemy and that + the Socialists' ideal of State or Collectivist Ownership would make the + lot of the Workers much worse than it is now under private employers. The + means by which they hope to attain their end is the General Strike, an + idea which was invented by a French workman about twenty years ago,<a + href="#linknote-27" name="linknoteref-27" id="linknoteref-27"><small>27</small></a> + and was adopted by the French Labor Congress in 1894, after a furious + battle with the Socialists, in which the latter were worsted. Since then + the General Strike has been the avowed policy of the Syndicalists, whose + organization is the Confederation Generale du Travail." + </p> + <p> + Or, to put it otherwise, the intelligent French worker has awakened, as he + believes, to the fact that Society (Societas) and the State (Civitas) + connote two separable spheres of human activity, between which there is no + connection, necessary or desirable. Without the one, man, being a + gregarious animal, cannot subsist: while without the other he would simply + be in clover. The "statesman" whom office does not render positively + nefarious is at best an expensive superfluity. + </p> + <p> + Syndicalists have had many violent encounters with the forces of + government. In 1907 and 1908, protesting against bloodshed which had + occurred in the suppression of strikes, the Committee of the C. G. T. + issued manifestoes speaking of the Government as "a Government of + assassins" and alluding to the Prime Minister as "Clemenceau the + murderer." Similar events in the strike at Villeneuve St. Georges in 1908 + led to the arrest of all the leading members of the Committee. In the + railway strike of October, 1910, Monsieur Briand arrested the Strike + Committee, mobilized the railway men and sent soldiers to replace + strikers. As a result of these vigorous measures the strike was completely + defeated, and after this the chief energy of the C. G. T. was directed + against militarism and nationalism. + </p> + <p> + The attitude of Anarchism to the Syndicalist movement is sympathetic, with + the reservation that such methods as the General Strike are not to be + regarded as substitutes for the violent revolution which most Anarchists + consider necessary. Their attitude in this matter was defined at the + International Anarchist Congress held in Amsterdam in August, 1907. This + Congress recommended "comrades of all countries to actively participate in + autonomous movements of the working class, and to develop in Syndicalist + organizations the ideas of revolt, individual initiative and solidarity, + which are the essence of Anarchism." Comrades were to "propagate and + support only those forms and manifestations of direct action which carry, + in themselves, a revolutionary character and lead to the transformation of + society." It was resolved that "the Anarchists think that the destruction + of the capitalist and authoritary society can only be realized by armed + insurrection and violent expropriation, and that the use of the more or + less General Strike and the Syndicalist movement must not make us forget + the more direct means of struggle against the military force of + government." + </p> + <p> + Syndicalists might retort that when the movement is strong enough to win + by armed insurrection it will be abundantly strong enough to win by the + General Strike. In Labor movements generally, success through violence can + hardly be expected except in circumstances where success without violence + is attainable. This argument alone, even if there were no other, would be + a very powerful reason against the methods advocated by the Anarchist + Congress. + </p> + <p> + Syndicalism stands for what is known as industrial unionism as opposed to + craft unionism. In this respect, as also in the preference of industrial + to political methods, it is part of a movement which has spread far beyond + France. The distinction between industrial and craft unionism is much + dwelt on by Mr. Cole. Craft unionism "unites in a single association those + workers who are engaged on a single industrial process, or on processes so + nearly akin that any one can do another's work." But "organization may + follow the lines, not of the work done, but of the actual structure of + industry. All workers working at producing a particular kind of commodity + may be organized in a single Union. . . . The basis of organization would + be neither the craft to which a man belonged nor the employer under whom + he worked, but the service on which he was engaged. This is Industrial + Unionism properly so called.<a href="#linknote-28" name="linknoteref-28" + id="linknoteref-28"><small>28</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Industrial unionism is a product of America, and from America it has to + some extent spread to Great Britain. It is the natural form of fighting + organization when the union is regarded as the means of carrying on the + class war with a view, not to obtaining this or that minor amelioration, + but to a radical revolution in the economic system. This is the point of + view adopted by the "Industrial Workers of the World," commonly known as + the I. W. W. This organization more or less corresponds in America to what + the C. G. T. was in France before the war. The differences between the two + are those due to the different economic circumstances of the two + countries, but their spirit is closely analogous. The I. W. W. is not + united as to the ultimate form which it wishes society to take. There are + Socialists, Anarchists and Syndicalists among its members. But it is clear + on the immediate practical issue, that the class war is the fundamental + reality in the present relations of labor and capital, and that it is by + industrial action, especially by the strike, that emancipation must be + sought. The I. W. W., like the C. G. T., is not nearly so strong + numerically as it is supposed to be by those who fear it. Its influence is + based, not upon its numbers, but upon its power of enlisting the + sympathies of the workers in moments of crisis. + </p> + <p> + The labor movement in America has been characterized on both sides by very + great violence. Indeed, the Secretary of the C. G. T., Monsieur Jouhaux, + recognizes that the C. G. T. is mild in comparison with the I. W. W. "The + I. W. W.," he says, "preach a policy of militant action, very necessary in + parts of America, which would not do in France."<a href="#linknote-29" + name="linknoteref-29" id="linknoteref-29"><small>29</small></a> A very + interesting account of it, from the point of view of an author who is + neither wholly on the side of labor nor wholly on the side of the + capitalist, but disinterestedly anxious to find some solution of the + social question short of violence and revolution, is the work of Mr. John + Graham Brooks, called "American Syndicalism: the I. W. W." (Macmillan, + 1913). American labor conditions are very different from those of Europe. + In the first place, the power of the trusts is enormous; the concentration + of capital has in this respect proceeded more nearly on Marxian lines in + America than anywhere else. In the second place, the great influx of + foreign labor makes the whole problem quite different from any that arises + in Europe. The older skilled workers, largely American born, have long + been organized in the American Federation of Labor under Mr. Gompers. + These represent an aristocracy of labor. They tend to work with the + employers against the great mass of unskilled immigrants, and they cannot + be regarded as forming part of anything that could be truly called a labor + movement. "There are," says Mr. Cole, "now in America two working classes, + with different standards of life, and both are at present almost impotent + in the face of the employers. Nor is it possible for these two classes to + unite or to put forward any demands. . . . The American Federation of + Labor and the Industrial Workers of the World represent two different + principles of combination; but they also represent two different classes + of labor."<a href="#linknote-30" name="linknoteref-30" id="linknoteref-30"><small>30</small></a> + The I. W. W. stands for industrial unionism, whereas the American + Federation of Labor stands for craft unionism. The I. W. W. were formed in + 1905 by a union of organizations, chief among which was the Western + Federation of Miners, which dated from 1892. They suffered a split by the + loss of the followers of Deleon, who was the leader of the "Socialist + Labor Party" and advocated a "Don't vote" policy, while reprobating + violent methods. The headquarters of the party which he formed are at + Detroit, and those of the main body are at Chicago. The I. W. W., though + it has a less definite philosophy than French Syndicalism, is quite + equally determined to destroy the capitalist system. As its secretary has + said: "There is but one bargain the I. W. W. will make with the employing + class— complete surrender of all control of industry to the + organized workers."<a href="#linknote-31" name="linknoteref-31" + id="linknoteref-31"><small>31</small></a> Mr. Haywood, of the Western + Federation of Miners, is an out-and-out follower of Marx so far as + concerns the class war and the doctrine of surplus value. But, like all + who are in this movement, he attaches more importance to industrial as + against political action than do the European followers of Marx. This is + no doubt partly explicable by the special circumstances of America, where + the recent immigrants are apt to be voteless. The fourth convention of the + I. W. W. revised a preamble giving the general principles underlying its + action. "The working class and the employing class," they say, "have + nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are + found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the + employing class, have all the good things of life. Between these two + classes, a struggle must go on until the workers of the world organize as + a class, take possession of the earth and the machinery of production, and + abolish the wage system. . . . Instead of the conservative motto, `A fair + day's wages for a fair day's work,' we must inscribe on our banner the + revolutionary watchword, `Abolition of the wage system.' "<a + href="#linknote-32" name="linknoteref-32" id="linknoteref-32"><small>32</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Numerous strikes have been conducted or encouraged by the I. W. W. and the + Western Federation of Miners. These strikes illustrate the class-war in a + more bitter and extreme form than is to be found in any other part of the + world. Both sides are always ready to resort to violence. The employers + have armies of their own and are able to call upon the Militia and even, + in a crisis, upon the United States Army. What French Syndicalists say + about the State as a capitalist institution is peculiarly true in America. + In consequence of the scandals thus arising, the Federal Government + appointed a Commission on Industrial Relations, whose Report, issued in + 1915, reveals a state of affairs such as it would be difficult to imagine + in Great Britain. The report states that "the greatest disorders and most + of the outbreaks of violence in connection with industrial `disputes arise + from the violation of what are considered to be fundamental rights, and + from the perversion or subversion of governmental institutions" (p. 146). + It mentions, among such perversions, the subservience of the judiciary to + the mili- tary authorities, the fact that during a labor dispute the life + and liberty of every man within the State would seem to be at the mercy of + the Governor (p. 72), and the use of State troops in policing strikes (p. + 298). At Ludlow (Colorado) in 1914 (April 20) a battle of the militia and + the miners took place, in which, as the result of the fire of the militia, + a number of women and children were burned to death.<a href="#linknote-34" + name="linknoteref-34" id="linknoteref-34"><small>34</small></a> Many other + instances of pitched battles could be given, but enough has been said to + show the peculiar character of labor disputes in the United States. It + may, I fear, be presumed that this character will remain so long as a very + large proportion of labor consists of recent immigrants. When these + difficulties pass away, as they must sooner or later, labor will more and + more find its place in the community, and will tend to feel and inspire + less of the bitter hostility which renders the more extreme forms of class + war possible. When + </p> + <p> + that time comes, the labor movement in America will probably begin to take + on forms similar to those of Europe. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, though the forms are different, the aims are very similar, and + industrial unionism, spreading from America, has had a considerable + influence in Great Britain—an influence naturally reinforced by that + of French Syndicalism. It is clear, I think, that the adoption of + industrial rather than craft unionism is absolutely necessary if Trade + Unionism is to succeed in playing that part in altering the economic + structure of society which its advocates claim for it rather than for the + political parties. Industrial unionism organizes men, as craft unionism + does not, in accordance with the enemy whom they have to fight. English + unionism is still very far removed from the industrial form, though + certain industries, especially the railway men, have gone very far in this + direction, and it is notable that the railway men are peculiarly + sympathetic to Syndicalism and industrial unionism. + </p> + <p> + Pure Syndicalism, however, is not very likely to achieve wide popularity + in Great Britain. Its spirit is too revolutionary and anarchistic for our + temperament. It is in the modified form of Guild Socialism that the ideas + derived from the C. G. T. and the I. W. W. are tending to bear fruit.<a + href="#linknote-35" name="linknoteref-35" id="linknoteref-35"><small>35</small></a> + This movement is as yet in its infancy and has no great hold upon the rank + and file, but it is being ably advocated by a group of young men, and is + rapidly gaining ground among those who will form Labor opinion in years to + come. The power of the State has been so much increased during the war + that those who naturally dislike things as they are, find it more and more + difficult to believe that State omnipotence can be the road to the + millennium. Guild Socialists aim at autonomy in industry, with consequent + curtailment, but not abolition, of the power of the State. The system + which they advocate is, I believe, the best hitherto proposed, and the one + most likely to secure liberty without the constant appeals to violence + which are to be feared under a purely Anarchist regime. + </p> + <p> + The first pamphlet of the "National Guilds League" sets forth their main + principles. In industry each factory is to be free to control its own + methods of production by means of elected managers. The different + factories in a given industry are to be federated into a National Guild + which will deal with marketing and the general interests of the industry + as a whole. "The State would own the means of production as trustee for + the community; the Guilds would manage them, also as trustees for the + community, and would pay to the State a single tax or rent. Any Guild that + chose to set its own interests above those of the community would be + violating its trust, and would have to bow to the judgment of a tribunal + equally representing the whole body of producers and the whole body of + consumers. This Joint Committee would be the ultimate sovereign body, the + ultimate appeal court of industry. It would fix not only Guild taxation, + but also standard prices, and both taxation and prices would be + periodically readjusted by it." Each Guild will be entirely free to + apportion what it receives among its members as it chooses, its members + being all those who work in the industry which it covers. "The + distribution of this collective Guild income among the members seems to be + a matter for each Guild to decide for itself. Whether the Guilds would, + sooner or later, adopt the principle of equal payment for every member, is + open to discussion." Guild Socialism accepts from Syndicalism the view + that liberty is not to be secured by making the State the employer: "The + State and the Municipality as employers have turned out not to differ + essentially from the private capitalist." Guild Socialists regard the + State as consisting of the community in their capacity as consumers, while + the Guilds will represent them in their capacity as producers; thus + Parliament and the Guild Congress will be two co-equal powers representing + consumers and producers respectively. Above both will be the joint + Committee of Parliament and the Guild Congress for deciding matters + involving the interests of consumers and producers alike. The view of the + Guild Socialists is that State Socialism takes account of men only as + consumers, while Syndicalism takes account of them only as producers. "The + problem," say the Guild Socialists, "is to reconcile the two points of + view. That is what advocates of National Guilds set out to do. The + Syndicalist has claimed everything for the industrial organizations of + producers, the Collectivist everything for the territorial or political + organizations of consumers. Both are open to the same criticism; you + cannot reconcile two points of view merely by denying one of them."<a + href="#linknote-36" name="linknoteref-36" id="linknoteref-36"><small>36</small></a> + But although Guild Socialism represents an attempt at readjustment between + two equally legitimate points of view, its impulse and force are derived + from what it has taken over from Syndicalism. Like Syndicalism; it desires + not primarily to make work better paid, but to secure this result along + with others by making it in itself more interesting and more democratic in + organization. + </p> + <p> + Capitalism has made of work a purely commercial activity, a soulless and a + joyless thing. But substitute the national service of the Guilds for the + profiteering of the few; substitute responsible labor for a saleable + commodity; substitute self-government and decentralization for the + bureaucracy and demoralizing hugeness of the modern State and the modern + joint stock company; and then it may be just once more to speak of a "joy + in labor," and once more to hope that men may be proud of quality and not + only of quantity in their work. There is a cant of the Middle Ages, and a + cant of "joy in labor," but it were better, perhaps, to risk that cant + than to reconcile ourselves forever to the philosophy of Capitalism and of + Collectivism, which declares that work is a necessary evil never to be + made pleasant, and that the workers' only hope is a leisure which shall be + longer, richer, and well adorned with municipal amenities.<a + href="#linknote-37" name="linknoteref-37" id="linknoteref-37"><small>37</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Although uniformly held that the writ of habeas corpus can only be + suspended by the legislature, in these labor disturbances the executive + has in fact suspended or disregarded the writ. . . . In cases arising from + labor agitations, the judiciary has uniformly upheld the power exercised + by the military, and in no case has there been any protest against the use + of such power or any attempt to curtail it, except in Montana, where the + conviction of a civilian by military commission was annulled" ("Final + Report of the Commission on Industrial Relations" (1915) appointed by the + United States Congress," p. 58). + </p> + <p> + Whatever may be thought of the practicability of Syndicalism, there is no + doubt that the ideas which it has put into the world have done a great + deal to revive the labor movement and to recall it to certain things of + fundamental importance which it had been in danger of forgetting. + Syndicalists consider man as producer rather than consumer. They are more + concerned to procure freedom in work than to increase material well-being. + They have revived the quest for liberty, which was growing somewhat dimmed + under the regime of Parliamentary Socialism, and they have reminded men + that what our modern society needs is not a little tinkering here and + there, nor the kind of minor readjustments to which the existing holders + of power may readily consent, but a fundamental reconstruction, a sweeping + away of all the sources of oppression, a liberation of men's constructive + energies, and a wholly new way of conceiving and regulating production and + economic relations. This merit is so great that, in view of it, all minor + defects become insignificant, and this merit Syndicalism will continue to + possess even if, as a definite movement, it should be found to have passed + away with the war. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART2" id="link2H_PART2"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART II — PROBLEMS OF THE FUTURE + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV — WORK AND PAY + </h2> + <p> + THE man who seeks to create a better order of society has two resistances + to contend with: one that of Nature, the other that of his fellow-men. + Broadly speaking, it is science that deals with the resistance of Nature, + while politics and social organization are the methods of overcoming the + resistance of men. + </p> + <p> + The ultimate fact in economics is that Nature only yields commodities as + the result of labor. The necessity of SOME labor for the satisfaction of + our wants is not imposed by political systems or by the exploitation of + the working classes; it is due to physical laws, which the reformer, like + everyone else, must admit and study. Before any optimistic economic + project can be accepted as feasible, we must examine whether the physical + conditions of production impose an unalterable veto, or whether they are + capable of being sufficiently modified by science and organization. Two + connected doctrines must be considered in examining this question: First, + Malthus' doctrine of population; and second, the vaguer, but very + prevalent, view that any surplus above the bare necessaries of life can + only be produced if most men work long hours at monotonous or painful + tasks, leaving little leisure for a civilized existence or rational + enjoyment. I do not believe that either of these obstacles to optimism + will survive a close scrutiny. The possibility of technical improvement in + the methods of production is, I believe, so great that, at any rate for + centuries to come, there will be no inevitable barrier to progress in the + general well-being by the simultaneous increase of commodities and + diminution of hours of labor. + </p> + <p> + This subject has been specially studied by Kropotkin, who, whatever may be + thought of his general theories of politics, is remarkably instructive, + concrete and convincing in all that he says about the possibilities of + agriculture. Socialists and Anarchists in the main are products of + industrial life, and few among them have any practical knowledge on the + subject of food production. But Kropotkin is an exception. His two books, + "The Conquest of Bread" and "Fields, Factories and Workshops," are very + full of detailed information, and, even making great allowances for an + optimistic bias, I do not think it can be denied that they demonstrate + possibilities in which few of us would otherwise have believed. + </p> + <p> + Malthus contended, in effect, that population always tends to increase up + to the limit of subsistence, that the production of food becomes more + expensive as its amount is increased, and that therefore, apart from short + exceptional periods when new discoveries produce temporary alleviations, + the bulk of mankind must always be at the lowest level consistent with + survival and reproduction. As applied to the civilized races of the world, + this doctrine is becoming untrue through the rapid decline in the + birth-rate; but, apart from this decline, there are many other reasons why + the doctrine cannot be accepted, at any rate as regards the near future. + The century which elapsed after Malthus wrote, saw a very great increase + in the standard of comfort throughout the wage-earning classes, and, owing + to the enormous increase in the productivity of labor, a far greater rise + in the standard of comfort could have been effected if a more just system + of distribution had been introduced. In former times, when one man's labor + produced not very much more than was needed for one man's subsistence, it + was impossible either greatly to reduce the normal hours of labor, or + greatly to increase the proportion of the population who enjoyed more than + the bare necessaries of life. But this state of affairs has been overcome + by modern methods of production. At the present moment, not only do many + people enjoy a comfortable income derived from rent or interest, but about + half the population of most of the civilized countries in the world is + engaged, not in the production of commodities, but in fighting or in + manufacturing munitions of war. In a time of peace the whole of this half + might be kept in idleness without making the other half poorer than they + would have been if the war had continued, and if, instead of being idle, + they were productively employed, the whole of what they would produce + would be a divisible surplus over and above present wages. The present + productivity of labor in Great Britain would suffice to produce an income + of about 1 pound per day for each family, even without any of those + improvements in methods which are obviously immediately possible. + </p> + <p> + But, it will be said, as population increases, the price of food must + ultimately increase also as the sources of supply in Canada, the + Argentine, Australia and elsewhere are more and more used up. There must + come a time, so pessimists will urge, when food becomes so dear that the + ordinary wage-earner will have little surplus for expenditure upon other + things. It may be admitted that this would be true in some very distant + future if the population were to continue to increase without limit. If + the whole surface of the world were as densely populated as London is now, + it would, no doubt, require almost the whole labor of the population to + produce the necessary food from the few spaces remaining for agriculture. + But there is no reason to suppose that the population will continue to + increase indefinitely, and in any case the prospect is so remote that it + may be ignored in all practical considerations. + </p> + <p> + Returning from these dim speculations to the facts set forth by Kropotkin, + we find it proved in his writings that, by methods of intensive + cultivation, which are already in actual operation, the amount of food + produced on a given area can be increased far beyond anything that most + uninformed persons suppose possible. Speaking of the market-gardeners in + Great Britain, in the neighborhood of Paris, and in other places, he says:— + </p> + <p> + They have created a totally new agriculture. They smile when we boast + about the rotation system having permitted us to take from the field one + crop every year, or four crops each three years, because their ambition is + to have six and nine crops from the very same plot of land during the + twelve months. They do not understand our talk about good and bad soils, + because they make the soil themselves, and make it in such quantities as + to be compelled yearly to sell some of it; otherwise it would raise up the + level of their gardens by half an inch every year. They aim at cropping, + not five or six tons of grass on the acre, as we do, but from 50 to 100 + tons of various vegetables on the same space; not 5 pound sworth of hay, + but 100 pounds worth of vegetables, of the plainest description, cabbage + and carrots.<a href="#linknote-38" name="linknoteref-38" + id="linknoteref-38"><small>38</small></a> + </p> + <p> + As regards cattle, he mentions that Mr. Champion at Whitby grows on each + acre the food of two or three head of cattle, whereas under ordinary high + farming it takes two or three acres to keep each head of cattle in Great + Britain. Even more astonishing are the achievements of the Culture + Maraicheres round Paris. It is impossible to summarize these achievements, + but we may note the general conclusion:— + </p> + <p> + There are now practical Maraichers who venture to maintain that if all the + food, animal and vegetable, necessary for the 3,500,000 inhabitants of the + Departments of Seine and Seine-et-Oise had to be grown on their own + territory (3250 square miles), it could be grown without resorting to any + other methods of culture than those already in use—methods already + tested on a large scale and proved successful.<a href="#linknote-39" + name="linknoteref-39" id="linknoteref-39"><small>39</small></a> + </p> + <p> + It must be remembered that these two departments include the whole + population of Paris. + </p> + <p> + Kropotkin proceeds to point out methods by which the same result could be + achieved without long hours of labor. Indeed, he contends that the great + bulk of agricultural work could be carried on by people whose main + occupations are sedentary, and with only such a number of hours as would + serve to keep them in health and produce a pleasant diversification. He + protests against the theory of exces- sive division of labor. What he + wants is INTEGRATION, "a society where each individual is a producer of + both manual and intellectual work; where each able- bodied human being is + a worker, and where each worker works both in the field and in the + industrial workshop."<a href="#linknote-40" name="linknoteref-40" + id="linknoteref-40"><small>40</small></a> + </p> + <p> + These views as to production have no essential connection with Kropotkin's + advocacy of Anarchism. They would be equally possible under State + Socialism, and under certain circumstances they might even be carried out + in a capitalistic regime. They are important for our present purpose, not + from any argument which they afford in favor of one economic system as + against another, but from the fact that they remove the veto upon our + hopes which might otherwise result from a doubt as to the productive + capacity of labor. I have dwelt upon agriculture rather than industry, + since it is in regard to agriculture that the difficulties are chiefly + supposed to arise. Broadly speaking, industrial production tends to be + cheaper when it is carried on on a large scale, and therefore there is no + reason in industry why an increase in the demand should lead to an + increased cost of supply. + </p> + <p> + Passing now from the purely technical and material side of the problem of + production, we come to the human factor, the motives leading men to work, + the possibilities of efficient organization of production, and the + connection of production with distribution. Defenders of the existing + system maintain that efficient work would be impossible without the + economic stimulus, and that if the wage system were abolished men would + cease to do enough work to keep the community in tolerable comfort. + Through the alleged necessity of the economic motive, the problems of + production and distribution become intertwined. The desire for a more just + distribution of the world's goods is the main inspiration of most + Socialism and Anarchism. We must, therefore, consider whether the system + of distribution which they propose would be likely to lead to a diminished + production. + </p> + <p> + There is a fundamental difference between Socialism and Anarchism as + regards the question of distribution. Socialism, at any rate in most of + its forms, would retain payment for work done or for willingness to work, + and, except in the case of persons incapacitated by age or infirmity, + would make willingness to work a condition of subsistence, or at any rate + of subsistence above a certain very low minimum. Anarchism, on the other + hand, aims at granting to everyone, without any conditions whatever, just + as much of all ordinary commodities as he or she may care to consume, + while the rarer com- modities, of which the supply cannot easily be + indefinitely increased, would be rationed and divided equally among the + population. Thus Anarchism would not impose any OBLIGATIONS of work, + though Anarchists believe that the necessary work could be made + sufficiently agreeable for the vast majority of the population to + undertake it voluntarily. Socialists, on the other hand, would exact work. + Some of them would make the incomes of all workers equal, while others + would retain higher pay for the work which is considered more valuable. + All these different systems are compatible with the common ownership of + land and capital, though they differ greatly as regards the kind of + society which they would produce. + </p> + <p> + Socialism with inequality of income would not differ greatly as regards + the economic stimulus to work from the society in which we live. Such + differences as it would entail would undoubtedly be to the good from our + present point of view. Under the existing system many people enjoy + idleness and affluence through the mere accident of inheriting land or + capital. Many others, through their activities in industry or finance, + enjoy an income which is certainly very far in excess of anything to which + their social utility entitles them. On the other hand, it often happens + that inventors and discoverers, whose work has the very greatest social + utility, are robbed of their reward either by capitalists or by the + failure of the public to appreciate their work until too late. The better + paid work is only open to those who have been able to afford an expensive + training, and these men are selected in the main not by merit but by luck. + The wage earner is not paid for his willingness to work, but only for his + utility to the employer. Consequently, he may be plunged into destitution + by causes over which he has no control. Such destitution is a constant + fear, and when it occurs it produces undeserved suffering, and often + deterioration in the social value of the sufferer. These are a few among + the evils of our existing system from the standpoint of production. All + these evils we might expect to see remedied under any system of Socialism. + </p> + <p> + There are two questions which need to be considered when we are discussing + how far work requires the economic motive. The first question is: Must + society give higher pay for the more skilled or socially more valuable + work, if such work is to be done in sufficient quantities? The second + question is: Could work be made so attractive that enough of it would be + done even if idlers received just as much of the produce of work? The + first of these questions concerns the division between two schools of + Socialists: the more moderate Socialists sometimes concede that even under + Socialism it would be well to retain unequal pay for different kinds of + work, while the more thoroughgoing Socialists advocate equal incomes for + all workers. The second question, on the other hand, forms a division + between Socialists and Anarchists; the latter would not deprive a man of + commodities if he did not work, while the former in general would. + </p> + <p> + Our second question is so much more fundamental than our first that it + must be discussed at once, and in the course of this discussion what needs + to be said on our first question will find its place naturally. + </p> + <p> + Wages or Free Sharing?—"Abolition of the wages system" is one of the + watchwords common to Anarchists and advanced Socialists. But in its most + natural sense it is a watchword to which only the Anarchists have a right. + In the Anarchist conception of society all the commoner commodities will + be available to everyone without stint, in the kind of way in which water + is available at present.<a href="#linknote-41" name="linknoteref-41" + id="linknoteref-41"><small>41</small></a> Advo- cates of this system point + out that it applies already to many things which formerly had to be paid + for, e.g., roads and bridges. They point out that it might very easily be + extended to trams and local trains. They proceed to argue—as + Kropotkin does by means of his proofs that the soil might be made + indefinitely more productive—that all the commoner kinds of food + could be given away to all who demanded them, since it would be easy to + produce them in quantities adequate to any possible demand. If this system + were extended to all the necessaries of life, everyone's bare livelihood + would be secured, quite regardless of the way in which he might choose to + spend his time. As for commodities which cannot be produced in indefinite + quantities, such as luxuries and delicacies, they also, according to the + Anarchists, are to be distributed without payment, but on a system of + rations, the amount available being divided equally among the population. + No doubt, though this is not said, something like a price will have to be + put upon these luxuries, so that a man may be free to choose how he will + take his share: one man will prefer good wine, another the finest Havana + cigars, another pictures or beautiful furniture. Presumably, every man + will be allowed to take such luxuries as are his due in whatever form he + prefers, the relative prices being fixed so as to equalize the demand. In + such a world as this, the economic stimulus to production will have wholly + disappeared, and if work is to continue it must be from other motives.<a + href="#linknote-42" name="linknoteref-42" id="linknoteref-42"><small>42</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Is such a system possible? First, is it technically possible to provide + the necessaries of life in such large quantities as would be needed if + every man and woman could take as much of them from the public stores as + he or she might desire? + </p> + <p> + The idea of purchase and payment is so familiar that the proposal to do + away with it must be thought at first fantastic. Yet I do not believe it + is nearly so fantastic as it seems. Even if we could all have bread for + nothing, we should not want more than a quite limited amount. As things + are, the cost of bread to the rich is so small a proportion of their + income as to afford practically no check upon their consumption; yet the + amount of bread that they consume could easily be supplied to the whole + population by improved methods of agriculture (I am not speaking of + war-time). The amount of food that people desire has natural limits, and + the waste that would be incurred would probably not be very great. As the + Anarchists point out, people at present enjoy an unlimited water supply + but very few leave the taps running when they are not using them. And one + may assume that public opinion would be opposed to excessive waste. We may + lay it down, I think, that the principle of unlimited supply could be + adopted in regard to all commodities for which the demand has limits that + fall short of what can be easily produced. And this would be the case, if + production were efficiently organized, with the necessaries of life, + including not only commodities, but also such things as education. Even if + all education were free up to the highest, young people, unless they were + radically transformed by the Anarchist regime, would not want more than a + certain amount of it. And the same applies to plain foods, plain clothes, + and the rest of the things that supply our elementary needs. + </p> + <p> + I think we may conclude that there is no technical impossibility in the + Anarchist plan of free sharing. + </p> + <p> + But would the necessary work be done if the individual were assured of the + general standard of comfort even though he did no work? + </p> + <p> + Most people will answer this question unhesitatingly in the negative. + Those employers in particular who are in the habit of denouncing their + employes as a set of lazy, drunken louts, will feel quite certain that no + work could be got out of them except under threat of dismissal and + consequent starvation. But is this as certain as people are inclined to + sup- pose at first sight? If work were to remain what most work is now, no + doubt it would be very hard to induce people to undertake it except from + fear of destitution. But there is no reason why work should remain the + dreary drudgery in horrible conditions that most of it is now.<a + href="#linknote-43" name="linknoteref-43" id="linknoteref-43"><small>43</small></a> + If men had to be tempted to work instead of driven to it, the obvious + interest of the community would be to make work pleasant. So long as work + is not made on the whole pleasant, it cannot be said that anything like a + good state of society has been reached. Is the painfulness of work + unavoidable? + </p> + <p> + At present, the better paid work, that of the business and professional + classes, is for the most part enjoyable. I do not mean that every separate + moment is agreeable, but that the life of a man who has work of this sort + is on the whole happier than that of a man who enjoys an equal income + without doing any work. A certain amount of effort, and something in the + nature of a continuous career, are necessary to vigorous men if they are + to preserve their mental health and their zest for life. A considerable + amount of work is done without pay. People who take a rosy view of human + nature might have supposed that the duties of a magistrate would be among + disagreeable trades, like cleaning sewers; but a cynic might contend that + the pleasures of vindictiveness and moral superiority are so great that + there is no difficulty in finding well-to-do elderly gentlemen who are + willing, without pay, to send helpless wretches to the torture of prison. + And apart from enjoyment of the work itself, desire for the good opinion + of neighbors and for the feeling of effectiveness is quite sufficient to + keep many men active. + </p> + <p> + But, it will be said, the sort of work that a man would voluntarily choose + must always be exceptional: the great bulk of necessary work can never be + anything but painful. Who would choose, if an easy life were otherwise + open to him, to be a coal-miner, or a stoker on an Atlantic liner? I think + it must be conceded that much necessary work must always remain + disagreeable or at least painfully monotonous, and that special privileges + will have to be accorded to those who undertake it, if the Anarchist + system is ever to be made workable. It is true that the introduction of + such special privileges would somewhat mar the rounded logic of Anarchism, + but it need not, I think, make any really vital breach in its system. Much + of the work that needs doing could be rendered agreeable, if thought and + care were given to this object. Even now it is often only long hours that + make work irksome. If the normal hours of work were reduced to, say, four, + as they could be by better organization and more scientific methods, a + very great deal of work which is now felt as a burden would quite cease to + be so. If, as Kropotkin suggests, agricultural work, instead of being the + lifelong drudgery of an ignorant laborer living very near the verge of + abject poverty, were the occasional occupation of men and women normally + employed in industry or brain-work; if, instead of being conducted by + ancient traditional methods, without any possibility of intelligent + participation by the wage- earner, it were alive with the search for new + methods and new inventions, filled with the spirit of freedom, and + inviting the mental as well as the physical cooperation of those who do + the work, it might become a joy instead of a weariness, and a source of + health and life to those engaged in it. + </p> + <p> + What is true of agriculture is said by Anarchists to be equally true of + industry. They maintain that if the great economic organizations which are + now managed by capitalists, without consideration for the lives of the + wage-earners beyond what Trade Unions are able to exact, were turned + gradually into self-governing communities, in which the producers could + decide all questions of methods, conditions, hours of work, and so forth, + there would be an almost boundless change for the better: grime and noise + might be nearly eliminated, the hideousness of industrial regions might be + turned into beauty, the interest in the scientific aspects of production + might become diffused among all producers with any native intelligence, + and something of the artist's joy in creation might inspire the whole of + the work. All this, which is at present utterly remote from the reality, + might be produced by economic self-government. We may concede that by such + means a very large proportion of the necessary work of the world could + ultimately be made sufficiently agreeable to be preferred before idleness + even by men whose bare livelihood would be assured whether they worked or + not. As to the residue let us admit that special rewards, whether in goods + or honors or privileges, would have to be given to those who undertook it. + But this need not cause any fundamental objection. + </p> + <p> + There would, of course, be a certain proportion of the population who + would prefer idleness. Provided the proportion were small, this need not + matter. And among those who would be classed as idlers might be included + artists, writers of books, men devoted to abstract intellectual pursuits—in + short, all those whom society despises while they are alive and honors + when they are dead. To such men, the possibility of pursuing their own + work regardless of any public recognition of its utility would be + invaluable. Whoever will observe how many of our poets have been men of + private means will realize how much poetic capacity must have remained + undeveloped through poverty; for it would be absurd to suppose that the + rich are better endowed by nature with the capacity for poetry. Freedom + for such men, few as they are, must be set against the waste of the mere + idlers. + </p> + <p> + So far, we have set forth the arguments in favor of the Anarchist plan. + They are, to my mind, sufficient to make it seem possible that the plan + might succeed, but not sufficient to make it so probable that it would be + wise to try it. + </p> + <p> + The question of the feasibility of the Anarchist proposals in regard to + distribution is, like so many other questions, a quantitative one. The + Anarchist proposals consist of two parts: (1) That all the common + commodities should be supplied ad lib. to all applicants; (2) That no + obligation to work, or economic reward for work, should be imposed on + anyone. These two proposals are not necessarily inseparable, nor does + either entail the whole system of Anarchism, though without them Anarchism + would hardly be possible. As regards the first of these proposals, it can + be carried out even now with regard to some commodities, and it could be + carried out in no very distant future with regard to many more. It is a + flexible plan, since this or that article of consumption could be placed + on the free list or taken of as circumstances might dictate. Its + advantages are many and various, and the practice of the world tends to + develop in this direction. I think we may conclude that this part of the + Anarchists' system might well be adopted bit by bit, reaching gradually + the full extension that they desire. + </p> + <p> + But as regards the second proposal, that there should be no obligation to + work, and no economic reward for work, the matter is much more doubtful. + Anarchists always assume that if their schemes were put into operation + practically everyone would work; but although there is very much more to + be said for this view than most people would concede at first sight, yet + it is questionable whether there is enough to be said to make it true for + practical purposes. Perhaps, in a community where industry had become + habitual through economic pressure, public opinion might be sufficiently + powerful to compel most men to work;<a href="#linknote-44" + name="linknoteref-44" id="linknoteref-44"><small>44</small></a> but it is + always doubtful how far such a state of things would be permanent. If + public opinion is to be really effective, it will be necessary to have + some method of dividing the community into small groups, and to allow each + group to consume only the equivalent of what it produces. This will make + the economic motive operative upon the group, which, since we are + supposing it small, will feel that its collective share is appreciably + diminished by each idle individual. Such a system might be feasible, but + it would be contrary to the whole spirit of Anarchism and would destroy + the main lines of its economic system. + </p> + <p> + The attitude of orthodox Socialism on this question is quite different + from that of Anarchism.<a href="#linknote-45" name="linknoteref-45" + id="linknoteref-45"><small>45</small></a> Among the more immediate + measures advocated in the "Communist Manifesto" is "equal liability of all + to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture." + The Socialist theory is that, in general, work alone gives the right to + the enjoyment of the produce of work. To this theory there will, of + course, be exceptions: the old and the very young, the infirm and those + whose work is temporarily not required through no fault of their own. But + the fundamental conception of Socialism, in regard to our present + question, is that all who can should be compelled to work, either by the + threat of starvation or by the operation of the criminal law. And, of + course, the only kind of work recognized will be such as commends itself + to the authorities. Writing books against Socialism, or against any theory + embodied in the government of the day, would certainly not be recognized + as work. No more would the painting of pictures in a different style from + that of the Royal Academy, or producing plays unpleasing to the censor. + Any new line of thought would be banned, unless by influence or corruption + the thinker could crawl into the good graces of the pundits. These results + are not foreseen by Socialists, because they imagine that the Socialist + State will be governed by men like those who now advocate it. This is, of + course, a delusion. The rulers of the State then will bear as little + resemblance to the pres- ent Socialists as the dignitaries of the Church + after the time of Constantine bore to the Apostles. The men who advocate + an unpopular reform are exceptional in disinterestedness and zeal for the + public good; but those who hold power after the reform has been carried + out are likely to belong, in the main, to the ambitious executive type + which has in all ages possessed itself of the government of nations. And + this type has never shown itself tolerant of opposition or friendly to + freedom. + </p> + <p> + It would seem, then, that if the Anarchist plan has its dangers, the + Socialist plan has at least equal dangers. It is true that the evils we + have been foreseeing under Socialism exist at present, but the purpose of + Socialists is to cure the evils of the world as it is; they cannot be + content with the argument that they would make things no worse. + </p> + <p> + Anarchism has the advantage as regards liberty, Socialism as regards the + inducements to work. Can we not find a method of combining these two + advantages? It seems to me that we can. + </p> + <p> + We saw that, provided most people work in moderation, and their work is + rendered as productive as science and organization can make it, there is + no good reason why the necessaries of life should not be supplied freely + to all. Our only serious doubt was as to whether, in an Anarchist regime, + the motives for work would be sufficiently powerful to prevent a dan- + gerously large amount of idleness. But it would be easy to decree that, + though necessaries should be free to all, whatever went beyond necessaries + should only be given to those who were willing to work—not, as is + usual at present, only to those in work at any moment, but also to all + those who, when they happened not to be working, were idle through no + fault of their own. We find at present that a man who has a small income + from investments, just sufficient to keep him from actual want, almost + always prefers to find some paid work in order to be able to afford + luxuries. So it would be, presumably, in such a community as we are + imagining. At the same time, the man who felt a vocation for some + unrecognized work of art or science or thought would be free to follow his + desire, provided he were willing to "scorn delights and live laborious + days." And the comparatively small number of men with an invincible horror + of work—the sort of men who now become tramps— might lead a + harmless existence, without any grave danger of their becoming + sufficiently numerous to be a serious burden upon the more industrious. In + this ways the claims of freedom could be combined with the need of some + economic stimulus to work. Such a system, it seems to me, would have a far + greater chance of success than either pure Anarchism or pure orthodox + Socialism. + </p> + <p> + Stated in more familiar terms, the plan we are advocating amounts + essentially to this: that a certain small income, sufficient for + necessaries, should be secured to all, whether they work or not, and that + a larger income, as much larger as might be warranted by the total amount + of commodities produced, should be given to those who are willing to + engage in some work which the community recognizes as useful. On this + basis we may build further. I do not think it is always necessary to pay + more highly work which is more skilled or regarded as socially more + useful, since such work is more interesting and more respected than + ordinary work, and will therefore often be preferred by those who are able + to do it. But we might, for instance, give an intermediate income to those + who are only willing to work half the usual number of hours, and an income + above that of most workers to those who choose a specially disagreeable + trade. Such a system is perfectly compatible with Socialism, though + perhaps hardly with Anarchism. Of its advantages we shall have more to say + at a later stage. For the present I am content to urge that it combines + freedom with justice, and avoids those dangers to the community which we + have found to lurk both in the proposals of the Anarchists and in those of + orthodox Socialists. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V — GOVERNMENT AND LAW + </h2> + <p> + GOVERNMENT and Law, in their very essence, consist of restrictions on + freedom, and freedom is the greatest of political goods.<a + href="#linknote-46" name="linknoteref-46" id="linknoteref-46"><small>46</small></a> + A hasty reasoner might conclude without further ado that Law and + government are evils which must be abolished if freedom is our goal. But + this consequence, true or false, cannot be proved so simply. In this + chapter we shall examine the arguments of Anarchists against law and the + State. We shall proceed on the assumption that freedom is the supreme aim + of a good social system; but on this very basis we shall find the + Anarchist contentions very questionable. + </p> + <p> + Respect for the liberty of others is not a natural impulse with most men: + envy and love of power lead ordinary human nature to find pleasure in + interferences with the lives of others. If all men's actions were wholly + unchecked by external authority, we should not obtain a world in which all + men would be free. The strong would oppress the weak, or the majority + would oppress the minority, or the lovers of violence would oppress the + more peaceable people. I fear it cannot be said that these bad impulses + are WHOLLY due to a bad social system, though it must be conceded that the + present competitive organization of society does a great deal to foster + the worst elements in human nature. The love of power is an impulse which, + though innate in very ambitious men, is chiefly promoted as a rule by the + actual experience of power. In a world where none could acquire much + power, the desire to tyrannize would be much less strong than it is at + present. Nevertheless, I cannot think that it would be wholly absent, and + those in whom it would exist would often be men of unusual energy and + executive capacity. Such men, if they are not restrained by the organized + will of the community, may either succeed in establishing a despotism, or, + at any rate, make such a vigorous attempt as can only be defeated through + a period of prolonged disturbance. And apart from the love or political + power, there is the love of power over individuals. If threats and + terrorism were not prevented by law, it can hardly be doubted that cruelty + would be rife in the relations of men and women, and of parents and + children. It is true that the habits of a community can make such cruelty + rare, but these habits, I fear, are only to be produced through the + prolonged reign of law. Experience of backwoods communities, mining camps + and other such places seems to show that under new conditions men easily + revert to a more barbarous attitude and practice. It would seem, + therefore, that, while human nature remains as it is, there will be more + liberty for all in a community where some acts of tyranny by individuals + are forbidden, than in a community where the law leaves each individual + free to follow his every impulse. But, although the necessity of some form + of government and law must for the present be conceded, it is important to + remember that all law and government is in itself in some degree an evil, + only justifiable when it prevents other and greater evils. Every use of + the power of the State needs, therefore, to be very closely scrutinized, + and every possibility of diminishing its power is to be welcomed provided + it does not lead to a reign of private tyranny. + </p> + <p> + The power of the State is partly legal, partly economic: acts of a kind + which the State dislikes can be punished by the criminal law, and + individuals who incur the displeasure of the State may find it hard to + earn a livelihood. + </p> + <p> + The views of Marx on the State are not very clear. On the one hand he + seems willing,, like the modern State Socialists, to allow great power to + the State, but on the other hand he suggests that when the Socialist + revolution has been consummated, the State, as we know it, will disappear. + Among the measures which are advocated in the Communist Manifesto as + immediately desirable, there are several which would very greatly increase + the power of the existing State. For example, "Centralization of credit in + the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and + an exclusive monopoly;" and again, "Centralization of the means of + communication and transport in the hands of the State." But the Manifesto + goes on to say: + </p> + <p> + When, in the course of development, class distinctions have disappeared, + and all production has been concentrated in the hands of a vast + association of the whole nation, the public power will lose its political + character. Political power, properly so called, is merely the organised + power of one class for oppressing another. If the proletariat during its + contest with the bourgeoisie is compelled, by the force of circumstances, + to organize itself as a class, if, by means of a revolution, it makes + itself the ruling class, and, as such, sweeps away by force the old + conditions of production, then it will, along with these conditions, have + swept away the conditions for the existence of class antagonisms, and of + classes generally, and will thereby have abolished its own supremacy as a + class. + </p> + <p> + In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class + antagonisms, we shall have an association, in which; the free development + of each is the condition for the free development of all.<a + href="#linknote-47" name="linknoteref-47" id="linknoteref-47"><small>47</small></a> + </p> + <p> + This attitude Marx preserved in essentials throughout his life. + Accordingly, it is not to be wondered at that his followers, so far as + regards their immediate aims, have in the main become out-and-out State + Socialists. On the other hand, the Syndicalists, who accept from Marx the + doctrine of the class war, which they regard as what is really vital in + his teaching, reject the State with abhorrence and wish to abolish it + wholly, in which respect they are at one with the Anarchists. The Guild + Socialists, though some persons in this country regard them as extremists, + really represent the English love of compromise. The Syndicalist arguments + as to the dangers inherent in the power of the State have made them + dissatisfied with the old State Socialism, but they are unable to accept + the Anarchist view that society can dispense altogether with a central + authority. Accordingly they propose that there should be two co-equal + instruments of Government in a community, the one geographical, + representing the consumers, and essentially the continuation of the + democratic State; the other representing the producers, organized, not + geographically, but in guilds, after the manner of industrial unionism. + These two author- ities will deal with different classes of questions. + Guild Socialists do not regard the industrial authority as forming part of + the State, for they contend that it is the essence of the State to be + geographical; but the industrial authority will resemble the present State + in the fact that it will have coercive powers, and that its decrees will + be enforced, when necessary. It is to be suspected that Syndicalists also, + much as they object to the existing State, would not object to coercion of + individuals in an industry by the Trade Union in that industry. Government + within the Trade Union would probably be quite as strict as State + government is now. In saying this we are assuming that the theoretical + Anarchism of Syndicalist leaders would not survive accession to power, but + I am afraid experience shows that this is not a very hazardous assumption. + </p> + <p> + Among all these different views, the one which raises the deepest issue is + the Anarchist contention that all coercion by the community is + unnecessary. Like most of the things that Anarchists say, there is much + more to be urged in support of this view than most people would suppose at + first sight. Kropotkin, who is its ablest exponent, points out how much + has been achieved already by the method of free agreement. He does not + wish to abolish government in the sense of collective decisions: what he + does wish to abolish is the system by which a decision is en- forced upon + those who oppose it.<a href="#linknote-48" name="linknoteref-48" + id="linknoteref-48"><small>48</small></a> The whole system of + representative government and majority rule is to him a bad thing.<a + href="#linknote-49" name="linknoteref-49" id="linknoteref-49"><small>49</small></a> + He points to such instances as the agreements among the different railway + systems of the Continent for the running of through expresses and for + co-operation generally. He points out that in such cases the different + companies or authorities concerned each appoint a delegate, and that the + delegates suggest a basis of agreement, which has to be subsequently + ratified by each of the bodies ap- pointing them. The assembly of + delegates has no coercive power whatever, and a majority can do nothing + against a recalcitrant minority. Yet this has not prevented the conclusion + of very elaborate systems of agreements. By such methods, so Anarchists + contend, the USEFUL functions of government can be carried out without any + coercion. They maintain that the usefulness of agreement is so patent as + to make co-operation certain if once the predatory motives associated with + the present system of private property were removed. + </p> + <p> + "It seems to me, however, that State and government represent two ideas of + a different kind. The State idea implies quite another idea to that of + government. It not only includes the existence of a power placed above + society, but also a territorial concentration and a concentration of many + functions of the life of society in the hands of a few or even of all. It + implies new relations among the members of society. + </p> + <p> + "This characteristic distinction, which perhaps escapes notice at first + sight, appears clearly when the origin of the State is studied." + Kropotkin, "The State." p. 4. + </p> + <p> + Attractive as this view is, I cannot resist the conclusion that it results + from impatience and represents the attempt to find a short-cut toward the + ideal which all humane people desire. + </p> + <p> + Let us begin with the question of private crime.<a href="#linknote-50" + name="linknoteref-50" id="linknoteref-50"><small>50</small></a> Anarchists + maintain that the criminal is manufactured by bad social conditions and + would disappear in such a world as they aim at creating.<a + href="#linknote-51" name="linknoteref-51" id="linknoteref-51"><small>51</small></a> + No doubt there is a great measure of truth in this view. There would be + little motive to robbery, for example, in an Anarchist world, unless it + were organized on a large scale by a body of men bent on upsetting the + Anarchist regime. It may also be conceded that impulses toward criminal + violence could be very largely eliminated by a better education. But all + such contentions, it seems to me, have their limitations. To take an + extreme case, we cannot suppose that there would be no lunatics in an + Anarchist community, and some of these lunatics would, no doubt, be + homicidal. Probably no one would argue that they ought to be left at + liberty. But there are no sharp lines in nature; from the homicidal + lunatic to the sane man of violent passions there is a continuous + gradation. Even in the most perfect community there will be men and women, + otherwise sane, who will feel an impulse to commit murder from jealousy. + These are now usually restrained by the fear of punishment, but if this + fear were removed, such murders would probably become much more common, as + may be seen from the present behavior of certain soldiers on leave. + Moreover, certain kinds of conduct arouse public hostility, and would + almost inevitably lead to lynching, if no other recognized method of + punishment existed. There is in most men a certain natural vindictiveness, + not always directed against the worst members of the community. For + example, Spinoza was very nearly murdered by the mob because he was + suspected of undue friendliness to France at a time when Holland was at + war with that country. Apart from such cases, there would be the very real + danger of an organized attempt to destroy Anarchism and revive ancient + oppressions. Is it to be supposed, for example, that Napoleon, if he had + been born into such a community as Kropotkin advocates, would have + acquiesced tamely in a world where his genius could find no scope? I + cannot see what should prevent a combination of ambitious men forming + themselves into a private army, manufacturing their own munitions, and at + last enslaving the defenseless citizens, who had relied upon the inherent + attractiveness of liberty. It would not be consistent with the principles + of Anarchism for the community to interfere with the drilling of a private + army, no matter what its objects might be (though, of course, an opposing + private army might be formed by men with different views). Indeed, + Kropotkin instances the old volunteers in Great Britain as an example of a + movement on Anarchist lines.<a href="#linknote-52" name="linknoteref-52" + id="linknoteref-52"><small>52</small></a> Even if a predatory army were + not formed from within, it might easily come from a neighboring nation, or + from races on the borderland of civilization. So long as the love of power + exists, I do not see how it can be prevented from finding an outlet in + oppression except by means of the organized force of the community. + </p> + <p> + The conclusion, which appears to be forced upon us, is that the Anarchist + ideal of a community in which no acts are forbidden by law is not, at any + rate for the present, compatible with the stability of such a world as the + Anarchists desire. In order to obtain and preserve a world resembling as + closely as possible that at which they aim, it will still be necessary + that some acts should be forbidden by law. We may put the chief of these + under three heads: + </p> + <p> + 1. Theft. + </p> + <p> + 2. Crimes of violence. + </p> + <p> + 3. The creation of organizations intended to subvert the Anarchist regime + by force. + </p> + <p> + We will briefly recapitulate what has been said already as to the + necessity of these prohibitions. + </p> + <p> + 1. Theft.—It is true that in an Anarchist world there will be no + destitution, and therefore no thefts motivated by starvation. But such + thefts are at present by no means the most considerable or the most + harmful. The system of rationing, which is to be applied to luxuries, will + leave many men with fewer luxuries than they might desire. It will give + opportunities for peculation by those who are in control of the public + stores, and it will leave the possibility of appropriating such valuable + objects of art as would naturally be preserved in public museums. It may + be contended that such forms of theft would be prevented by public + opinion. But public opinion is not greatly operative upon an individual + unless it is the opinion of his own group. A group of men combined for + purposes of theft might readily defy the public opinion of the majority + unless that public opinion made itself effective by the use of force + against them. Probably, in fact, such force would be applied through + popular indignation, but in that case we should revive the evils of the + criminal law with the added evils of uncertainty, haste and passion, which + are inseparable from the practice of lynching. If, as we have suggested, + it were found necessary to provide an economic stimulus to work by + allowing fewer luxuries to idlers, this would afford a new motive for + theft on their part and a new necessity for some form of criminal law. + </p> + <p> + 2. Crimes of Violence.—Cruelty to children, crimes of jealousy, + rape, and so forth, are almost certain to occur in any society to some + extent. The prevention of such acts is essential to the existence of + freedom for the weak. If nothing were done to hinder them, it is to be + feared that the customs of a society would gradually become rougher, and + that acts which are now rare would cease to be so. If Anarchists are right + in maintaining that the existence of such an economic system as they + desire would prevent the commission of crimes of this kind, the laws + forbidding them would no longer come into operation, and would do no harm + to liberty. If, on the other hand, the impulse to such actions persisted, + it would be necessary that steps should be taken to restrain men from + indulging it. + </p> + <p> + 3. The third class of difficulties is much the most serious and involves + much the most drastic interference with liberty. I do not see how a + private army could be tolerated within an Anarchist community, and I do + not see how it could be prevented except by a general prohibition of + carrying arms. If there were no such prohibition, rival parties would + organize rival forces, and civil war would result. Yet, if there is such a + prohibition, it cannot well be carried out without a very considerable + interference with individual liberty. No doubt, after a time, the idea of + using violence to achieve a political object might die down, as the + practice of duelling has done. But such changes of habit and outlook are + facilitated by legal prohibition, and would hardly come about without it. + I shall not speak yet of the international aspect of this same problem, + for I propose to deal with that in the next chapter, but it is clear that + the same considerations apply with even greater force to the relations + between nations. + </p> + <p> + If we admit, however reluctantly, that a criminal law is necessary and + that the force of the community must be brought to bear to prevent certain + kinds of actions, a further question arises: How is crime to be treated? + What is the greatest measure of humanity and respect for freedom that is + compatible with the recognition of such a thing as crime? The first thing + to recognize is that the whole conception of guilt or sin should be + utterly swept away. At present, the criminal is visited with the + displeasure of the community: the sole method applied to prevent the + occurrence of crime is the infliction of pain upon the criminal. + Everything possible is done to break his spirit and destroy his + self-respect. Even those pleasures which would be most likely to have a + civilizing effect are forbidden to him, merely on the ground that they are + pleasures, while much of the suffering inflicted is of a kind which can + only brutalize and degrade still further. I am not speaking, of course, of + those few penal institutions which have made a serious study of reforming + the criminal. Such institutions, especially in America, have been proved + capable of achieving the most remarkable results, but they remain + everywhere exceptional. The broad rule is still that the criminal is made + to feel the displeasure of society. He must emerge from such a treatment + either defiant and hostile, or submissive and cringing, with a broken + spirit and a loss of self-respect. Neither of these results is anything + but evil. Nor can any good result be achieved by a method of treatment + which embodies reprobation. + </p> + <p> + When a man is suffering from an infectious disease he is a danger to the + community, and it is necessary to restrict his liberty of movement. But no + one associates any idea of guilt with such a situation. On the contrary, + he is an object of commiseration to his friends. Such steps as science + recommends are taken to cure him of his disease, and he submits as a rule + without reluctance to the curtailment of liberty involved meanwhile. The + same method in spirit ought to be shown in the treatment of what is called + "crime." It is supposed, of course, that the criminal is actuated by + calculations of self-interest, and that the fear of punishment, by + supplying a contrary motive of self-interest affords the best deterrent, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The dog, to gain some private end, + Went mad and bit the man. +</pre> + <p> + This is the popular view of crime; yet no dog goes mad from choice, and + probably the same is true of the great majority of criminals, certainly in + the case of crimes of passion. Even in cases where self-interest is the + motive, the important thing is to prevent the crime, not to make the + criminal suffer. Any suffering which may be entailed by the process of + prevention ought to be regarded as regrettable, like the pain involved in + a surgical operation. The man who commits a crime from an impulse to + violence ought to be subjected to a scientific psychological treatment, + designed to elicit more beneficial impulses. The man who commits a crime + from calculations of self- interest ought to be made to feel that + self-interest itself, when it is fully understood, can be better served by + a life which is useful to the community than by one which is harmful. For + this purpose it is chiefly necessary to widen his outlook and increase the + scope of his desires. At present, when a man suffers from insufficient + love for his fellow-creatures, the method of curing him which is commonly + adopted seems scarcely designed to succeed, being, indeed, in essentials, + the same as his attitude toward them. The object of the prison + administration is to save trouble, not to study the individual case. He is + kept in captivity in a cell from which all sight of the earth is shut out: + he is subjected to harshness by warders, who have too often become + brutalized by their occupation.<a href="#linknote-53" name="linknoteref-53" + id="linknoteref-53"><small>53</small></a> He is solemnly denounced as an + enemy to society. He is compelled to perform mechanical tasks, chosen for + their wearisomeness. He is given no education and no incentive to + self-improvement. Is it to be wondered at if, at the end of such a course + of treatment, his feelings toward the community are no more friendly than + they were at the beginning? + </p> + <p> + Severity of punishment arose through vindictiveness and fear in an age + when many criminals escaped justice altogether, and it was hoped that + savage sentences would outweigh the chance of escape in the mind of the + criminal. At present a very large part of the criminal law is concerned in + safeguarding the rights of property, that is to say—as things are + now—the unjust privileges of the rich. Those whose principles lead + them into conflict with government, like Anarchists, bring a most + formidable indictment against the law and the authorities for the unjust + manner in which they support the status quo. Many of the actions by which + men have become rich are far more harmful to the community than the + obscure crimes of poor men, yet they go unpunished because they do not + interfere with the existing order. If the power of the community is to be + brought to bear to prevent certain classes of actions through the agency + of the criminal law, it is as necessary that these actions should really + be those which are harmful to the community, as it is that the treatment + of "criminals" should be freed from the conception of guilt and inspired + by the same spirit as is shown in the treatment of disease. But, if these + two conditions were fulfilled, I cannot help thinking that a society which + preserved the existence of law would be preferable to one conducted on the + unadulterated principles of Anarchism. + </p> + <p> + So far we have been considering the power which the State derives from the + criminal law. We have every reason to think that this power cannot be + entirely abolished, though it can be exercised in a wholly different + spirit, without the vindictiveness and the moral reprobation which now + form its essence. + </p> + <p> + We come next to the consideration of the economic power of the State and + the influence which it can exert through its bureaucracy. State Socialists + argue as if there would be no danger to liberty in a State not based upon + capitalism. This seems to me an entire delusion. Given an official caste, + however selected, there are bound to be a set of men whose whole instincts + will drive them toward tyranny. Together with the natural love of power, + they will have a rooted conviction (visible now in the higher ranks of the + Civil Service) that they alone know enough to be able to judge what is for + the good of the community. Like all men who administer a system, they will + come to feel the system itself sacrosanct. The only changes they will + desire will be changes in the direction of further regulations as to how + the people are to enjoy the good things kindly granted to them by their + benevolent despots. Whoever thinks this picture overdrawn must have failed + to study the influence and methods of Civil Servants at present. On every + matter that arises, they know far more than the general public about all + the DEFINITE facts involved; the one thing they do not know is "where the + shoe pinches." But those who know this are probably not skilled in stating + their case, not able to say off-hand exactly how many shoes are pinching + how many feet, or what is the precise remedy required. The answer prepared + for Ministers by the Civil Service is accepted by the "respectable" public + as impartial, and is regarded as disposing of the case of malcontents + except on a first-class political question on which elections may be won + or lost. That at least is the way in which things are managed in England. + And there is every reason to fear that under State Socialism the power of + officials would be vastly greater than it is at present. + </p> + <p> + Those who accept the orthodox doctrine of democracy contend that, if ever + the power of capital were removed, representative institutions would + suffice to undo the evils threatened by bureaucracy. Against this view, + Anarchists and Syndicalists have directed a merciless criticism. French + Syndicalists especially, living, as they do, in a highly democratized + country, have had bitter experience of the way in which the power of the + State can be employed against a progressive minority. This experience has + led them to abandon altogether the belief in the divine right of + majorities. The Constitution that they would desire would be one which + allowed scope for vigorous minorities, conscious of their aims and + prepared to work for them. It is undeniable that, to all who care for + progress, actual experience of democratic representative Government is + very disillusioning. Admitting— as I think we must—that it is + preferable to any PREVIOUS form of Government, we must yet acknowledge + that much of the criticism directed against it by Anarchists and + Syndicalists is thoroughly justified. + </p> + <p> + Such criticism would have had more influence if any clear idea of an + alternative to parliamentary democracy had been generally apprehended. But + it must be confessed that Syndicalists have not presented their case in a + way which is likely to attract the average citizen. Much of what they say + amounts to this: that a minority, consisting of skilled workers in vital + industries, can, by a strike, make the economic life of the whole + community impossible, and can in this way force their will upon the + nation. The action aimed at is compared to the seizure of a power station, + by which a whole vast system can be paralyzed. Such a doctrine is an + appeal to force, and is naturally met by an appeal to force on the other + side. It is useless for the Syndicalists to protest that they only desire + power in order to promote liberty: the world which they are seeking to + establish does not, as yet, appeal to the effective will of the community, + and cannot be stably inaugurated until it does do so. Persuasion is a slow + process, and may sometimes be accelerated by violent methods; to this + extent such methods may be justified. But the ultimate goal of any + reformer who aims at liberty can only be reached through persuasion. The + attempt to thrust liberty by force upon those who do not desire what we + consider liberty must always prove a failure; and Syndicalists, like other + reformers, must ultimately rely upon persuasion for success. + </p> + <p> + But it would be a mistake to confuse aims with methods: however little we + may agree with the proposal to force the millennium on a reluctant + community by starvation, we may yet agree that much of what the + Syndicalists desire to achieve is desirable. + </p> + <p> + Let us dismiss from our minds such criticisms of parliamentary government + as are bound up with the present system of private property, and consider + only those which would remain true in a collectivist community. Certain + defects seem inherent in the very nature of representative institutions. + There is a sense of self-importance, inseparable from success in a contest + for popular favor. There is an all-but unavoidable habit of hypocrisy, + since experience shows that the democracy does not detect insincerity in + an orator, and will, on the other hand, be shocked by things which even + the most sincere men may think necessary. Hence arises a tone of cynicism + among elected representatives, and a feeling that no man can retain his + position in politics without deceit. This is as much the fault of the + democracy as of the representatives, but it seems unavoidable so long as + the main thing that all bodies of men demand of their champions is + flattery. However the blame may be apportioned, the evil must be + recognized as one which is bound to occur in the existing forms of + democracy. Another evil, which is especially noticeable in large States, + is the remoteness of the seat of government from many of the + constituencies—a remoteness which is psychological even more than + geographical. The legislators live in comfort, protected by thick walls + and innumerable policemen from the voice of the mob; as time goes on they + remember only dimly the passions and promises of their electoral campaign; + they come to feel it an essential part of statesmanship to consider what + are called the interests of the community as a whole, rather than those of + some discontented group; but the interests of the community as a whole are + sufficiently vague to be easily seen to coincide with self-interest. All + these causes lead Parliaments to betray the people, consciously or + unconsciously; and it is no wonder if they have produced a certain + aloofness from democratic theory in the more vigorous champions of labor. + </p> + <p> + Majority rule, as it exists in large States, is subject to the fatal + defect that, in a very great number of questions, only a fraction of the + nation have any direct interest or knowledge, yet the others have an equal + voice in their settlement. When people have no direct interest in a + question they are very apt to be influenced by irrelevant considerations; + this is shown in the extraordinary reluctance to grant autonomy to + subordinate nations or groups. For this reason, it is very dangerous to + allow the nation as a whole to decide on matters which concern only a + small section, whether that section be geographical or industrial or + defined in any other way. The best cure for this evil, so far as can be + seen at present, lies in allowing self-government to every important group + within a nation in all matters that affect that group much more than they + affect the rest of the community. The government of a group, chosen by the + group, will be far more in touch with its constituents, far more conscious + of their interests, than a remote Parliament nominally representing the + whole country. The most original idea in Syndicalism— adopted and + developed by the Guild Socialists—is the idea of making industries + self-governing units so far as their internal affairs are concerned. By + this method, extended also to such other groups as have clearly separable + interests, the evils which have shown themselves in representative + democracy can, I believe, be largely overcome. + </p> + <p> + Guild Socialists, as we have seen, have another suggestion, growing + naturally out of the autonomy of industrial guilds, by which they hope to + limit the power of the State and help to preserve individual liberty. They + propose that, in addition to Parliament, elected (as at present) on a + territorial basis and representing the community as consumers, there shall + also be a "Guild Congress," a glorified successor of the present Trade + Union Congress, which shall consist of representatives chosen by the + Guilds, and shall represent the community as producers. + </p> + <p> + This method of diminishing the excessive power of the State has been + attractively set forth by Mr. G. D. H. Cole in his "Self-Government in + Industry."<a href="#linknote-54" name="linknoteref-54" id="linknoteref-54"><small>54</small></a> + "Where now," he says, "the State passes a Factory Act, or a Coal Mines + Regulation Act, the Guild Congress of the future will pass such Acts, and + its power of enforcing them will be the same as that of the State" (p. + 98). His ultimate ground for advocating this system is that, in his + opinion, it will tend to preserve individual liberty: "The fundamental + reason for the preservation, in a democratic Society, of both the + industrial and the political forms of Social organization is, it seems to + me, that only by dividing the vast power now wielded by industrial + capitalism can the individual hope to be free" (p. 91). + </p> + <p> + Will the system suggested by Mr. Cole have this result? I think it is + clear that it would, in this respect, be an improvement on the existing + system. Representative government cannot but be improved by any method + which brings the representatives into closer touch with the interests + concerned in their legislation; and this advantage probably would be + secured by handing over questions of production to the Guild Congress. But + if, in spite of the safeguards proposed by the Guild Socialists, the Guild + Congress became all-powerful in such questions, if resistance to its will + by a Guild which felt ill-used became practically hopeless, I fear that + the evils now connected with the omnipotence of the State would soon + reappear. Trade Union officials, as soon as they become part of the + governing forces in the country, tend to become autocratic and + conservative; they lose touch with their constituents and gravitate, by a + psychological sympathy, into co-operation with the powers that be. Their + formal installation in authority through the Guilds Congress would + accelerate this process. They would soon tend to combine, in effect if not + obviously, with those who wield authority in Parliament. Apart from + occasional conflicts, comparable to the rivalry of opposing financiers + which now sometimes disturbs the harmony of the capitalist world, there + would, at most times, be agreement between the dominant personalities in + the two Houses. And such harmony would filch away from the individual the + liberty which he had hoped to secure by the quarrels of his masters. + </p> + <p> + There is no method, if we are not mistaken, by which a body representing + the whole community, whether as producers or consumers or both, can alone + be a sufficient guardian of individual liberty. The only way of preserving + sufficient liberty (and even this will be inadequate in the case of very + small minorities) is the organization of citizens with special interests + into groups, determined to preserve autonomy as regards their internal + affairs, willing to resist interference by a strike if necessary, and + sufficiently powerful (either in themselves or through their power of + appealing to public sympathy) to be able to resist the organized forces of + government successfully when their cause is such as many men think just. + If this method is to be successful we must have not only suitable + organizations but also a diffused respect for liberty, and an absence of + submissiveness to government both in theory and practice. Some risk of + disorder there must be in such a society, but this risk is as nothing + compared to the danger of stagnation which is inseparable from an + all-powerful central authority. + </p> + <p> + We may now sum up our discussion of the powers of Government. + </p> + <p> + The State, in spite of what Anarchists urge, seems a necessary institution + for certain purposes. Peace and war, tariffs, regulation of sanitary + conditions and of the sale of noxious drugs, the preservation of a just + system of distribution: these, among others, are functions which could + hardly be performed in a community in which there was no central + government. Take, for example, the liquor traffic, or the opium traffic in + China. If alcohol could be obtained at cost price without taxation, still + more if it could be obtained for nothing, as Anarchists presumably desire, + can we believe that there would not be a great and disastrous increase of + drunkenness? China was brought to the verge of ruin by opium, and every + patriotic Chinaman desired to see the traffic in opium restricted. In such + matters freedom is not a panacea, and some degree of legal restriction + seems imperative for the national health. + </p> + <p> + But granting that the State, in some form, must continue, we must also + grant, I think, that its powers ought to be very strictly limited to what + is absolutely necessary. There is no way of limiting its powers except by + means of groups which are jealous of their privileges and determined to + preserve their autonomy, even if this should involve resistance to laws + decreed by the State, when these laws interfere in the internal affairs of + a group in ways not warranted by the public interest. The glorification of + the State, and the doctrine that it is every citizen's duty to serve the + State, are radically against progress and against liberty. The State, + though at present a source of much evil, is also a means to certain good + things, and will be needed so long as violent and destructive impulses + remain common. But it is MERELY a means, and a means which needs to be + very carefully and sparingly used if it is not to do more harm than good. + It is not the State, but the community, the worldwide community of all + human beings present and future, that we ought to serve. And a good + community does not spring from the glory of the State, but from the + unfettered development of individuals: from happiness in daily life, from + congenial work giving opportunity for whatever constructiveness each man + or woman may possess, from free personal relations embodying love and + taking away the roots of envy in thwarted capacity from affection, and + above all from the joy of life and its expression in the spontaneous + creations of art and science. It is these things that make an age or a + nation worthy of existence, and these things are not to be secured by + bowing down before the State. It is the individual in whom all that is + good must be realized, and the free growth of the individual must be the + supreme end of a political system which is to re-fashion the world. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI — INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS + </h2> + <p> + THE main objects which should be served by international relations may be + taken to be two: First, the avoidance of wars, and, second, the prevention + of the oppression of weak nations by strong ones. These two objects do not + by any means necessarily lead in the same direction, since one of the + easiest ways of securing the world's peace would be by a combination of + the most powerful States for the exploitation and oppression of the + remainder. This method, however, is not one which the lover of liberty can + favor. We must keep account of both aims and not be content with either + alone. + </p> + <p> + One of the commonplaces of both Socialism and Anarchism is that all modern + wars are due to capitalism, and would cease if capitalism were abolished. + This view, to my mind, is only a half-truth; the half that is true is + important, but the half that is untrue is perhaps equally important when a + fundamental reconstruction of society is being considered. + </p> + <p> + Socialist and Anarchist critics of existing society point, with perfect + truth, to certain capitalistic factors which promote war. The first of + these is the desire of finance to find new fields of investment in + undeveloped countries. Mr. J. A. Hobson, an author who is by no means + extreme in his views, has well stated this point in his book on "The + Evolution of Modern Capitalism."<a href="#linknote-55" + name="linknoteref-55" id="linknoteref-55"><small>55</small></a> He says: + </p> + <p> + The economic tap-root, the chief directing motive of all the modern + imperialistic expansion, is the pressure of capitalist industries for + markets, primarily markets for investment, secondarily markets for surplus + products of home industry. Where the concentration of capital has gone + furthest, and where a rigorous protective system prevails, this pressure + is necessarily strongest. Not merely do the trusts and other manufacturing + trades that restrict their output for the home market more urgently + require foreign markets, but they are also more anxious to secure + protected markets, and this can only be achieved by extending the area of + political rule. This is the essential significance of the recent change in + American foreign policy as illustrated by the Spanish War, the Philippine + annexation, the Panama policy, and the new application of the Monroe + doctrine to the South American States. South America is needed as a + preferential market for investment of trust "profits" and surplus trust + products: if in time these states can be brought within a Zollverein under + the suzerainty of the United States, the financial area of operations + receives a notable accession. China as a field of railway enterprise and + general industrial development already begins to loom large in the eyes of + foresighted American business men; the growing trade in American cotton + and other goods in that country will be a subordinate consideration to the + expansion of the area for American investments. Diplomatic pressure, armed + force, and, where desirable, seizure of territory for political control, + will be engineered by the financial magnates who control the political + destiny of America. The strong and expensive American navy now beginning + to be built incidentally serves the purpose of affording profitable + contracts to the shipbuilding and metal industries: its real meaning and + use is to forward the aggressive political policy imposed upon the nation + by the economic needs of the financial capitalists. + </p> + <p> + It should be clearly understood that this constant pressure to extend the + area of markets is not a necessary implication of all forms of organized + industry. If competition was displaced by combinations of a genuinely + cooperative character in which the whole gain of improved economies + passed, either to the workers in wages, or to large bodies of investors in + dividends, the expansion of demand in the home markets would be so great + as to give full employment to the productive powers of concentrated + capital, and there would be no self-accumulating masses of profit + expressing themselves in new credit and demanding external employment. It + is the "monopoly" profits of trusts and combines, taken either in + construction, financial operation, or industrial working, that form a + gathering fund of self-accumulating credit whose possession by the + financial class implies a contracted demand for commodities and a + correspondingly restricted employment for capital in American industries. + Within certain limits relief can be found by stimulation of the export + trade under cover of a high protective tariff which forbids all + interference with monopoly of the home markets. But it is extremely + difficult for trusts adapted to the requirements of a profitable tied + market at home to adjust their methods of free competition in the world + markets upon a profitable basis of steady trading. Moreover, such a mode + of expansion is only appropriate to certain manufacturing trusts: the + owners of railroad, financial and other trusts must look always more to + foreign investments for their surplus profits. This ever-growing need for + fresh fields of investment for their profits is the great crux of the + financial system, and threatens to dominate the future economics and the + politics of the great Republic. + </p> + <p> + The financial economy of American capitalism exhibits in more dramatic + shape a tendency common to the finance of all developed industrial + nations. The large, easy flow of capital from Great Britain, Germany, + Austria, France, etc., into South African or Australian mines, into + Egyptian bonds, or the precarious securities of South American republics, + attests the same general pressure which increases with every development + of financial machinery and the more profitable control of that machinery + by the class of professional financiers + </p> + <p> + The kind of way in which such conditions tend toward war might have been + illustrated, if Mr. Hobson had been writing at a later date, by various + more recent cases. A higher rate of interest is obtainable on enterprises + in an undeveloped country than in a developed one, provided the risks + connected with an unsettled government can be minimized. To minimize these + risks the financiers call in the assistance of the military and naval + forces of the country which they are momentarily asserting to be theirs. + In order to have the support of public opinion in this demand they have + recourse to the power of the Press. + </p> + <p> + The Press is the second great factor to which critics of capitalism point + when they wish to prove that capitalism is the source of modern war. Since + the running of a big newspaper requires a large capital, the proprietors + of important organs necessarily belong to the capitalist class, and it + will be a rare and exceptional event if they do not sympathize with their + own class in opinion and outlook. They are able to decide what news the + great mass of newspaper readers shall be allowed to have. They can + actually falsify the news, or, without going so far as that, they can + carefully select it, giving such items as will stimulate the passions + which they desire to stimulate, and suppressing such items as would + provide the antidote. In this way the picture of the world in the mind of + the average newspaper reader is made to be not a true picture, but in the + main that which suits the interests of capitalists. This is true in many + directions, but above all in what con- cerns the relations between + nations. The mass of the population of a country can be led to love or + hate any other country at the will of the newspaper proprietors, which is + often, directly or indirectly, influenced by the will of the great + financiers. So long as enmity between England and Russia was desired, our + newspapers were full of the cruel treatment meted out to Russian political + prisoners, the oppression of Finland and Russian Poland, and other such + topics. As soon as our foreign policy changed, these items disappeared + from the more important newspapers, and we heard instead of the misdeeds + of Germany. Most men are not sufficiently critical to be on their guard + against such influences, and until they are, the power of the Press will + remain. + </p> + <p> + Besides these two influences of capitalism in promoting war, there is + another, much less emphasized by the critics of capitalism, but by no + means less important: I mean the pugnacity which tends to be developed in + men who have the habit of command. So long as capitalist society persists, + an undue measure of power will be in the hands of those who have acquired + wealth and influence through a great position in industry or finance. Such + men are in the habit, in private life, of finding their will seldom + questioned; they are surrounded by obsequious satellites and are not + infrequently engaged in conflicts with Trade Unions. Among their friends + and acquaintances are included those who hold high positions in government + or administration, and these men equally are liable to become autocratic + through the habit of giving orders. It used to be customary to speak of + the "governing classes," but nominal democracy has caused this phrase to + go out of fashion. Nevertheless, it still retains much truth; there are + still in any capitalist community those who command and those who as a + rule obey. The outlook of these two classes is very different, though in a + modern society there is a continuous gradation from the extreme of the one + to the extreme of the other. The man who is accustomed to find submission + to his will becomes indignant on the occasions when he finds opposition. + Instinctively he is convinced that opposition is wicked and must be + crushed. He is therefore much more willing than the average citizen to + resort to war against his rivals. Accordingly we find, though, of course, + with very notable exceptions, that in the main those who have most power + are most warlike, and those who have least power are least disposed to + hatred of foreign nations. This is one of the evils inseparable from the + concentration of power. It will only be cured by the abolition of + capitalism if the new system is one which allows very much less power to + single individuals. It will not be cured by a system which substitutes the + power of Ministers or officials for the power of capitalists This is one + reason, additional to those mentioned in the preceding chapter, for + desiring to see a diminution in the authority of the State. + </p> + <p> + Not only does the concentration of power tend to cause wars, but, equally, + wars and the fear of them bring about the necessity for the concentration + of power. So long as the community is exposed to sudden dangers, the + possibility of quick decision is absolutely necessary to + self-preservation. The cumbrous machinery of deliberative decisions by the + people is impossible in a crisis, and therefore so long as crises are + likely to occur, it is impossible to abolish the almost autocratic power + of governments. In this case, as in most others, each of two correlative + evils tends to perpetuate the other. The existence of men with the habit + of power increases the risk of war, and the risk of war makes it + impossible to establish a system where no man possesses great power. + </p> + <p> + So far we have been considering what is true in the contention that + capitalism causes modern wars. It is time now to look at the other side, + and to ask ourselves whether the abolition of capitalism would, by itself, + be sufficient to prevent war. + </p> + <p> + I do not myself believe that this is the case. The outlook of both + Socialists and Anarchists seems to me, in this respect as in some others, + to be unduly divorced from the fundamental instincts of human nature. + There were wars before there was capital- ism, and fighting is habitual + among animals. The power of the Press in promoting war is entirely due to + the fact that it is able to appeal to certain instincts. Man is naturally + competitive, acquisitive, and, in a greater or less degree, pugnacious. + When the Press tells him that so-and-so is his enemy, a whole set of + instincts in him responds to the suggestion. It is natural to most men to + suppose that they have enemies and to find a certain fulfillment of their + nature when they embark upon a contest. What a man believes upon grossly + insufficient evidence is an index to his desires—desires of which he + himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes + against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the + evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other + hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in + accordance with his instincts, he will accept it even on the slenderest + evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way, and much of what + is currently believed in international affairs is no better than myth. + Although capitalism affords in modern society the channel by which the + instinct of pugnacity finds its outlet, there is reason to fear that, if + this channel were closed, some other would be found, unless education and + environment were so changed as enormously to diminish the strength of the + competitive instinct. If an economic reorganization can effect this it may + pro- vide a real safeguard against war, but if not, it is to be feared + that the hopes of universal peace will prove delusive. + </p> + <p> + The abolition of capitalism might, and very likely would, greatly diminish + the incentives to war which are derived from the Press and from the desire + of finance to find new fields for investment in undeveloped countries, but + those which are derived from the instinct of command and the impatience of + opposition might remain, though perhaps in a less virulent form than at + present. A democracy which has power is almost always more bellicose than + one which is excluded from its due share in the government. The + internationalism of Marx is based upon the assumption that the proletariat + everywhere are oppressed by the ruling classes. The last words of the + Communist Manifesto embody this idea— + </p> + <p> + Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The + proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to + win. Working men of all countries, unite! + </p> + <p> + So long as the proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains, it is + not likely that their enmity will be directed against other proletarians. + If the world had developed as Marx expected, the kind of internationalism + which he foresaw might have inspired a universal social revolution. + Russia, which devel- oped more nearly than any other country upon the + lines of his system, has had a revolution of the kind which he expected. + If the development in other countries had been similar, it is highly + probable that this revolution would have spread throughout the civilized + world. The proletariat of all countries might have united against the + capitalists as their common enemy, and in the bond of an identical hatred + they might for the moment have been free from hatred toward each other. + Even then, this ground of union would have ceased with their victory, and + on the morrow of the social revolution the old national rivalries might + have revived. There is no alchemy by which a universal harmony can be + produced out of hatred. Those who have been inspired to action by the + doctrine of the class war will have acquired the habit of hatred, and will + instinctively seek new enemies when the old ones have been vanquished. + </p> + <p> + But in actual fact the psychology of the working man in any of the Western + democracies is totally unlike that which is assumed in the Communist + Manifesto. He does not by any means feel that he has nothing to lose but + his chains, nor indeed is this true. The chains which bind Asia and Africa + in subjection to Europe are partly riveted by him. He is himself part of a + great system of tyranny and exploitation. Universal freedom would remove, + not only his own chains, which are comparatively light, but the far + heavier chains which he has helped to fasten upon the subject races of the + world. + </p> + <p> + Not only do the working men of a country like England have a share in the + benefit accruing from the exploitation of inferior races, but many among + them also have their part in the capitalist system. The funds of Trade + Unions and Friendly Societies are invested in ordinary undertakings, such + as railways; many of the better-paid wage-earners have put their savings + into government securities; and almost all who are politically active feel + themselves part of the forces that determine public policy, through the + power of the Labor Party and the greater unions. Owing to these causes + their outlook on life has become to a considerable extent impregnated with + capitalism and as their sense of power has grown, their nationalism has + increased. This must continue to be true of any internationalism which is + based upon hatred of the capitalist and adherence to the doctrine of the + class war. Something more positive and constructive than this is needed if + governing democracies are not to inherit the vices of governing classes in + the past. + </p> + <p> + I do not wish to be thought to deny that capitalism does very much to + promote wars, or that wars would probably be less frequent and less + destructive if private property were abolished. On the contrary, I believe + that the abolition of private ownership of land and capital is a necessary + step toward any world in which the nations are to live at peace with one + another. I am only arguing that this step, necessary as it is, will not + alone suffice for this end, but that among the causes of war there are + others that go deeper into the roots of human nature than any that + orthodox Socialists are wont to acknowledge. + </p> + <p> + Let us take an instance. In Australia and California there is an intense + dislike and fear toward the yellow races. The causes of this are complex; + the chief among them are two, labor competition and instinctive + race-hatred. It is probable that, if race- hatred did not exist, the + difficulties of labor competition could be overcome. European immigrants + also compete, but they are not excluded. In a sparsely populated country, + industrious cheap labor could, with a little care, be so utilized as to + enrich the existing inhabitants; it might, for example, be confined to + certain kinds of work, by custom if not by law. But race-hatred opens + men's minds to the evils of competition and closes them against the + advantages of co-operation; it makes them regard with horror the somewhat + unfamiliar vices of the aliens, while our own vices are viewed with mild + toleration. I cannot but think that, if Australia were completely + socialized, there would still remain the same popular objection as at + present to any large influx of Chinese or Japanese labor. Yet if Japan + also were to become a Socialist State, the Japanese might well continue to + feel the pressure of population and the desire for an outlet. In such + circumstances, all the passions and interests required to produce a war + would exist, in spite of the establishment of Socialism in both countries. + Ants are as completely Socialistic as any community can possibly be, yet + they put to death any ant which strays among them by mistake from a + neighboring ant-heap. Men do not differ much from ants, as regards their + instincts in this respect, where- ever there is a great divergence of + race, as between white men and yellow men. Of course the instinct of + race-hostility can be overcome by suitable circumstances; but in the + absence of such circumstances it remains a formidable menace to the + world's peace. + </p> + <p> + If the peace of the world is ever to become secure, I believe there will + have to be, along with other changes, a development of the idea which + inspires the project of a League of Nations. As time goes on, the + destructiveness of war grows greater and its profits grow less: the + rational argument against war acquires more and more force as the + increasing productivity of labor makes it possible to devote a greater and + greater proportion of the population to the work of mutual slaughter. In + quiet times, or when a great war has just ended, men's moods are amenable + to the rational grounds in favor of peace, and it is possible to + inaugurate schemes designed to make wars less frequent. Probably no + civilized nation would embark upon an aggressive war if it were fairly + certain in advance that the aggressor must be defeated. This could be + achieved if most great nations came to regard the peace of the world as of + such importance that they would side against an aggressor even in a + quarrel in which they had no direct interest. It is on this hope that the + League of Nations is based. + </p> + <p> + But the League of Nations, like the abolition of private property, will be + by no means sufficient if it is not accompanied or quickly followed by + other reforms. It is clear that such reforms, if they are to be effective, + must be international; the world must move as a whole in these matters, if + it is to move at all. One of the most obvious necessities, if peace is to + be secure, is a measure of disarmament. So long as the present vast armies + and navies exist, no system can prevent the risk of war. But disarmament, + if it is to serve its purpose, must be simultaneous and by mutual + agreement among all the Great Powers. And it is not likely to be + successful so long as hatred and suspicion rule between nations, for each + nation will suspect its neighbor of not carrying out the bargain fairly. A + different mental and moral atmosphere from that to which we are accustomed + in international affairs will be necessary if agreements between nations + are to succeed in averting catastrophes. If once such an atmosphere + existed it might be perpetuated and strengthened by wise institutions; but + it cannot be CREATED by institutions alone. International co-operation + requires mutual good will, and good will, however it has arisen, is only + to be PRESERVED by co-operation. The international future depends upon the + possibility of the initial creation of good will between nations. + </p> + <p> + It is in this sort of matter that revolutions are most useful. If the + Russian Revolution had been accompanied by a revolution in Germany, the + dramatic suddenness of the change might have shaken Europe, for the + moment, out of its habits of thought: the idea of fraternity might have + seemed, in the twinkling of an eye, to have entered the world of practical + politics; and no idea is so practical as the idea of the brotherhood of + man, if only people can be startled into believing in it. If once the idea + of fraternity between nations were inaugurated with the faith and vigor + belonging to a new revolution, all the difficulties surrounding it would + melt away, for all of them are due to suspicion and the tyranny of ancient + prejudice. Those who (as is common in the English-speaking world) reject + revolution as a method, and praise the gradual piecemeal development which + (we are told) constitutes solid progress, overlook the effect of dramatic + events in changing the mood and the beliefs of whole populations. A + simultaneous revolution in Germany and Russia would no doubt have had such + an effect, and would have made the creation of a new world possible here + and now. + </p> + <p> + Dis aliter visum: the millennium is not for our time. The great moment has + passed, and for ourselves it is again the distant hope that must inspire + us, not the immediate breathless looking for the deliverance.<a + href="#linknote-56" name="linknoteref-56" id="linknoteref-56"><small>56</small></a> + But we have seen what might have been, and we know that great + possibilities do arise in times of crisis. In some such sense as this, it + may well be true that the Socialist revolution is the road to universal + peace, and that when it has been traversed all the other conditions for + the cessation of wars will grow of themselves out of the changed mental + and moral atmosphere. + </p> + <p> + There is a certain class of difficulties which surrounds the sober + idealist in all speculations about the not too distant future. These are + the cases where the solution believed by most idealists to be universally + applicable is for some reason impossible, and is, at the same time, + objected to for base or interested motives by all upholders of existing + inequalities. The case of Tropical Africa will illustrate what I mean. It + would be difficult seriously to advocate the immediate introduction of + parliamentary government for the natives of this part of the world, even + if it were accompanied by women's suffrage and proportional + representation. So far as I know, no one supposes the populations of these + regions capable of self- determination, except Mr. Lloyd George. There can + be no doubt that, whatever regime may be introduced in Europe, African + negroes will for a long time to come be governed and exploited by + Europeans. If the European States became Socialistic, and refused, under a + Quixotic impulse, to enrich themselves at the expense of the defenseless + inhabitants of Africa, those inhabitants would not thereby gain; on the + contrary, they would lose, for they would be handed over to the tender + mercies of individual traders, operating with armies of reprobate bravos, + and committing every atrocity to which the civilized barbarian is prone. + The European governments cannot divest themselves of responsibility in + regard to Africa. They must govern there, and the best that can be hoped + is that they should govern with a minimum of cruelty and rapacity. From + the point of view of preserving the peace of the world, the problem is to + parcel out the advantages which white men derive from their position in + Africa in such a way that no nation shall feel a sense of injustice. This + problem is comparatively simple, and might no doubt be solved on the lines + of the war aims of the Inter-Allied Socialists. But it is not this problem + which I wish to discuss. What I wish to consider is, how could a Socialist + or an Anarchist community govern and administer an African region, full of + natural wealth, but inhabited by a quite uncivilized population? Unless + great precautions were taken the white community, under the circumstances, + would acquire the position and the instincts of a slave-owner. It would + tend to keep the negroes down to the bare level of subsistence, while + using the produce of their country to increase the comfort and splendor of + the Communist community. It would do this with that careful + unconsciousness which now characterizes all the worst acts of nations. + Administrators would be appointed and would be expected to keep silence as + to their methods. Busybodies who reported horrors would be disbelieved, + and would be said to be actuated by hatred toward the existing regime and + by a perverse love for every country but their own. No doubt, in the first + generous enthusiasm accompanying the establishment of the new regime at + home, there would be every intention of making the natives happy, but + gradually they would be forgotten, and only the tribute coming from their + country would be remembered. I do not say that all these evils are + unavoidable; I say only that they will not be avoided unless they are + foreseen and a deliberate conscious effort is made to prevent their + realization. If the white communities should ever reach the point of + wishing to carry out as far as possible the principles underlying the + revolt against capitalism, they will have to find a way of establishing an + absolute disinterestedness in their dealings with subject races. It will + be necessary to avoid the faintest suggestion of capitalistic profit in + the government of Africa, and to spend in the countries themselves + whatever they would be able to spend if they were self-governing. + Moreover, it must always be remembered that backwardness in civilization + is not necessarily incurable, and that with time even the populations of + Central Africa may become capable of democratic self-government, provided + Europeans bend their energies to this purpose. + </p> + <p> + The problem of Africa is, of course, a part of the wider problems of + Imperialism, but it is that part in which the application of Socialist + principles is most difficult. In regard to Asia, and more particularly in + regard to India and Persia, the application of principles is clear in + theory though difficult in political practice. The obstacles to + self-government which exist in Africa do not exist in the same measure in + Asia. What stands in the way of freedom of Asiatic populations is not + their lack of intelligence, but only their lack of military prowess, which + makes them an easy prey to our lust for dominion. This lust would probably + be in temporary abeyance on the morrow of a Socialist revolution, and at + such a moment a new departure in Asiatic policy might be taken with + permanently beneficial results. I do not mean, of course, that we should + force upon India that form of democratic government which we have + developed for our own needs. I mean rather that we should leave India to + choose its own form of government, its own manner of education and its own + type of civilization. India has an ancient tradition, very different from + that of Western Europe, a tradition highly valued by educated Hindoos, but + not loved by our schools and colleges. The Hindoo Nationalist feels that + his country has a type of culture containing elements of value that are + absent, or much less marked, in the West; he wishes to be free to preserve + this, and desires political freedom for such reasons rather than for those + that would most naturally appeal to an Englishman in the same subject + position. The belief of the European in his own Kultur tends to be + fanatical and ruthless, and for this reason, as much as for any other, the + independence of extra-European civilization is of real importance to the + world, for it is not by a dead uniformity that the world as a whole is + most enriched. + </p> + <p> + I have set forth strongly all the major difficulties in the way of the + preservation of the world's peace, not because I believe these + difficulties to be insuperable, but, on the contrary, because I believe + that they can be overcome if they are recognized. A correct diagnosis is + necessarily the first step toward a cure. The existing evils in + international relations spring, at bottom, from psychological causes, from + motives forming part of human nature as it is at present. Among these the + chief are competitiveness, love of power, and envy, using envy in that + broad sense in which it includes the instinctive dislike of any gain to + others not accompanied by an at least equal gain to ourselves. The evils + arising from these three causes can be removed by a better education and a + better economic and political system. + </p> + <p> + Competitiveness is by no means wholly an evil. When it takes the form of + emulation in the service of the public, or in discovery or the production + of works of art, it may become a very useful stimulus, urging men to + profitable effort beyond what they would otherwise make. It is only + harmful when it aims at the acquisition of goods which are limited in + amount, so that what one man possesses he holds at the expense of another. + When competitiveness takes this form it is necessarily attended by fear, + and out of fear cruelty is almost inevitably developed. But a social + system providing for a more just distribution of material goods might + close to the instinct of competitiveness those channels in which it is + harmful, and cause it to flow instead in channels in which it would become + a benefit to mankind. This is one great reason why the communal ownership + of land and capital would be likely to have a beneficial effect upon human + nature, for human nature, as it exists in adult men and women, is by no + means a fixed datum, but a product of circumstances, education and + opportunity operating upon a highly malleable native disposition. + </p> + <p> + What is true of competitiveness is equally true of love of power. Power, + in the form in which it is now usually sought, is power of command, power + of imposing one's will upon others by force, open or concealed. This form + of power consists, in essence, in thwarting others, for it is only + displayed when others are compelled to do what they do not wish to do. + Such power, we hope, the social system which is to supersede capitalist + will reduce to a minimum by the methods which we outlined in the preceding + chapter. These methods can be applied in international no less than in + national affairs. In international affairs the same formula of federalism + will apply: self- determination for every group in regard to matters which + concern it much more vitally than they concern others, and government by a + neutral authority embracing rival groups in all matters in which + conflicting interests of groups come into play; lout always with the fixed + principle that the functions of government are to be reduced to the bare + minimum compatible with justice and the prevention of private violence. In + such a world the present harmful outlets for the love of power would be + closed. But the power which consists in persuasion, in teaching, in + leading men to a new wisdom or the realization of new possibilities of + happiness—this kind of power, which may be wholly beneficial, would + remain untouched, and many vigorous men, who in the actual world devote + their energies to domination, would in such a world find their energies + directed to the creation of new goods rather than the perpetuation of + ancient evils. + </p> + <p> + Envy, the third of the psychological causes to which we attributed what is + bad in the actual world, depends in most natures upon that kind of + fundamental discontent which springs from a lack of free development, from + thwarted instinct, and from the impossibility of realizing an imagined + happiness. Envy cannot be cured by preaching; preaching, at the best, will + only alter its manifestations and lead it to adopt more subtle forms of + concealment. Except in those rare natures in which generosity dominates in + spite of circumstances, the only cure for envy is freedom and the joy of + life. From populations largely deprived of the simple instinctive + pleasures of leisure and love, sunshine and green fields, generosity of + outlook and kindliness of dispositions are hardly to be expected. In such + populations these qualities are not likely to be found, even among the + fortunate few, for these few are aware, however dimly, that they are + profiting by an injustice, and that they can only continue to enjoy their + good fortune by deliberately ignoring those with whom it is not shared. If + generosity and kindliness are to be common, there must be more care than + there is at present for the elementary wants of human nature, and more + realization that the diffusion of happiness among all who are not the + victims of some peculiar misfortune is both possible and imperative. A + world full of happiness would not wish to plunge into war, and would not + be filled with that grudging hostility which our cramped and narrow + existence forces upon average human nature. A world full of happiness is + not beyond human power to create; the obstacles imposed by inanimate + nature are not insuperable. The real obstacles lie in the heart of man, + and the cure for these is a firm hope, informed and fortified by thought. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII — SCIENCE AND ART UNDER SOCIALISM + </h2> + <p> + SOCIALISM has been advocated by most of its champions chiefly as a means + of increasing the welfare of the wage earning classes, and more + particularly their material welfare. It has seemed accordingly, to some + men whose aims are not material, as if it has nothing to offer toward the + general advancement of civilization in the way of art and thought. Some of + its advocates, moreover—and among these Marx must be included—have + written, no doubt not deliberately, as if with the Socialist revolution + the millennium would have arrived, and there would be no need of further + progress for the human race. I do not know whether our age is more + restless than that which preceded it, or whether it has merely become more + impregnated with the idea of evolution, but, for whatever reason, we have + grown incapable of believing in a state of static perfection, and we + demand, of any social system, which is to have our approval, that it shall + contain within itself a stimulus and opportunity for progress toward + something still better. The doubts thus raised by Socialist writers make + it necessary to inquire whether Socialism would in fact be hostile to art + and science, and whether it would be likely to produce a stereotyped + society in which progress would become difficult and slow. + </p> + <p> + It is not enough that men and women should be made comfortable in a + material sense. Many members of the well-to-do classes at present, in + spite of opportunity, contribute nothing of value to the life of the + world, and do not even succeed in securing for themselves any personal + happiness worthy to be so called. The multiplication of such individuals + would be an achievement of the very minutest value; and if Socialism were + merely to bestow upon all the kind of life and outlook which is now + enjoyed by the more apathetic among the well-to-do, it would offer little + that could inspire enthusiasm in any generous spirit. + </p> + <p> + "The true role of collective existence," says M. Naquet,<a + href="#linknote-57" name="linknoteref-57" id="linknoteref-57"><small>57</small></a>" + . . . is to learn, to discover, to know. Eating, drinking, sleeping, + living, in a word, is a mere accessory. In this respect, we are not + distinguished from the brute. Knowledge is the goal. If I were condemned + to choose between a humanity materially happy, glutted after the manner of + a flock of sheep in a field, and a humanity existing in misery, but from + which emanated, here and there, some eternal truth, it is on the latter + that my choice would fall." + </p> + <p> + This statement puts the alternative in a very extreme form in which it is + somewhat unreal. It may be said in reply that for those who have had the + leisure and the opportunity to enjoy "eternal truths" it is easy to exalt + their importance at the expense of sufferings which fall on others. This + is true; but, if it is taken as disposing of the question, it leaves out + of account the importance of thought for progress. Viewing the life of + mankind as a whole, in the future as well as in the present, there can be + no question that a society in which some men pursue knowledge while others + endure great poverty offers more hope of ultimate good than a society in + which all are sunk in slothful comfort. It is true that poverty is a great + evil, but it is not true that material prosperity is in itself a great + good. If it is to have any real value to society, it must be made a means + to the advancement of those higher goods that belong to the life of the + mind. But the life of the mind does not consist of thought and knowledge + alone, nor can it be completely healthy unless it has some instinctive + contact, however deeply buried, with the general life of the community. + Divorced from the social instinct, thought, like art, tends to become + finicky and precious. It is the position of such art and thought as is + imbued with the instinctive sense of service to mankind that we wish to + consider, for it is this alone that makes up the life of the mind in the + sense in which it is a vital part of the life of the community. Will the + life of the mind in this sense be helped or hindered by Socialism? And + will there still be a sufficient spur to progress to prevent a condition + of Byzantine immobility? + </p> + <p> + In considering this question we are, in a certain sense, passing outside + the atmosphere of democracy. The general good of the community is realized + only in individuals, but it is realized much more fully in some + individuals than in others. Some men have a comprehensive and penetrating + intellect, enabling them to appreciate and remember what has been thought + and known by their predecessors, and to discover new regions in which they + enjoy all the high delights of the mental explorer. Others have the power + of creating beauty, giving bodily form to impalpable visions out of which + joy comes to many. Such men are more fortunate than the mass, and also + more important for the collective life. A larger share of the general sum + of good is concentrated in them than in the ordinary man and woman; but + also their contribution to the general good is greater. They stand out + among men and cannot be wholly fitted into the framework of democratic + equality. A social system which would render them unproductive would stand + condemned, whatever other merits it might have. + </p> + <p> + The first thing to realize—though it is difficult in a commercial + age—is that what is best in creative mental activity cannot be + produced by any system of monetary rewards. Opportunity and the stimulus + of an invigorating spiritual atmosphere are important, but, if they are + presented, no financial inducements will be required, while if they are + absent, material compensations will be of no avail. Recognition, even if + it takes the form of money, can bring a certain pleasure in old age to the + man of science who has battled all his life against academic prejudice, or + to the artist who has endured years of ridicule for not painting in the + manner of his predecessors; but it is not by the remote hope of such + pleasures that their work has been inspired. All the most important work + springs from an uncalculating impulse, and is best promoted, not by + rewards after the event, but by circumstances which keep the impulse alive + and afford scope for the activities which it inspires. In the creation of + such circumstances our present system is much at fault. Will Socialism be + better? + </p> + <p> + I do not think this question can be answered without specifying the kind + of Socialism that is intended: some forms of Socialism would, I believe, + be even more destructive in this respect than the present capitalist + regime, while others would be immeasurably better. Three things which a + social system can provide or withhold are helpful to mental creation: + first, technical training; second, liberty to follow the creative impulse; + third, at least the possibility of ultimate appreciation by some public, + whether large or small. We may leave out of our discussion both individual + genius and those intangible conditions which make some ages great and + others sterile in art and science—not because these are unimportant, + but because they are too little understood to be taken account of in + economic or political organization. The three conditions we have mentioned + seem to cover most of what can be SEEN to be useful or harmful from our + present point of view, and it is therefore to them that we shall confine + ourselves. + </p> + <p> + 1. Technical Training.—Technical training at present, whether in + science or art, requires one or other of two conditions. Either a boy must + be the son of well-to-do parents who can afford to keep him while he + acquires his education, or he must show so much ability at an early age as + to enable him to subsist on scholarships until he is ready to earn his + living. The former condition is, of course, a mere matter of luck, and + could not be preserved in its present form under any kind of Socialism or + Communism. This loss is emphasized by defenders of the present system, and + no doubt it would be, to same extent, a real loss. But the well-to-do are + a small proportion of the population, and presumably on the average no + more talented by nature than their less fortunate contemporaries. If the + advantages which are enjoyed now by those few among them who are capable + of good work in science or art could be extended, even in a slightly + attenuated form, to all who are similarly gifted, the result would almost + infallibly be a gain, and much ability which is now wasted would be + rendered fruitful. But how is this to be effected? + </p> + <p> + The system of scholarships obtained by competition, though better than + nothing, is objectionable from many points of view. It introduces the + competitive spirit into the work of the very young; it makes them regard + knowledge from the standpoint of what is useful in examinations rather + than in the light of its intrinsic interest or importance; it places a + premium upon that sort of ability which is displayed precociously in glib + answers to set questions rather than upon the kind that broods on + difficulties and remains for a time rather dumb. What is perhaps worse + than any of these defects is the tendency to cause overwork in youth, + leading to lack of vigor and interest when manhood has been reached. It + can hardly be doubted that by this cause, at present, many fine minds have + their edge blunted and their keenness destroyed. + </p> + <p> + State Socialism might easily universalize the system of scholarships + obtained by competitive examination, and if it did so it is to he feared + that it would be very harmful. State Socialists at present tend to be + enamored of the systems which is exactly of the kind that every bureaucrat + loves: orderly, neat, giving a stimulus to industrious habits, and + involving no waste of a sort that could be tabulated in statistics or + accounts of public expenditure. Such men will argue that free higher + education is expensive to the community, and only useful in the case of + those who have exceptional abilities; it ought, therefore, they will say, + not to be given to all, but only to those who will become more useful + members of society through receiving it. Such arguments make a great + appeal to what are called "practical" men, and the answers to them are of + a sort which it is difficult to render widely convincing. Revolt against + the evils of competition is, however, part of the very essence of the + Socialist's protest against the existing order, and on this ground, if on + no other, those who favor Socialism may be summoned to look for some + better solution. + </p> + <p> + Much the simplest solution, and the only really effective one, is to make + every kind of education free up to the age of twenty-one for all boys and + girls who desire it. The majority will be tired of education before that + age, and will prefer to begin other work sooner; this will lead to a + natural selection of those with strong interests in some pursuit requiring + a long training. Among those selected in this way by their own + inclinations, probably almost all tho have marked abilities of the kind in + question will be included. It is true that there will also be many who + have very little ability; the desire to become a painter, for example, is + by no means confined to those who can paint. But this degree of waste + could well be borne by the community; it would be immeasurably less than + that now entailed by the support of the idle rich. Any system which aims + at avoiding this kind of waste must entail the far more serious waste of + rejecting or spoiling some of the best ability in each generation. The + system of free education up to any grade for all who desire it is the only + system which is consistent with the principles of liberty, and the only + one which gives a reasonable hope of affording full scope for talent. This + system is equally compatible with all forms of Socialism and Anarchism. + Theoretically, it is compatible with capitalism, but practically it is so + opposite in spirit that it would hardly be feasible without a complete + economic reconstruction. The fact that Socialism would facilitate it must + be reckoned a very powerful argument in favor of change, for the waste of + talent at present in the poorer classes of society must be stupendous. + </p> + <p> + 2. Liberty to follow the creative impulse.— When a man's training + has been completed, if he is possessed of really great abilities, he will + do his best work if he is completely free to follow his bent, creating + what seems good to him, regardless of the judgment of "experts." At + present this is only possible for two classes of people: those who have + private means, and those who can earn a living by an occupation that does + not absorb their whole energies. Under Socialism, there will be no one + with private means, and if there is to be no loss as regards art and + science, the opportunity which now comes by accident to a few will have to + be provided deliberately for a much larger number. The men who have used + private means as an opportunity for creative work have been few but + important: one might mention Milton, Shelley, Keats and Darwin as + examples. Probably none of these would have produced as good work if they + had had to earn their livelihood. If Darwin had been a university teacher, + he would of course have been dismissed from his post by the influence of + the clerics on account of his scandalous theories. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, the bulk of the creative work of the world is done at + present by men who subsist by some other occupation. Science, and research + generally, are usually done in their spare time by men who live by + teaching. There is no great objection to this in the case of science, + provided the number of hours devoted to teaching is not excessive. It is + partly because science and teaching are so easily combined that science is + vigorous in the present age. In music, a composer who is also a performer + enjoys similar advantages, but one who is not a performer must starve, + unless he is rich or willing to pander to the public taste. In the fine + arts, as a rule, it is not easy in the modern world either to make a + living by really good work or to find a subsidiary profession which leaves + enough leisure for creation. This is presumably one reason, though by no + means the only one, why art is less flourishing than science. + </p> + <p> + The bureaucratic State Socialist will have a simple solution for these + difficulties. He will appoint a body consisting of the most eminent + celebrities in an art or a science, whose business it shall be to judge + the work of young men, and to issue licenses to those whose productions + find favor in their eyes. A licensed artist shall be considered to have + performed his duty to the community by producing works of art. But of + course he will have to prove his industry by never failing to produce in + reasonable quantities, and his continued ability by never failing to + please his eminent judges—until, in the fulness of time, he becomes + a judge himself. In this way, the authorities will insure that the artist + shall be competent, regular, and obedient to the best traditions of his + art. Those who fail to fulfil these conditions will be compelled by the + withdrawal of their license to seek some less dubious mode of earning + their living. Such will be the ideal of the State Socialist. + </p> + <p> + In such a world all that makes life tolerable to the lover of beauty would + perish. Art springs from a wild and anarchic side of human nature; between + the artist and the bureaucrat there must always be a profound mutual + antagonism, an age-long battle in which the artist, always outwardly + worsted, wins in the end through the gratitude of mankind for the joy that + he puts into their lives. If the wild side of human nature is to be + permanently subjected to the orderly rules of the benevolent, + uncomprehending bureaucrat, the joy of life will perish out of the earth, + and the very impulse to live will gradually wither and die. Better a + thousandfold the present world with all its horrors than such a dead mummy + of a world. Better Anarchism, with all its risks, than a State Socialism + that subjects to rule what must be spontaneous and free if it is to have + any value. It is this nightmare that makes artists, and lovers of beauty + generally, so often suspicious of Socialism. But there is nothing in the + essence of Socialism to make art impossible: only certain forms of + Socialism would entail this danger. William Morris was a Socialist, and + was a Socialist very largely because he was an artist. And in this he was + not irrational. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible for art, or any of the higher creative activities, to + flourish under any system which requires that the artist shall prove his + competence to some body of authorities before he is allowed to follow his + impulse. Any really great artist is almost sure to be thought incompetent + by those among his seniors who would be generally regarded as best + qualified to form an opinion. And the mere fact of having to produce work + which will please older men is hostile to a free spirit and to bold + innovation. Apart from this difficulty, selection by older men would lead + to jealousy and intrigue and back-biting, producing a poisonous atmosphere + of underground competition. The only effect of such a plan would be to + eliminate the few who now slip through owing to some fortunate accident. + It is not by any system, but by freedom alone, that art can flourish. + </p> + <p> + There are two ways by which the artist could secure freedom under + Socialism of the right kind. He might undertake regular work outside his + art, doing only a few hours' work a day and receiving proportionately less + pay than those who do a full day's work. He ought, in that case, to be at + liberty to sell his pictures if he could find purchasers. Such a system + would have many advantages. It would leave absolutely every man free to + become an artist, provided he were willing to suffer a certain economic + loss. This would not deter those in whom the impulse was strong and + genuine, but would tend to exclude the dilettante. Many young artists at + present endure voluntarily much greater poverty than need be entailed by + only doing half the usual day's work in a well-organized Socialist + community; and some degree of hardship is not objectionable, as a test of + the strength of the creative impulse, and as an offset to the peculiar + joys of the creative life. + </p> + <p> + The other possibility<a href="#linknote-58" name="linknoteref-58" + id="linknoteref-58"><small>58</small></a> would be that the necessaries of + life should be free, as Anarchists desire, to all equally, regardless of + whether they work or not. Under this plan, every man could live without + work: there would be what might be called a "vagabond's wage," sufficient + for existence but not for luxury. The artist who preferred to have his + whole time for art and enjoyment might live on the "vagabond's wage"—traveling + on foot when the humor seized him to see foreign countries, enjoying the + air and the sun, as free as the birds, and perhaps scarcely less happy. + Such men would bring color and diversity into the life of the community; + their outlook would be different from that of steady, stay-at-home + workers, and would keep alive a much-needed element of light- heartedness + which our sober, serious civilization tends to kill. If they became very + numerous, they might be too great an economic burden on the workers; but I + doubt if there are many with enough capacity for simple enjoyments to + choose poverty and free- dom in preference to the comparatively light and + pleasant work which will be usual in those days. + </p> + <p> + By either of these methods, freedom can be preserved for the artist in a + socialistic commonwealth— far more complete freedom, and far more + widespread, than any that now exists except for the possessors of capital. + </p> + <p> + But there still remain some not altogether easy problems. Take, for + example, the publishing of books. There will not, under Socialism, be + private publishers as at present: under State Socialism, presumably the + State will be the sole publisher, while under Syndicalism or Guild + Socialism the Federation du Livre will have the whole of the trade in its + hands. Under these circumstances, who is to decide what MSS. are to be + printed? It is clear that opportunities exist for an Index more rigorous + than that of the Inquisition. If the State were the sole publisher, it + would doubtless refuse books opposed to State Socialism. If the Federation + du Livre were the ultimate arbiter, what publicity could be obtained for + works criticising it? And apart from such political difficulties we should + have, as regards literature, that very censorship by eminent officials + which we agreed to regard as disastrous when we were considering the fine + arts in general. The difficulty is serious, and a way of meeting it must + be found if literature is to remain free. + </p> + <p> + Kropotkin, who believes that manual and intellectual work should be + combined, holds that authors themselves should be compositors, + bookbinders, etc. He even seems to suggest that the whole of the manual + work involved in producing books should be done by authors. It may be + doubted whether there are enough authors in the world for this to be + possible, and in any case I cannot but think that it would be a waste of + time for them to leave the work they understand in order to do badly work + which others could do far better and more quickly. That, however, does not + touch our present point, which is the question how the MSS. to be printed + will be selected. In Kropotkin's plan there will presumably be an Author's + Guild, with a Committee of Management, if Anarchism allows such things. + This Committee of Management will decide which of the books submitted to + it are worthy to be printed. Among these will be included those by the + Committee and their friends, but not those by their enemies. Authors of + rejected MSS. will hardly have the patience to spend their time setting up + the works of successful rivals, and there will have to be an elaborate + system of log-rolling if any books are to be printed at all. It hardly + looks as if this plan would conduce to harmony among literary men, or + would lead to the publication of any book of an unconventional tendency. + Kropotkin's own books, for example, would hardly have found favor. + </p> + <p> + The only way of meeting these difficulties, whether under State Socialism + or Guild Socialism or Anarchism, seems to be by making it possible for an + author to pay for the publication of his book if it is not such as the + State or the Guild is willing to print at its own expense. I am aware that + this method is contrary to the spirit of Socialism, but I do not see what + other way there is of securing freedom. The payment might be made by + undertaking to engage for an assigned period in some work of recognized + utility and to hand over such proportion of the earnings as might be + necessary. The work undertaken might of course be, as Kropotkin suggests, + the manual part of the production of books, but I see no special reason + why it should be. It would have to be an absolute rule that no book should + be refused, no matter what the nature of its contents might be, if payment + for publication were offered at the standard rate. An author who had + admirers would be able to secure their help in payment. An unknown author + might, it is true, have to suffer a considerable loss of comfort in order + to make his payment, but that would give an automatic means of eliminating + those whose writing was not the result of any very profound impulse and + would be by no means wholly an evil. + </p> + <p> + Probably some similar method would be desirable as regards the publishing + and performing of new music. + </p> + <p> + What we have been suggesting will, no doubt, be objected to by orthodox + Socialists, since they will find something repugnant to their principles + in the whole idea of a private person paying to have certain work done. + But it is a mistake to be the slave of a system, and every system, if it + is applied rigidly, will entail evils which could only be avoided by some + concession to the exigencies of special cases. On the whole, a wise form + of Socialism might afford infinitely better opportunities for the artist + and the man of science than are possible in a capitalist community, but + only if the form of Socialism adopted is one which is fitted for this end + by means of provisions such as we have been suggesting. + </p> + <p> + 3. Possibility of Appreciation.—This condition is one which is not + necessary to all who do creative work, but in the sense in which I mean it + the great majority find it very nearly indispensable. I do not mean + widespread public recognition, nor that ignorant, half-sincere respect + which is commonly accorded to artists who have achieved success. Neither + of these serves much purpose. What I mean is rather understanding, and a + spontaneous feeling that things of beauty are important. In a thoroughly + commercialized society, an artist is respected if he makes money, and + because he makes money, but there is no genuine respect for the works of + art by which his money has been made. A millionaire whose fortune has been + made in button-hooks or chewing-gum is regarded with awe, but none of this + feeling is bestowed on the articles from which his wealth is derived. In a + society which measures all things by money the same tends to be true of + the artist. If he has become rich he is respected, though of course less + than the millionaire, but his pictures or books or music are regarded as + the chewing-gum or the button- hooks are regarded, merely as a means to + money. In such an atmosphere it is very difficult for the artist to + preserve his creative impulse pure: either he is contaminated by his + surroundings, or he becomes embittered through lack of appreciation for + the object of his endeavor. + </p> + <p> + It is not appreciation of the artist that is necessary so much as + appreciation of the art. It is difficult for an artist to live in an + environment in which everything is judged by its utility, rather than by + its intrinsic quality. The whole side of life of which art is the flower + requires something which may be called disinterestedness, a capacity for + direct enjoyment without thought of tomorrow's problems and difficulties. + When people are amused by a joke they do not need to be persuaded that it + will serve some important purpose. The same kind of direct pleasure is + involved in any genuine appreciation of art. The struggle for life, the + serious work of a trade or profession, is apt to make people too solemn + for jokes and too pre-occupied for art. The easing of the struggle, the + diminution in the hours of work, and the lightening of the burden of + existence, which would result from a better economic system, could hardly + fail to increase the joy of life and the vital energy, available for sheer + delight in the world. And if this were achieved there would inevitably be + more spontaneous pleasure in beautiful things, and more enjoyment of the + work of artists. But none of these good results are to be expected from + the mere removal of poverty: they all require also a diffused sense of + freedom, and the absence of that feeling of oppression by a vast machine + which now weighs down the individual spirit. I do not think State + Socialism can give this sense of freedom, but some other forms of + Socialism, which have absorbed what is true in Anarchist teaching, can + give it to a degree of which capitalism is wholly incapable. + </p> + <p> + A general sense of progress and achievement is an immense stimulus to all + forms of creative work. For this reason, a great deal will depend, not + only in material ways, upon the question whether methods of production in + industry and agriculture become stereotyped or continue to change rapidly + as they have done during the last hundred years. Improved methods of + production will be much more obviously than now to the interest of the + community at large, when what every man receives is his due share of the + total produce of labor. But there will probably not be any individuals + with the same direct and intense interest in technical improvements as now + belongs to the capitalist in manufacture. If the natural conservatism of + the workers is not to prove stronger than their interest in increasing + production, it will be necessary that, when better methods are introduced + by the workers in any industry, part at least of the benefit should be + allowed for a time to be retained by them. If this is done, it may be + presumed that each Guild will be continually seeking for new processes or + inventions, and will value those technical parts of scientific research + which are useful for this purpose. With every improvement, the question + will arise whether it is to be used to give more leisure or to increase + the dividend of commodities. Where there is so much more leisure than + there is now, there will be many more people with a knowledge of science + or an understanding of art. The artist or scientific investigator will be + far less cut off than he is at present from the average citizen, and this + will almost inevitably be a stimulus to his creative energy. + </p> + <p> + I think we may fairly conclude that, from the point of view of all three + requisites for art and science, namely, training, freedom and + appreciation, State Socialism would largely fail to remove existing evils + and would introduce new evils of its own; but Guild Socialism, or even + Syndicalism, if it adopted a liberal policy toward those who preferred to + work less than the usual number of hours at recognized occupations, might + be immeasurably preferable to anything that is possible under the rule of + capitalism. There are dangers, but they will all vanish if the importance + of liberty is adequately acknowledged. In this as in nearly everything + else, the road to all that is best is the road of freedom. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII — THE WORLD AS IT COULD BE MADE + </h2> + <p> + IN the daily lives of most men and women, fear plays a greater part than + hope: they are more filled with the thought of the possessions that others + may take from them, than of the joy that they might create in their own + lives and in the lives with which they come in contact. + </p> + <p> + It is not so that life should be lived. + </p> + <p> + Those whose lives are fruitful to themselves, to their friends, or to the + world are inspired by hope and sustained by joy: they see in imagination + the things that might be and the way in which they are to be brought into + existence. In their private relations they are not pre-occupied with + anxiety lest they should lose such affection and respect as they receive: + they are engaged in giving affection and respect freely, and the reward + comes of itself without their seeking. In their work they are not haunted + by jealousy of competitors, but concerned with the actual matter that has + to be done. In politics, they do not spend time and passion defending + unjust privileges of their class or nation, but they aim at making the + world as a whole happier, less cruel, less full of conflict between rival + greeds, and more full of human beings whose growth has not been dwarfed + and stunted by oppression. + </p> + <p> + A life lived in this spirit—the spirit that aims at creating rather + than possessing—has a certain fundamental happiness, of which it + cannot be wholly robbed by adverse circumstances. This is the way of life + recommended in the Gospels, and by all the great teachers of the world. + Those who have found it are freed from the tyranny of fear, since what + they value most in their lives is not at the mercy of outside power. If + all men could summon up the courage and the vision to live in this way in + spite of obstacles and discouragement, there would be no need for the + regeneration of the world to begin by political and economic reform: all + that is needed in the way of reform would come automatically, without + resistance, owing to the moral regeneration of individuals. But the + teaching of Christ has been nominally accepted by the world for many + centuries, and yet those who follow it are still persecuted as they were + before the time of Constantine. Experience has proved that few are able to + see through the apparent evils of an outcast's life to the inner joy that + comes of faith and creative hope. If the domination of fear is to be + overcome, it is not enough, as regards the mass of men, to preach courage + and indifference to misfortune: it is necessary to remove the causes of + fear, to make a good life no longer an unsuccessful one in a worldly + sense, and to diminish the harm that can be inflicted upon those who are + not wary in self- defense. + </p> + <p> + When we consider the evils in the lives we know of, we find that they may + be roughly divided into three classes. There are, first, those due to + physical nature: among these are death, pain and the difficulty of making + the soil yield a subsistence. These we will call "physical evils." Second, + we may put those that spring from defects in the character or aptitudes of + the sufferer: among these are ignorance, lack of will, and violent + passions. These we will call "evils of character." Third come those that + depend upon the power of one individual or group over another: these + comprise not only obvious tyranny, but all interference with free + development, whether by force or by excessive mental influence such as may + occur in education. These we will call "evils of power." A social system + may be judged by its bearing upon these three kinds of evils. + </p> + <p> + The distinction between the three kinds cannot be sharply drawn. Purely + physical evil is a limit, which we can never be sure of having reached: we + cannot abolish death, but we can often postpone it by science, and it may + ultimately become possible to secure that the great majority shall live + till old age; we cannot wholly prevent pain, but we can diminish it + indefinitely by securing a healthy life for all; we cannot make the earth + yield its fruits in any abundance without labor, but we can diminish the + amount of the labor and improve its conditions until it ceases to be an + evil. Evils of character are often the result of physical evil in the + shape of illness, and still more often the result of evils of power, since + tyranny degrades both those who exercise it and (as a rule) those who + suffer it. Evils of power are intensified by evils of character in those + who have power, and by fear of the physical evil which is apt to be the + lot of those who have no power. For all these reasons, the three sorts of + evil are intertwined. Nevertheless, speaking broadly, we may distinguish + among our misfortunes those which have their proximate cause in the + material world, those which are mainly due to defects in ourselves, and + those which spring from our being subject to the control of others. + </p> + <p> + The main methods of combating these evils are: for physical evils, + science; for evils of character, education (in the widest sense) and a + free outlet for all impulses that do not involve domination; for evils of + power, the reform of the political and economic organization of society in + such a way as to reduce to the lowest possible point the interference of + one man with the life of another. We will begin with the third of these + kinds of evil, because it is evils of power specially that Socialism and + Anarchism have sought to remedy. Their protest against Inequalities of + wealth has rested mainly upon their sense of the evils arising from the + power conferred by wealth. This point has been well stated by Mr. G. D. H. + Cole:— + </p> + <p> + What, I want to ask, is the fundamental evil in our modern Society which + we should set out to abolish? + </p> + <p> + There are two possible answers to that question, and I am sure that very + many well-meaning people would make the wrong one. They would answer + POVERTY, when they ought to answer SLAVERY. Face to face every day with + the shameful contrasts of riches and destitution, high dividends and low + wages, and painfully conscious of the futility of trying to adjust the + balance by means of charity, private or public, they would answer + unhesitatingly that they stand for the ABOLITION OF POVERTY. + </p> + <p> + Well and good! On that issue every Socialist is with them. But their + answer to my question is none the less wrong. + </p> + <p> + Poverty is the symptom: slavery the disease. The extremes of riches and + destitution follow inevitably upon the extremes of license and bondage. + The many are not enslaved because they are poor, they are poor because + they are enslaved. Yet Socialists have all too often fixed their eyes upon + the material misery of the poor without realizing that it rests upon the + spiritual degradation of the slave.<a href="#linknote-59" + name="linknoteref-59" id="linknoteref-59"><small>59</small></a> + </p> + <p> + I do not think any reasonable person can doubt that the evils of power in + the present system are vastly greater than is necessary, nor that they + might be immeasurably diminished by a suitable form of Socialism. A few + fortunate people, it is true, are now enabled to live freely on rent or + interest, and they could hardly have more liberty under another system. + But the great bulk, not only of the very poor, but, of all sections of + wage-earners and even of the professional classes, are the slaves of the + need for getting money. Almost all are compelled to work so hard that they + have little leisure for enjoyment or for pursuits outside their regular + occupation. Those who are able to retire in later middle age are bored, + because they have not learned how to fill their time when they are at + liberty, and such interests as they once had apart from work have dried + up. Yet these are the exceptionally fortunate: the majority have to work + hard till old age, with the fear of destitution always before them, the + richer ones dreading that they will be unable to give their children the + education or the medical care that they consider desirable, the poorer + ones often not far removed from starvation. And almost all who work have + no voice in the direction of their work; throughout the hours of labor + they are mere machines carrying out the will of a master. Work is usually + done under disagreeable conditions, involving pain and physical hardship. + The only motive to work is wages: the very idea that work might be a joy, + like the work of the artist, is usually scouted as utterly Utopian. + </p> + <p> + But by far the greater part of these evils are wholly unnecessary. If the + civilized portion of mankind could be induced to desire their own + happiness more than another's pain, if they could be induced to work + constructively for improvements which they would share with all the world + rather than destructively to prevent other classes or nations from + stealing a march on them, the whole system by which the world's work is + done might be reformed root and branch within a generation. + </p> + <p> + From the point of view of liberty, what system would be the best? In what + direction should we wish the forces of progress to move? + </p> + <p> + From this point of view, neglecting for the moment all other + considerations, I have no doubt that the best system would be one not far + removed from that advocated by Kropotkin, but rendered more practicable by + the adoption of the main principles of Guild Socialism. Since every point + can be disputed, I will set down without argument the kind of organization + of work that would seem best. + </p> + <p> + Education should be compulsory up to the age of 16, or perhaps longer; + after that, it should be continued or not at the option of the pupil, but + remain free (for those who desire it) up to at least the age of 21. When + education is finished no one should be COMPELLED to work, and those who + choose not to work should receive a bare livelihood, and be left + completely free; but probably it would be desirable that there should be a + strong public opinion in favor of work, so that only comparatively few + should choose idleness. One great advantage of making idleness + economically possible is that it would afford a powerful motive for making + work not disagreeable; and no community where most work is disagreeable + can be said to have found a solution of economic problems. I think it is + reasonable to assume that few would choose idleness, in view of the fact + that even now at least nine out of ten of those who have (say) 100 pounds + a year from investments prefer to increase their income by paid work. + </p> + <p> + Coming now to that great majority who will not choose idleness, I think we + may assume that, with the help of science, and by the elimination of the + vast amount of unproductive work involved in internal and international + competition, the whole community could be kept in comfort by means of four + hours' work a day. It is already being urged by experienced employers that + their employes can actually produce as much in a six-hour day as they can + when they work eight hours. In a world where there is a much higher level + of technical instruction than there is now the same tendency will be + accentuated. People will be taught not only, as at present, one trade, or + one small portion of a trade, but several trades, so that they can vary + their occupation according to the seasons and the fluctuations of demand. + Every industry will be self-governing as regards all its internal affairs, + and even separate factories will decide for themselves all questions that + only concern those who work in them. There will not be capitalist + management, as at present, but management by elected representatives, as + in politics. Relations between different groups of producers will be + settled by the Guild Congress, matters concerning the community as the + inhabitants of a certain area will continue to be decided by Parliament, + while all disputes between Parliament and the Guild Congress will be + decided by a body composed of representatives of both in equal numbers. + </p> + <p> + Payment will not be made, as at present, only for work actually required + and performed, but for willingness to work. This system is already adopted + in much of the better paid work: a man occupies a certain position, and + retains it even at times when there happens to be very little to do. The + dread of unemployment and loss of livelihood will no longer haunt men like + a nightmare. Whether all who are willing to work will be paid equally, or + whether exceptional skill will still command exceptional pay, is a matter + which may be left to each guild to decide for itself. An opera-singer who + received no more pay than a scene-shifter might choose to be a + scene-shifter until the system was changed: if so, higher pay would + probably be found necessary. But if it were freely voted by the Guild, it + could hardly constitute a grievance. + </p> + <p> + Whatever might be done toward making work agreeable, it is to be presumed + that some trades would always remain unpleasant. Men could be attracted + into these by higher pay or shorter hours, instead of being driven into + them by destitution. The community would then have a strong economic + motive for finding ways of diminishing the disagreeableness of these + exceptional trades. + </p> + <p> + There would still have to be money, or something analogous to it, in any + community such as we are imagining. The Anarchist plan of a free + distribution of the total produce of work in equal shares does not get rid + of the need for some standard of exchange value, since one man will choose + to take his share in one form and another in another. When the day comes + for distributing luxuries, old ladies will not want their quota of cigars, + nor young men their just proportion of lap-dog; this will make it + necessary to know how many cigars are the equivalent of one lap-dog. Much + the simplest way is to pay an income, as at present, and allow relative + values to be adjusted according to demand. But if actual coin were paid, a + man might hoard it and in time become a capitalist. To prevent this, it + would be best to pay notes available only during a certain period, say one + year from the date of issue. This would enable a man to save up for his + annual holiday, but not to save indefinitely. + </p> + <p> + There is a very great deal to be said for the Anarchist plan of allowing + necessaries, and all commodities that can easily be produced in quantities + adequate to any possible demand, to be given away freely to all who ask + for them, in any amounts they may require. The question whether this plan + should be adopted is, to my mind, a purely technical one: would it be, in + fact, possible to adopt it without much waste and consequent diversion of + labor to the production of necessaries when it might be more usefully + employed otherwise? I have not the means of answering this question, but I + think it exceedingly probable that, sooner or later, with the continued + improvement in the methods of production, this Anarchist plan will become + feasible; and when it does, it certainly ought to be adopted. + </p> + <p> + Women in domestic work, whether married or unmarried, will receive pay as + they would if they were in industry. This will secure the complete + economic independence of wives, which is difficult to achieve in any other + way, since mothers of young children ought not to be expected to work + outside the home. + </p> + <p> + The expense of children will not fall, as at present, on the parents. They + will receive, like adults, their share of necessaries, and their education + will be free.<a href="#linknote-60" name="linknoteref-60" + id="linknoteref-60"><small>60</small></a> There is no longer to be the + present competition for scholarships among the abler children: they will + not be imbued with the competitive spirit from infancy, or forced to use + their brains to an unnatural degree with consequent listlessness and lack + of health in later life. Education will be far more diversified than at + present; greater care will be taken to adapt it to the needs of different + types of young people. There will be more attempt to encourage initiative + young pupils, and less desire to fill their minds with a set of beliefs + and mental habits regarded as desirable by the State, chiefly because they + help to preserve the status quo. For the great majority of children it + will probably be found desirable to have much more outdoor education in + the country. And for older boys and girls whose interests are not + intellectual or artistic, technical education, undertaken in a liberal + spirit, is far more useful in promoting mental activity than book-learning + which they regard (however falsely) as wholly useless except for purposes + of examination. The really useful educa- tion is that which follows the + direction of the child's own instinctive interests, supplying knowledge + for which it is seeking, not dry, detailed information wholly out of + relation to its spontaneous desires. + </p> + <p> + Government and law will still exist in our community, but both will be + reduced to a minimum. There will still be acts which will be forbidden—for + example, murder. But very nearly the whole of that part of the criminal + law which deals with property will have become obsolete, and many of the + motives which now produce murders will be no longer operative. Those who + nevertheless still do commit crimes will not be blamed or regarded as + wicked; they will be regarded as unfortunate, and kept in some kind of + mental hospital until it is thought that they are no longer a danger. By + education and freedom and the abolition of private capital the number of + crimes can be made exceedingly small. By the method of individual curative + treatment it will generally be possible to secure that a man's first + offense shall also be his last, except in the case of lunatics and the + feeble-minded, for whom of course a more prolonged but not less kindly + detention may be necessary. + </p> + <p> + Government may be regarded as consisting of two parts: the one, the + decisions of the community or its recognized organs; the other, the + enforcing of those decisions upon all who resist them. The first part is + not objected to by Anarchists. The second part, in an ordinary civilized + State, may remain entirely in the background: those who have resisted a + new law while it was being debated will, as a rule, submit to it when it + is passed, because resistance is generally useless in a settled and + orderly community. But the possibility of governmental force remains, and + indeed is the very reason for the submission which makes force + unnecessary. If, as Anarchists desire, there were no use of force by + government, the majority could still band themselves together and use + force against the minority. The only difference would be that their army + or their police force would be ad hoc, instead of being permanent and + professional. The result of this would be that everyone would have to + learn how to fight, for fear a well- drilled minority should seize power + and establish an old-fashioned oligarchic State. Thus the aim of the + Anarchists seems hardly likely to be achieved by the methods which they + advocate. + </p> + <p> + The reign of violence in human affairs, whether within a country or in its + external relations, can only be prevented, if we have not been mistaken, + by an authority able to declare all use of force except by itself illegal, + and strong enough to be obviously capable of making all other use of force + futile, except when it could secure the support of public opinion as a + defense of freedom or a resistance to injustice. Such an authority exists + within a country: it is the State. But in international affairs it remains + to be created. The difficulties are stupendous, but they must be overcome + if the world is to be saved from periodical wars, each more destructive + than any of its predecessors. Whether, after this war, a League of Nations + will be formed, and will be capable of performing this task, it is as yet + impossible to foretell. However that may be, some method of preventing + wars will have to be established before our Utopia becomes possible. When + once men BELIEVE that the world is safe from war, the whole difficulty + will be solved: there will then no longer be any serious resistance to the + disbanding of national armies and navies, and the substitution for them of + a small international force for protection against uncivilized races. And + when that stage has been reached, peace will be virtually secure. + </p> + <p> + The practice of government by majorities, which Anarchists criticise, is + in fact open to most of the objections which they urge against it. Still + more objectionable is the power of the executive in matters vitally + affecting the happiness of all, such as peace and war. But neither can be + dispensed with suddenly. There are, however, two methods of diminishing + the harm done by them: (1) Government by majorities can be made less + oppressive by devolution, by placing the decision of questions primarily + affecting only a section of the community in the hands of that section, + rather than of a Central Chamber. In this way, men are no longer forced to + submit to decisions made in a hurry by people mostly ignorant of the + matter in hand and not personally interested. Autonomy for internal + affairs should be given, not only to areas, but to all groups, such as + industries or Churches, which have important common interests not shared + by the rest of the community. (2) The great powers vested in the executive + of a modern State are chiefly due to the frequent need of rapid decisions, + especially as regards foreign affairs. If the danger of war were + practically eliminated, more cumbrous but less autocratic methods would be + possible, and the Legislature might recover many of the powers which the + executive has usurped. By these two methods, the intensity of the + interference with liberty involved in government can be gradually + diminished. Some interference, and even some danger of unwarranted and + despotic interference, is of the essence of government, and must remain so + long as government remains. But until men are less prone to violence than + they are now, a certain degree of governmental force seems the lesser of + two evils. We may hope, however, that if once the danger of war is at an + end, men's violent impulses will gradually grow less, the more so as, in + that case, it will be possible to diminish enormously the individual power + which now makes rulers autocratic and ready for almost any act of tyranny + in order to crush opposition. The development of a world where even + governmental force has become unnecessary (except against lunatics) must + be gradual. But as a gradual process it is perfectly possible; and when it + has been completed we may hope to see the principles of Anarchism embodied + in the management of communal affairs. + </p> + <p> + How will the economic and political system that we have outlined bear on + the evils of character? I believe the effect will be quite extraordinarily + beneficent. + </p> + <p> + The process of leading men's thought and imagination away from the use of + force will be greatly accelerated by the abolition of the capitalist + system, provided it is not succeeded by a form of State Socialism in which + officials have enormous power. At present, the capitalist has more control + over the lives of others than any man ought to have; his friends have + authority in the State; his economic power is the pattern for political + power. In a world where all men and women enjoy economic freedom, there + will not be the same habit of command, nor, consequently, the same love of + despotism; a gentler type of character than that now prevalent will + gradually grow up. Men are formed by their circumstances, not born ready- + made. The bad effect of the present economic system on character, and the + immensely better effect to be expected from communal ownership, are among + the strongest reasons for advocating the change. + </p> + <p> + In the world as we have been imagining fit, economic fear and most + economic hope will be alike removed out of life. No one will be haunted by + the dread of poverty or driven into ruthlessness by the hope of wealth. + There will not be the distinction of social classes which now plays such + an immense part in life. The unsuccessful professional man will not live + in terror lest his children should sink in the scale; the aspiring employe + will not be looking forward to the day when he can become a sweater in his + turn. Ambitious young men will have to dream other daydreams than that of + business success and wealth wrung out of the ruin of competitors and the + degradation of labor. In such a world, most of the nightmares that lurk in + the background of men's minds will no longer exist; on the other hand, + ambition and the desire to excel will have to take nobler forms than those + that are encouraged by a commercial society. All those activities that + really confer benefits upon mankind will be open, not only to the + fortunate few, but to all who have sufficient ambition and native + aptitude. Science, labor-saving inventions, technical progress of all + kinds, may be confidently expected to flourish far more than at present, + since they will be the road to honor, and honor will have to replace money + among those of the young who desire to achieve success. Whether art will + flourish in a Socialistic community depends upon the form of Social- ism + adopted; if the State, or any public authority, (no matter what), insists + upon controlling art, and only licensing those whom it regards as + proficient, the result will be disaster. But if there is real freedom, + allowing every man who so desires to take up an artist's career at the + cost of some sacrifice of comfort, it is likely that the atmosphere of + hope, and the absence of economic compulsion, will lead to a much smaller + waste of talent than is involved in our present system, and to a much less + degree of crushing of impulse in the mills of the struggle for life. + </p> + <p> + When elementary needs have been satisfied, the serious happiness of most + men depends upon two things: their work, and their human relations. In the + world that we have been picturing, work will be free, not excessive, full + of the interest that belongs to a collective enterprise in which there is + rapid progress, with something of the delight of creation even for the + humblest unit. And in human relations the gain will be just as great as in + work. The only human relations that have value are those that are rooted + in mutual freedom, where there is no domination and no slavery, no tie + except affection, no economic or conventional necessity to preserve the + external show when the inner life is dead. One of the most horrible things + about commercialism is the way in which it poisons the relations of men + and women. The evils of prostitution are generally recognized, but, great + as they are, the effect of economic conditions on marriage seems to me + even worse. There is not infrequently, in marriage, a suggestion of + purchase, of acquiring a woman on condition of keeping her in a certain + standard of material comfort. Often and often, a marriage hardly differs + from prostitution except by being harder to escape from. The whole basis + of these evils is economic. Economic causes make marriage a matter of + bargain and contract, in which affection is quite secondary, and its + absence constitutes no recognized reason for liberation. Marriage should + be a free, spontaneous meeting of mutual instinct, filled with happiness + not unmixed with a feeling akin to awe: it should involve that degree of + respect of each for the other that makes even the most trifling + interference with liberty an utter impossibility, and a common life + enforced by one against the will of the other an unthinkable thing of deep + horror. It is not so that marriage is conceived by lawyers who make + settlements, or by priests who give the name of "sacrament" to an + institution which pretends to find something sanctifiable in the brutal + lusts or drunken cruelties of a legal husband. It is not in a spirit of + freedom that marriage is conceived by most men and women at present: the + law makes it an opportunity for indulgence of the desire to interfere, + where each submits to some loss of his or her own liberty, for the + pleasure of curtailing the liberty of the other. And the atmosphere of + private property makes it more difficult than it otherwise would be for + any better ideal to take root. + </p> + <p> + It is not so that human relations will be conceived when the evil heritage + of economic slavery has ceased to mold our instincts. Husbands and wives, + parents and children, will be only held together by affection: where that + has died, it will be recognized that nothing worth preserving is left. + Because affection will be free, men and women will not find in private + life an outlet and stimulus to the love of domineering, but all that is + creative in their love will have the freer scope. Reverence for whatever + makes the soul in those who are loved will be less rare than it is now: + nowadays, many men love their wives in the way in which they love mutton, + as something to devour and destroy. But in the love that goes with + reverence there is a joy of quite another order than any to be found by + mastery, a joy which satisfies the spirit and not only the instincts; and + satisfaction of instinct and spirit at once is necessary to a happy life, + or indeed to any existence that is to bring out the best impulses of which + a man or woman is capable. + </p> + <p> + In the world which we should wish to see, there will be more joy of life + than in the drab tragedy of modern every-day existence. After early youth, + as things are, most men are bowed down by forethought, no longer capable + of light-hearted gaiety, but only of a kind of solemn jollification by the + clock at the appropriate hours. The advice to "become as little children" + would be good for many people in many respects, but it goes with another + precept, "take no thought for the morrow," which is hard to obey in a + competitive world. There is often in men of science, even when they are + quite old, something of the simplicity of a child: their absorption in + abstract thought has held them aloof from the world, and respect for their + work has led the world to keep them alive in spite of their innocence. + Such men have succeeded in living as all men ought to be able to live; but + as things are, the economic struggle makes their way of life impossible + for the great majority. + </p> + <p> + What are we to say, lastly, of the effect of our projected world upon + physical evil? Will there be less illness than there is at present? Will + the produce of a given amount of labor be greater? Or will population + press upon the limits of subsistence, as Malthus taught in order to refute + Godwin's optimism? + </p> + <p> + I think the answer to all these questions turns, in the end, upon the + degree of intellectual vigor to be expected in a community which has done + away with the spur of economic competition. Will men in such a world + become lazy and apathetic? Will they cease to think? Will those who do + think find themselves confronted with an even more impenetrable wall of + unreflecting conservatism than that which confronts them at present? These + are important questions; for it is ultimately to science that mankind must + look for their success in combating physical evils. + </p> + <p> + If the other conditions that we have postulated can be realized, it seems + almost certain that there must be less illness than there is at present. + Population will no longer be congested in slums; children will have far + more of fresh air and open country; the hours of work will be only such as + are wholesome, not excessive and exhausting as they are at present. + </p> + <p> + As for the progress of science, that depends very largely upon the degree + of intellectual liberty existing in the new society. If all science is + organized and supervised by the State, it will rapidly become stereotyped + and dead. Fundamental advances will not be made, because, until they have + been made, they will seem too doubtful to warrant the expenditure of + public money upon them. Authority will be in the hands of the old, + especially of men who have achieved scientific eminence; such men will be + hostile to those among the young who do not flatter them by agreeing with + their theories. Under a bureaucratic State Socialism it is to be feared + that science would soon cease to be progressive and acquired a medieval + respect for authority. + </p> + <p> + But under a freer system, which would enable all kinds of groups to employ + as many men of science as they chose, and would allow the "vagabond's + wage" to those who desired to pursue some study so new as to be wholly + unrecognized, there is every reason to think that science would flourish + as it has never done hitherto.<a href="#linknote-61" name="linknoteref-61" + id="linknoteref-61"><small>61</small></a> And, if that were the case, I do + not believe that any other obstacle would exist to the physical + possibility of our system. + </p> + <p> + The question of the number of hours of work necessary to produce general + material comfort is partly technical, partly one of organization. We may + assume that there would no longer be unproductive labor spent on + armaments, national defense, advertisements, costly luxuries for the very + rich, or any of the other futilities incidental to our competitive system. + If each industrial guild secured for a term of years the advantages, or + part of the advantages, of any new invention or methods which it + introduced, it is pretty certain that every encouragement would be given + to technical progress. The life of a discoverer or inventor is in itself + agreeable: those who adopt it, as things are now, are seldom much actuated + by economic motives, but rather by the interest of the work together with + the hope of honor; and these motives would operate more widely than they + do now, since fewer people would be prevented from obeying them by + economic necessities. And there is no doubt that intellect would work more + keenly and creatively in a world where instinct was less thwarted, where + the joy of life was greater, and where consequently there would be more + vitality in men than there is at present. + </p> + <p> + There remains the population question, which, ever since the time of + Malthus, has been the last refuge of those to whom the possibility of a + better world is disagreeable. But this question is now a very different + one from what it was a hundred years ago. The decline of the birth-rate in + all civilized countries, which is pretty certain to continue, whatever + economic system is adopted, suggests that, especially when the probable + effects of the war are taken into account, the population of Western + Europe is not likely to increase very much beyond its present level, and + that of America is likely only to increase through immigration. Negroes + may continue to increase in the tropics, but are not likely to be a + serious menace to the white inhabitants of temperate regions. There + remains, of course, the Yellow Peril; but by the time that begins to be + serious it is quite likely that the birth-rate will also have begun to + decline among the races of Asia If not, there are other means of dealing + with this question; and in any case the whole matter is too conjectural to + be set up seriously as a bar to our hopes. I conclude that, though no + certain forecast is possible, there is not any valid reason for regarding + the possible increase of population as a serious obstacle to Socialism. + </p> + <p> + Our discussion has led us to the belief that the communal ownership of + land and capital, which constitutes the characteristic doctrine of + Socialism and Anarchist Communism, is a necessary step toward the removal + of the evils from which the world suffers at present and the creation of + such a society as any humane man must wish to see realized. But, though a + necessary step, Socialism alone is by no means sufficient. There are + various forms of Socialism: the form in which the State is the employer, + and all who work receive wages from it, involves dangers of tyranny and + interference with progress which would make it, if possible, even worse + than the present regime. On the other hand, Anarchism, which avoids the + dangers of State Socialism, has dangers and difficulties of its own, which + make it probable that, within any reasonable period of time, it could not + last long even if it were established. Nevertheless, it remains an ideal + to which we should wish to approach as nearly as possible, and which, in + some distant age, we hope may be reached completely. Syndicalism shares + many of the defects of Anarchism, and, like it, would prove unstable, + since the need of a central government would make itself felt almost at + once. + </p> + <p> + The system we have advocated is a form of Guild Socialism, leaning more, + perhaps, towards Anarchism than the official Guildsman would wholly + approve. It is in the matters that politicians usually ignore— + science and art, human relations, and the joy of life —that + Anarchism is strongest, and it is chiefly for the sake of these things + that we included such more or less Anarchist proposals as the "vagabond's + wage." It is by its effects outside economics and politics, at least as + much as by effects inside them, that a social system should be judged. And + if Socialism ever comes, it is only likely to prove beneficent if non- + economic goods are valued and consciously pursued. + </p> + <p> + The world that we must seek is a world in which the creative spirit is + alive, in which life is an adventure full of joy and hope, based rather + upon the impulse to construct than upon the desire to retain what we + possess or to seize what is possessed by others. It must be a world in + which affection has free play, in which love is purged of the instinct for + domination, in which cruelty and envy have been dispelled by happiness and + the unfettered development of all the instincts that build up life and + fill it with mental delights. Such a world is possible; it waits only for + men to wish to create it. + </p> + <p> + Meantime, the world in which we exist has other aims. But it will pass + away, burned up in the fire of its own hot passions; and from its ashes + will spring a new and younger world, full of fresh hope, with the light of + morning in its eyes. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_FOOT" id="link2H_FOOT"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + FOOTNOTES: + </h2> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ Chief among these were + Fourier and Saint-Simon, who constructed somewhat fantastic Socialistic + ideal commonwealths. Proudhon, with whom Marx had some not wholly friendly + relations, is to be regarded as a forerunner of the Anarchists rather than + of orthodox Socialism.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-2">return</a>)<br /> [ Marx mentions the English + Socialists with praise in "The Poverty of Philosophy" (1847). They, like + him, tend to base their arguments upon a Ricardian theory of value, but + they have not his scope or erudition or scientific breadth. Among them may + be mentioned Thomas Hodgskin (1787-1869), originally an officer in the + Navy, but dismissed for a pamphlet critical of the methods of naval + discipline, author of "Labour Defended Against the Claims of Capital" + (1825) and other works; William Thompson (1785-1833), author of "Inquiry + into the Principles of Distribution of Wealth Most Conducive to Human + Happiness" (1824), and "Labour Rewarded" (1825); and Piercy Ravenstone, + from whom Hodgskin's ideas are largely derived. Perhaps more important + than any of these was Robert Owen.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-3" id="linknote-3"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-3">return</a>)<br /> [ The first and most + important volume appeared in 1867; the other two volumes were published + posthumously (1885 and 1894).] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-4" id="linknote-4"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-4">return</a>)<br /> [ Vol. i, p. 227.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-5" id="linknote-5"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-5">return</a>)<br /> [ Vol. i, pp. 237, 238.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-6" id="linknote-6"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-6">return</a>)<br /> [ Vol. i, pp. 239, 240.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-7" id="linknote-7"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-7">return</a>)<br /> [ Vol. i, pp. 758, 759.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-8" id="linknote-8"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-8">return</a>)<br /> [ Vol. i pp. 788, 789.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-9" id="linknote-9"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-9">return</a>)<br /> [ Die Voraussetzungen des + Sozialismus und die Aufgaben der Sozial-Demokratie."] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-10" id="linknote-10"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-10">return</a>)<br /> [ La Decomposition du + Marxisme," p. 53.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-11" id="linknote-11"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-11">return</a>)<br /> [ "Musings of a Chinese + Mystic." Selections from the Philosophy of Chuang Tzu. With an + Introduction by Lionel Giles, M.A. (Oxon.). Wisdom of the East Series, + John Murray, 1911. Pages 66-68.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-12" id="linknote-12"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-12">return</a>)<br /> [ An account of the life of + Bakunin from the Anarchist standpoint will be found in vol. ii of the + complete edition of his works: "Michel Bakounine, OEuvres," Tome II. Avec + une notice biographique, des avant-propos et des notes, par James + Guillaume. Paris, P.-V, Stock, editeur, pp. v-lxiii.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-13" id="linknote-13"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-13">return</a>)<br /> [ Criticism of these + theories will be reserved for Part II.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-14" id="linknote-14"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-14">return</a>)<br /> [ Ibid. p. xxvi.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-15" id="linknote-15"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-15">return</a>)<br /> [ "Marx, as a thinker, is + on the right road. He has established as a principle that all the + evolutions, political, religious, and juridical, in history are, not the + causes, but the effects of economic evolutions. This is a great and + fruitful thought, which he has not absolutely invented; it has been + glimpsed, expressed in part, by many others besides him; but in any case + to him belongs the honor of having solidly established it and of having + enunciated it as the basis of his whole economic system. (1870; ib. ii. p. + xiii.)] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-16" id="linknote-16"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-16">return</a>)<br /> [ This title is not + Bakunin's, but was invented by Cafiero and Elisee Reclus, who edited it, + not knowing that it was a fragment of what was intended to he the second + version of "L'Empire Knouto-Germanique" (see ib. ii. p 283).] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-17" id="linknote-17"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-17">return</a>)<br /> [ Paris, 1894.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-18" id="linknote-18"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-18">return</a>)<br /> [ The attitude of all the + better Anarchists is that expressed by L. S. Bevington in the words: "Of + course we know that among those who call themselves Anarchists there are a + minority of unbalanced enthusiasts who look upon every illegal and + sensational act of violence as a matter for hysterical jubilation. Very + useful to the police and the press, unsteady in intellect and of weak + moral principle, they have repeatedly shown themselves accessible to venal + considerations. They, and their violence, and their professed Anarchism + are purchasable, and in the last resort they are welcome and efficient + partisans of the bourgeoisie in its remorseless war against the deliverers + of the people." His conclusion is a very wise one: "Let us leave + indiscriminate killing and injuring to the Government—to its + Statesmen, its Stockbrokers, its Officers, and its Law." ("Anarchism and + Violence," pp. 9-10. Liberty Press, Chiswick, 1896.)] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-19" id="linknote-19"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-19">return</a>)<br /> [ See next Chapter.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-20" id="linknote-20"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-20">return</a>)<br /> [ Of which the Independent + Labor Party is only a section.] + </p> + <p> + And also in Italy. A good, short account of the Italian movement is given + by A. Lanzillo, "Le Mouvement Ouvrier en Italie," Bibliotheque du + Mouvement Proletarien. See also Paul Louis, "Le Syndicalisme Europeen," + chap. vi. On the other hand Cole ("World of Labour," chap. vi) considers + the strength of genuine Syndicalism in Italy to be small.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-21" id="linknote-21"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-21">return</a>)<br /> [ This is often recognized + by Syndicalists themselves. See, e.g., an article on "The Old + International" in the Syndicalist of February, 1913, which, after giving + an account of the struggle between Marx and Bakunin from the standpoint of + a sympathizer with the latter, says: "Bakounin's ideas are now more alive + than ever."] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-22" id="linknote-22"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-22">return</a>)<br /> [ See pp. 42-43, and 160 of + "Syndicalism in France," Louis Levine, Ph.D. (Columbia University Studies + in Political Science, vol. xlvi, No. 3.) This is a very objective and + reliable account of the origin and progress of French Syndicalism. An + admirable short discussion of its ideas and its present position will be + found in Cole's "World of Labour" (G. Bell & Sons), especially + chapters iii, iv, and xi.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-23" id="linknote-23"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-23">return</a>)<br /> [ See Levine, op. cit., + chap. ii.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-24" id="linknote-24"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-24">return</a>)<br /> [ Cole, ib., p. 65.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-25" id="linknote-25"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-25">return</a>)<br /> [ "Syndicat in France still + means a local union—there are at the present day only four national + syndicats" (ib., p. 66).] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-26" id="linknote-26"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-26">return</a>)<br /> [ Cole, ib. p. 69.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-27" id="linknote-27"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-27">return</a>)<br /> [ In fact the General + Strike was invented by a Londoner William Benbow, an Owenite, in 1831.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-28" id="linknote-28"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-28">return</a>)<br /> [ "World of Labour," pp. + 212, 213.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-29" id="linknote-29"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-29">return</a>)<br /> [ Quoted in Cole, ib. p. + 128.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-30" id="linknote-30"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-30">return</a>)<br /> [ Ib., p. 135.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-31" id="linknote-31"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-31">return</a>)<br /> [ Brooks, op. cit., p. 79.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-32" id="linknote-32"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-32">return</a>)<br /> [ Brooks, op. cit., pp. + 86-87.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-34" id="linknote-34"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-34">return</a>)<br /> [ Literary Digest, May 2 + and May 16, 1914.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-36" id="linknote-36"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-36">return</a>)<br /> [ The above quotations are + all from the first pamphlet of the National Guilds League, "National + Guilds, an Appeal to Trade Unionists."] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-35" id="linknote-35"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-35">return</a>)<br /> [ The ideas of Guild + Socialism were first set forth in "National Guilds," edited by A. R. Orage + (Bell & Sons, 1914), and in Cole's "World of Labour" (Bell & + Sons), first published in 1913. Cole's "Self-Government in Industry" (Bell + & Sons, 1917) and Rickett & Bechhofer's "The Meaning of National + Guilds" (Palmer & Hayward, 1918) should also be read, as well as + various pamphlets published by the National Guilds League. The attitude of + the Syndicalists to Guild Socialism is far from sympathetic. An article in + "The Syndicalist" for February, 1914, speaks of it in the following terms: + a Middle-class of the middle-class, with all the shortcomings (we had + almost said `stupidities') of the middle- classes writ large across it, + `Guild Socialism' stands forth as the latest lucubration of the + middle-class mind. It is a `cool steal' of the leading ideas of + Syndicalism and a deliberate perversion of them. . . . We do protest + against the `State' idea . . . in Guild Socialism. Middle-class people, + even when they become Socialists, cannot get rid of the idea that the + working-class is their `inferior'; that the workers need to be `educated,' + drilled, disciplined, and generally nursed for a very long time before + they will be able to walk by themselves. The very reverse is actually the + truth. . . . It is just the plain truth when we say that the ordinary + wage-worker, of average intelligence, is better capable of taking care of + himself than the half-educated middle-class man who wants to advise him. + He knows how to make the wheels of the world go round."] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-37" id="linknote-37"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-37">return</a>)<br /> [ "The Guild Idea," No. 2 + of the Pamphlets of the National Guilds League, p. 17.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-38" id="linknote-38"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-38">return</a>)<br /> [ Kropotkin, "Fields, + Factories and Workshops," p. 74.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-39" id="linknote-39"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-39">return</a>)<br /> [ Ib. p. 81.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-40" id="linknote-40"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-40">return</a>)<br /> [ Kropotkin, "Field, + Factories, and Workshops," p. 6.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-41" id="linknote-41"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-41">return</a>)<br /> [ "Notwithstanding the + egotistic turn given to the public mind by the merchant-production of our + century, the Communist tendency is continually reasserting itself and + trying to make its way into public life. The penny bridge disappears + before the public bridge; and the turnpike road before the free road. The + same spirit pervades thousands of other institutions. Museums, free + libraries, and free public schools; parks and pleasure grounds; paved and + lighted streets, free for everybody's use; water supplied to private + dwellings, with a growing tendency towards disregarding the exact amount + of it used by the individual, tramways and railways which have already + begun to introduce the season ticket or the uniform tax, and will surely + go much further on this line when they are no longer private property: all + these are tokens showing in what direction further progress is to be + expected."—Kropotkin, "Anarchist Communism."] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-42" id="linknote-42"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-42">return</a>)<br /> [ An able discussion of + this question, at of various others, from the standpoint of reasoned and + temperate opposition to Anarchism, will be found in Alfred Naquet's + "L'Anarchie et le Collectivisme," Paris, 1904.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-43" id="linknote-43"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-43">return</a>)<br /> [ "Overwork is repulsive to + human nature—not work. Overwork for supplying the few with luxury—not + work for the well- being of all. Work, labor, is a physiological + necessity, a necessity of spending accumulated bodily energy, a necessity + which is health and life itself. If so many branches of useful work are so + reluctantly done now, it is merely because they mean overwork, or they are + improperly organized. But we know—old Franklin knew it—that + four hours of useful work every day would be more than sufficient for + supplying everybody with the comfort of a moderately well-to-do + middle-class house, if we all gave ourselves to productive work, and if we + did not waste our productive powers as we do waste them now. As to the + childish question, repeated for fifty years: `Who would do disagreeable + work?' frankly I regret that none of our savants has ever been brought to + do it, be it for only one day in his life. If there is still work which is + really disagreeable in itself, it is only because our scientific men have + never cared to consider the means of rendering it less so: they have + always known that there were plenty of starving men who would do it for a + few pence a day." Kropotkin, "`Anarchist Communism."] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-44" id="linknote-44"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-44">return</a>)<br /> [ "As to the so-often + repeated objection that nobody would labor if he were not compelled to do + so by sheer necessity, we heard enough of it before the emancipation of + slaves in America, as well as before the emancipation of serfs in Russia; + and we have had the opportunity of appreciating it at its just value. So + we shall not try to convince those who can be convinced only by + accomplished facts. As to those who reason, they ought to know that, if it + really was so with some parts of humanity at its lowest stages—and + yet, what do we know about it?—or if it is so with some small + communities, or separate individuals, brought to sheer despair by + ill-success in their struggle against unfavorable conditions, it is not so + with the bulk of the civilized nations. With us, work is a habit, and + idleness an artificial growth." Kropotkin, "Anarchist Communism," p. 30.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-45" id="linknote-45"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-45">return</a>)<br /> [ "While holding this + synthetic view on production, the Anarchists cannot consider, like the + Collectivists, that a remuneration which would be proportionate to the + hours of labor spent by each person in the production of riches may be an + ideal, or even an approach to an ideal, society." Kropotkin, "Anarchist + Communism," p. 20.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-46" id="linknote-46"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-46">return</a>)<br /> [ I do not say freedom is + the greatest of ALL goods: the best things come from within—they are + such things as creative art, and love, and thought. Such things can be + helped or hindered by political conditions, but not actually produced by + them; and freedom is, both in itself and in its relation to these other + goods the best thing that political and economic conditions can secure.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-47" id="linknote-47"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-47">return</a>)<br /> [ Communist Manifesto, p. + 22.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-48" id="linknote-48"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-48">return</a>)<br /> [ "On the other hand, the + STATE has also been confused with GOVERNMENT. As there can be no State + without government, it has been sometimes said that it is the absence of + government, and not the abolition of the State, that should be the aim.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-49" id="linknote-49"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-49">return</a>)<br /> [ Representative government + has accomplished its historical mission; it has given a mortal blow to + Court-rule; and by its debates it has awakened public interest in public + questions. But, to see in it the government of the future Socialist + society, is to commit a gross error. Each economical phase of life implies + its own political phase; and it is impossible to touch the very basis of + the present economical life—private property— without a + corresponding change in the very basis of the political organization. Life + already shows in which direction the change will be made. Not in + increasing the powers of the State, but in resorting to free organization + and free federation in all those branches which are now considered as + attributes of the State." Kropotkin, "Anarchist Communism," pp. 28-29.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-50" id="linknote-50"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-50">return</a>)<br /> [ On this subject there is + an excellent discussion in the before-mentioned work of Monsieur Naquet.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-51" id="linknote-51"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-51">return</a>)<br /> [ "As to the third—the + chief—objection, which maintains the necessity of a government for + punishing those who break the law of society, there is so much to say + about it that it hardly can be touched incidentally. The more we study the + question, the more we are brought to the conclusion that society itself is + responsible for the anti-social deeds perpetrated in its midst, and that + no punishment, no prisons, and no hangmen can diminish the numbers of such + deeds; nothing short of a reorganization of society itself. Three-quarters + of all the acts which are brought every year before our courts have their + origin, either directly or indirectly, in the present disorganized state + of society with regard to the production and distribution of wealth—not + in the perversity of human nature. As to the relatively few anti-social + deeds which result from anti-social inclinations of separate individuals, + it is not by prisons, nor even by resorting to the hangmen, that we can + diminish their numbers. By our prisons, we merely multiply them and render + them worse. By our detectives, our `price of blood,' our executions, and + our jails, we spread in society such a terrible flow of basest passions + and habits, that he who should realize the effects of these institutions + to their full extent, would be frightened by what society is doing under + the pretext of maintaining morality. We must search for other remedies, + and the remedies have been indicated long since." Kropotkin, "Anarchist + Communism," pp. 31-32.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-52" id="linknote-52"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-52">return</a>)<br /> [ "Anarchist Communism," p. + 27.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-53" id="linknote-53"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-53">return</a>)<br /> [ This was written before + the author had any personal experience of the prison system. He personally + met with nothing but kindness at the hands of the prison officials.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-54" id="linknote-54"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-54">return</a>)<br /> [ Bell, 1917.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-55" id="linknote-55"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-55">return</a>)<br /> [ Walter Scott Publishing + Company, 1906, p. 262.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-56" id="linknote-56"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-56">return</a>)<br /> [ This was written in + March, 1918, almost the darkest moment of the war.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-57" id="linknote-57"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-57">return</a>)<br /> [ "L'Anarchie et le + Collectivisme," p. 114.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-58" id="linknote-58"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-58">return</a>)<br /> [ Which we discussed in + Chapter IV.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-59" id="linknote-59"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-59">return</a>)<br /> [ "Self-Government in + Industry," G. Bell & Sons, 1917, pp. 110-111.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-60" id="linknote-60"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-60">return</a>)<br /> [ Some may fear that the + result would be an undue increase of population, but such fears I believe + to be groundless. See above, (Chapter IV, on "Work and Pay." Also, Chapter + vi of "Principles of Social Reconstruction" (George Allen and Unwin, + Ltd.).] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-61" id="linknote-61"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-61">return</a>)<br /> [ See the discussion of + this question in the preceding chapter.] + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PROPOSED ROADS TO FREEDOM ***</div> + </body> +</html> |