British Socialism: An Examination of Its Doctrines, Policy, Aims and Practical ProposalsBarker, J. Ellis
History
British Socialism: An Examination of Its Doctrines, Policy, Aims and Practical Proposals
Barker, J. Ellis
Socialism; Socialism -- Great Britain
Not only food, clothing, and shelter would be supplied gratis by a
bountiful State to the people. In order to banish _ennui_ from among
the workers, entertainments and amusements also would be provided,
free of charge. Gratis travel on the railways would make life a
permanent holiday, and the last cause of dissatisfaction would be
removed by transferring the surroundings of the gratuitously
maintained and amused people into a garden of Eden. "I would have the
towns rebuilt with wide streets, with detached houses, with gardens
and fountains and avenues of trees. I would make the railways, the
carriage of letters, and the transit of goods as free as the roads and
bridges. I would make the houses loftier and larger, and clear them of
all useless furniture. I would institute public dining-halls, public
baths, public washhouses on the best plans, and so set free the hands
of those slaves--our English women. I would have public parks, public
theatres, music-halls, gymnasiums, football and cricket fields, public
halls and public gardens for recreation and music and refreshment. I
would have all our children fed and clothed and educated at the cost
of the State. I would have them all taught to play and to sing. I
would have them all trained to athletics and to arms. I would have
public halls of science. I would have the people become their own
artists, actors, musicians, soldiers, and police. Then, by degrees, I
would make all these things free."[72] In the words of the Socialist
poet--
We'll grow up true men and women
And enjoy life from our birth.[73]
Men, being no longer compelled to work hard for a living, will lose
the desire for wealth and all that wealth supplies and will devote
themselves more and more to the culture of their mind. "Under
Socialism the possession of riches will cease to be a ruling passion,
for honest labour will be a guarantee against want, and riches will no
longer be the passport to social position. Under such conditions the
possession of riches will be a superfluous burden which no sane man
will wish to bear."[74] "When land and capital are the common property
of all the people, class distinctions, as we know them at present,
will no longer exist. The Mind will then be the standard by which a
man's place among his fellows will be determined."[75] Hence
"Socialism means the elevation of the struggle for existence from the
material to the intellectual plane. Socialism will raise the struggle
for existence into a sphere where competition shall be emulation,
where the treasures are boundless and eternal, and where the abundant
wealth of one does not cause the poverty of another."[76]
The poet has described in a vision this phase of the golden age of
Socialism as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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