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
"In a Socialistic State, no woman will be economically dependent upon
any one man, father, brother, or husband. Her living will be assured
to her by the community. Marriage will not make her the more
dependent. If she should have children, she will be salaried, or
otherwise supported, according to the number and the healthiness of
her offspring. If no children are born to her, she will be at liberty
to occupy herself with some other profitable work--not necessarily
household labour, certainly not household labour all the time--for
that will be reduced to a minimum. But she will engage in such useful
work as her special tastes will direct. A free woman, she will thus be
able to give her love freely."[926] "The 'subjection of woman' being
at an end in consequence of her economic emancipation, actions for
breach of promise or seduction, as well as prostitution itself, will
be rendered meaningless. When a woman sues for breach of promise she
is really suing for loss of a lucrative situation. When she plies for
hire on the public street, she does so because the scourge of
starvation is laid on her shoulders. Remove that scourge, and instead
of the hideous commerce between lust and lucre we shall, in all cases,
have the fair exchange of genuine human love for love."[927] "Free as
the wind, the Socialist wife will be bound only by her natural love
for husband and children."[928]
Men and women being sexually free in the Socialist State of the
future, the law will take cognisance neither of breach of promise,
seduction, prostitution, and desertion of the family, nor of even
graver offences against the present code of morality. The philosopher
of British Socialism informs us: "Society is directly concerned--(1)
with the production of offspring, (2) with the care that things
sexually offensive to the majority shall not be obtruded on public
notice, or obscenity on 'young persons.' Beyond this, all sexual
actions (of course excluding criminal violence or fraud) are matters
of purely individual concern."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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