Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 4, June 1906: Monthly Magazine Devoted to Social Science and LiteratureVarious
General
Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 4, June 1906: Monthly Magazine Devoted to Social Science and Literature
Various
Anarchism -- Periodicals
Well-meaning people have even attempted to prove that Capital and Labor
are twins, and that in order to maintain their common interests they
ought to live in harmony; or, that if Sister Labor had a grievance
against its big brother it ought to be settled in a calm and peaceful
way. Meanwhile the dear sister was fleeced and bled by Brother Capital,
and every time the abused and slaved and outraged creature would turn to
her brother for justice the dear fellow would whip the rebellious child
into submission.
Along with the forcible subjection of organized labor, the minds of the
people were confused and blurred by the sugar-coated promises of
politicians who assured them that the trade unions ought to be organized
by the law, and that all labor quarrels ought to be settled by political
and legal means. Indeed, legislatures even discussed a few
labor-protective laws that either never saw the light of day, or, if
really enacted, were set aside or overridden by the possessing class as
an obstacle to profit-making.
Every government, no matter what political basis it rests upon, acts in
unison with wealth, and therefore it never passed any legislation in
behalf of the producing element of the country that would seriously
benefit the great bulk of the people or in any way aim at any change of
wage-slaving or economic subjugation.
Every step of improvement the workingmen have made is due solely to
their own economic efforts and not to any legal or political aid ever
given them, and through their own endeavors only can ever come the
reconstruction of the economic and social conditions of society. Just as
little as the workingmen can expect from legislative methods can they
gain from trade-unionistic efforts that attempt to better economic
conditions along the basic lines of the present industrial system.
The cardinal fault of the trade-union movement of this country lies in
the fact that its hopes and ideals rest upon the present social status;
these ideals ever rotate in the same circle and, therefore, cannot bear
intellectual and material fruit. Condemned to pasture in the lean
meadows of capitalistic economy, trade-unionism drags on a miserable
existence, satisfied with the crumbs that fall from the heavily laden
tables of their lordly masters.
True social science has amply proved the futility of a reconciliation
between the two opposing forces; the existence of the one force
representing possession, wealth and power inevitably has a paralyzing
effect upon its opposing force--Labor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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