Socialism as it is : $b a survey of the world-wide revolutionary movementWalling, William English
History
Socialism as it is : $b a survey of the world-wide revolutionary movement
Walling, William English
Socialism
Many indications point to a coming realignment of parties such as was
recently seen in New Zealand, when in 1909 it was decided to form an
opposition Labour Party. And it is likely to come, as in New Zealand,
when the large estates are well broken up and the agricultural element
can govern or get all they want without the aid of the working people.
Already the Australian Labour Party is getting ready for the issue. Its
leaders have kept the proposed land nationalization in the background,
because they believe it cannot yet obtain a majority. But it may be that
the party itself is now ready to fight this issue out on a Socialist
basis, even if, like the Socialist parties in Europe, such a decision
promises to delay for a generation their control of the government. If
the party is ready, it has the machinery to bring its leaders to time,
as it has done on previous occasions. For it already resembles the
Socialist parties in Europe in this, that it makes all its candidates
responsible to the party and not to their constituents. That is to say,
while it does not represent the working people exclusively, it is a
class organization standing for the interests of that group of classes
which has joined its ranks, and for other classes of the community only
in so far as their interests happen to be the same.
Already the majority of the Labour Party voters are undoubtedly working
people. When it takes a definite position on the land question, favoring
one-family farms and short leases or else cooeperative, municipal, or
national large-scale operation, and states clearly that it intends to
use compulsory arbitration to advance wages indefinitely, including
those of farm laborers, there is every probability that, having lost the
support of the employing farmers, it will gradually take its place as a
party of permanent opposition to capitalism, like the Socialist parties
of Europe--until industry finally and decisively surpasses agriculture,
and the industrial working class really becomes the most powerful
element in society.
Space does not permit the tracing of the "State Socialist" tendency
in other countries than Great Britain, the United States, and
Australasia. Originally a brief chapter was here inserted showing
the similar tendencies in Germany. This is now omitted, but the
frequent reference to Germany later in dealing with the Socialist
movement makes a brief statement of the German situation essential.
For this purpose it will be sufficient to quote a few of the
principal statements of the excellent summary and analysis by
William C. Dreher entitled "The German Drift towards Socialism":
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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