The Inhumanity of SocialismAdams, Edward F. (Edward Francis)
General
The Inhumanity of Socialism
Adams, Edward F. (Edward Francis)
Socialism
And the application of it all is that when Nature's sole and universal
stimulus to progress is the love of self which she has implanted in
every soul, it is folly to assume that we can better Nature's work
by substituting for the universal stimulus to effort a more or less
fleeting emotion which takes hold of but a very few and persists with
but a still smaller number. Whatever scheme of collectivism we may
establish, we know in advance that every member of the collective
group will continuously strive to get for himself to the utmost limit
regardless, if it could be discovered, of what is rightfully due. And a
plan of Society which each member of Society is striving to subvert is
doomed from its birth.
And the fourth count in the indictment of Socialism is that it is
contradictory to Nature to such a degree as to make its permanence
unthinkable because destructive not only of human comfort and happiness
but of human life.
Expressed in briefest form the four counts are as follows[3]:
I. Public servants produce less for consumption than private workers.
Decrease of consumption means increase of human misery. Therefore,
Socialism, making all of us public servants would increase human misery.
II. Brains, not Labor, creates the social dividend. Ability is
demonstrated only under strenuous competition inspired by self-interest.
Therefore, Socialism, excluding competition inspired by self-interest
would obliterate the social dividend.
III. The accumulating man inspired by selfishness is essential to
any social saving. Social saving is essential to the support of
an increasing population. Therefore, Socialism by eliminating the
Capitalist would make life impossible to many who now live.
IV. To fight Nature is to die. Socialism fights Nature. Therefore,
Socialism would destroy the race.
It is a matter of premises, and I have already said that the premises in
these syllogisms can neither be proved or disproved. People, I suppose,
will continue to fight over them but I shall not. No human life is long
enough and no human intellect strong enough to demonstrate or disprove
any one of them. Experimentally mankind is always somewhere trying out
one or the other of these postulates but success or failure only proves
that they did or did not prove true in that particular case.
An underlying fallacy of Socialism is the concept that poverty or at
least extreme poverty, can be banished from the world. It cannot. It
is impossible for the effective to produce and save as fast as the
ineffective will waste and destroy if they can get at it. No truth in
the Bible is more profound than the saying: "The poor ye have always
with you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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