The Theory and Policy of Labour ProtectionSchäffle, A. (Albert)
General
The Theory and Policy of Labour Protection
Schäffle, A. (Albert)
Labor laws and legislation -- Germany
Nor would this be all, for such an organisation would secure fixed
salaries for the staff of agitators in the Labour party, since the
representatives would receive daily pay and defrayment of travelling
expenses from the Imperial exchequer. Debates and discussions might be
carried on without intermission, the pay continuing all the time, for
each Labour Chamber would be convened, not only once a month, but also
at any time at the request of one-third of the members of the Labour
Chamber, therefore of two-thirds of the labour representatives in the
chamber. By virtue of the provision which gives them unlimited right of
intervention, pretexts for convening frequent meetings would never be
wanting.
Hence it is evident that no more effectual machinery could be devised
for the legal preparation for leading up the existing social order
directly to the threshold of the "People's State." The attempt to
convert the hybrid Capitalist-Socialist state to a pure Socialist state
would be a perfectly simple matter, both in the Empire, the provinces,
and the local districts, as soon as we had allowed Social Democracy one
or two decades in which to turn the two-fold class representation to
their own ends. By a single successful revolutionary "_coup_" in the
chief city of the Empire, or in the chief cities of several countries
simultaneously, representation of capital in the Labour Courts might be
thrown overboard, and the "People's State" would be ready; the
parliament of a purely popular government would hold the field, and the
present representation of the nation which includes all classes and
watches over the spiritual and material interests of the whole nation,
might without difficulty be swept away from Empire, province, district
and municipality.
The construction of a complete system of "collective" production would
be easy, for it would find the framework ready to its hand, complete
from base to summit, fully mapped out on the plan.
Perhaps the leaders themselves are not fully conscious of the lengths to
which their proposed organisation may carry them. One can quite
understand how from their standpoint they fail to see the end. They have
pursued the path that seemed the most likely to lead to their goal of a
radical change of the existing social order. The whole responsibility
will rest with the parties in power, if they do more than hold out their
little finger, which they have already done, to help Social Democracy
along this path of organisation.
CHAPTER XII.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF PROTECTIVE ORGANISATION.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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