Jottings
A complete shortage of coal, like an entire stoppage of the railways, which might perhaps be simultaneously organised, would speedily put the whole country under an industrial interdict. Even the Territorials could not force the men to work, and the whole social machine would be brought to a standstill.—Justice 24.7.08.
The governing classes are quite capable of reproducing in London and the provinces the horrors of the suppression of the Commune of Paris the moment they think their right to deprive the workers of all that makes life worth living for the behoof of the rich is seriously threatened. There is no donbt about that. Therefore we beseech all who have the opportunity of helping us to use their efforts to prevent the Territorials from becoming an army, and compulsory military service from being introduced. Justice, 24.7.09.
Either the armed forces can compel the workers to go back to work in the case of a general strike or partial strike or they cannot. Which is it Harry ?
I quite agree that “Mr. Haldane is acting entirely as the hireling and agent of the butcherly capitalist class in his happily unsnccessful attempts to create a Territorial-Praetorian Guard for the profit-mongers”—his speeches at Rochdale and Oxford show that well enough. But with the S.D.P.’s Citizen Army should we be any better off ?
The New Age (29.7.09) states that “Socialism does not attack capital to destroy it, but to socialise it.”
That Socialists desire to abolish capital is true, but the New Age writer would have us believe that Socialists desire to socialise that which they are out to abolish, viz., capital, or the exploiting function of wealth as manipulated by the capitalist class. We have here the old absurdity and confusion that vitiates the propaganda of so many well-meaning ignoramuses.
The same paragraph contains another statement I cannot agree with. It is this: “The last death of monopoly is to be assumed by the state. But this is Socialism.”
The New Age man evidently mistakes state Capitalism for Socialism. The Post Office is, I suppose, in his view a socialistic effort. And yet the profits from that state monopoly form part of the funds used to maintain the Army and Navy. The functions of these forces are to “protect our (!) trade and commerce” and to enhance the political and economic dominance of the capitalist class. It will be observed that “profits” can still be derived from a state owned monopoly, therefore, as profits imply exploitation (which, I hope, would not be possible under Socialism) the assumption of a monopoly by the state is not Socialism, the New Age notwithstanding.
What is a “last death” ? Does anyone know ?
The futility of the efforts of the “something now” brigade of S.D.P’ers, I.L.P’ers, Fabians and others is shown by the fact that there is not one of the “somethings” which every one of them would support. The “something” advocated by A. B. and C. has not the support of D. E. and F., whilst E. and B. favour another “something” opposed by all the others, and so on through the whole number of “somethings” and individuals composing the brigade. As a consequence they do not present a united front to the forces of capitalism, and we know what happens to a “house divided against itself.”
The S.P.G.B., fully believing that the whole is greater than the part, wastes no time advocating this or that reform, but spend their energies in educating the workers in the fact that in Socialism alone lies their emancipation.
One reason our membership does not increase as rapidly as that of some other parties is that we dangle no “red herrings” before the workers. The lot of those whom a political or economic “red herring” can allure is one to be pitied and abolished, and not one to make political capital out of.
The Maidstone branch of the I.L.P. have either entirely forgotten the reason for the I.L.P.’s existence or desire that organisation to “wind up” its business and close its account altogether. The following resolution from the Maidstone branch appeared in the Labour Leader of August 6th.
“This branch regularly pushes the ‘Labour Leader’ at its weekly public meetings, but regrets that it cannot be regarded as a good medium for Socialist propaganda, and suggests the necessity of the inclusion of a much larger proportion of definite Socialist teaching.”
Immediately Socialism is taught in the columns of the I.L.P. organ, there is a probability of some of its readers becoming class-conscious revolutionaries (others will take fright) and then they will no longer see the necessity of remaining in the I.L.P., which is a non-Socialist organisation. A Socialist party publishes a party organ in which expositions of Socialist theory appear, and does not wait until “a serious or urgent or widespread desire or manifest need for the continuous expounding of Socialist theory” (Labour Leader 6.8.09) is evinced before publishing them.
JAYBEE