The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, JULY 9TH. 1921. WHAT IS SOCIALISM.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 July 1924, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, JULY 9TH. 1921. WHAT IS SOCIALISM.

In an address at a conference of llio Essex Women’s Parliamentary Committee of the National Unionist Association, Mr Stanley Baldwin, discussing the subject of Socialism, said it was a subject on which few | eople thought at all clearly: if they had 2ft men talking about Smialism each would probably mean Mimetliing different by it. It was not Socialism, in the sense that they Used the wold politically, that was implied in so much of the work that was necessarily done to-day by tho State' in conjunction with tlm individual, rather tunii by the individual himself, ihe problem which was going to be one of greatest importance and ii|ou which they were already at work was housing, and that was Jinked lip with something more than housing. There' was no doubt that a complete solution of the housing problem, and it wan'd take years to get it, involved also tiles whole question of road-making and destroying slums, and placing houses outside the big industrial towns into the country, and making such nice of communication between the houses and tho towns that tho people and the produce of their work might he taken swiftly and with the minimum of inconvcniciice backwards and forwasds. ‘Pei elo that they would want undoubtedly State and municipal assistance and co-operation. They might see more and more of that as years went on, hut that was not what was meant by Socialism. That was the best brains in tbc State, with the co-pora-tion of tbo State, trying to find out what was the best way to provide —what everyone wanted to see decent and happy homes for tho people of the country. The difficulty was to say what was Socialism. There were two main lines of Socialistic, policy on which all writers and speakers on .Socialism were agreed, and it was the power liebind these ideas which made much of the driving force of the kind of Socialism which they had to light to the end. They were mainly twofold— the nationalisation of the land and the 'nationalisation of capital. Willi regard to land nationalisation be would dispose of it by an answer given by the late MY Gladstone who said that in land nationalisation, “if you mean to pay for it. it is folly; if you do not. it is robbery.” There was no doubt that the socialistic idea to transfer capital to the State was one

which attracted a great many ignorant minds. Tliev were told that the

growth of big businesses, of co-opera-

tive societies, of (lovernment interference. was a proof that- the whole

trend of society was Socialistic, and

that tho non! must- lie ultimately to secure by the State all the mount) * ; production and all capital. The truth was the direct opposite. The whole trend of civilisation to-dav was away from that state of things. The increase of businesses, the increase of the co-operative movement, the increase of the joint stock companies, mean the spread more and more of the opportunities to the people of this country themselves to become capitalists. It is clear that a fundamental difference lies between ns and the Socialists. We want to help the individual to lietter his position, and through bettering himself to help tie

State. What is the State, after all ? It is nothin*; but a mass of individuals. and just as you can set each individual to lietter himself and the lit.

the circle around him so. and by no menus, can you cot the better State

which is the sum of the whole individual. We rejoice over this process of the spread of businesses, of oo-

o’e-.ative societies, and of savin*; certificates among the people. Wo would like to see every man and every woman in this country a capitalist, necessarily, to begin with, in a small way. We would like to see every one a possessor of something of his own, for we believe that that reacts on hint direct-

ly in making hint more careful, more thrifty, more anxious to better himself and to raise his own family in the struggle of life, and through that

to give that impetus which the country needs to send it forward to 1 otter things. We want to raise the people ami not to depress them. We have had an object lesson before our eyes in llussia of what- happens to the

dream of Socialists when they have their way in causing a revolution. The end of that, so far, has been to betray every hope the Socialist has. You will see there, through the chaos, that the country has passed, not into freedom, not into a country where there is every opportunity for the individual

to better his condition, blit a country which to-day is lying under a despotism where individual initiative is

crushed. AVe arc determined for our part that we shall never proceed in that direction. Thou* is a fathomless abyss between our policy and the true Socialist policy on tlie.se two questions on which J have spoken.