State Socialism and Industrial Power

Industrial Unionist, Volume 1, Issue 9, 1 October 1913, Page 3

State Socialism and Industrial Power

The following, with the editorial comment, is clipped from an American labour paper, bearing on Australasia, as Capitalism and the Capitalist State are essentially similar everywhere. It is particularly interesting in view of present tenden-' cies towards State Socialism here: THE THREE STATES. “Financial America” is a daily Wall Street newspaper, published in New York. In its issue of June 19 appeared the following:— ' “FREEING THE LABORER. “Two Courses Open to Workers: Socialism or Self-Liberation.

“ Practically and necessarily, within tire husk of the existing state are growing up two other state, each the natural enemy of the other, and arming to the teeth. One is centralized capitalism, which has long since been the state that is real—the political state the sham. The other is organized labor. These two warring state, already dissolving the apparent state, draw near to the struggle that is to he the end of one or the other. That is, unless—and upon this pivots the destiny of man for a long time to come -unless capitalism is able to persuade labor into an alliance and co-operation With itself. And this is precisely what capital is preparing to do. Mentally and morally incapable of perpetuating itself, capitalism is seeking its perpetuation through a governmental betrayal of labor —a betrayal that would transform labor into the capitalist savior.

Two courses are thus open to labor, each of them urgent and beckoning, and one of the other inevitable. One, lit with false lights and vocal with traitor voices, leads to a capitalist absolutism under the guise of a reformed and Socialistic state; leads to the harshest and most bewildering tyranny mankind has ever known ! leads to a brink whence the world descends into the fires of a new Hell —to be fashioned therein anew, it is true, but only after ageless and immeasurable suffering. The other course leads to labor’s selfliberation and socialization; leads to the dismissal of every form of profitmaking production, and of capitalist law and custom; leads to the release of the soul from material bondage and to the ultimate apotheosis of the world. The decision as to which of these courses labor will take depends upon Quality of the Socialist movement.— Metropolitan.” The above quotation is worthy of note, in that is expresses the I.W.W. attitude toward the state very*clearly. The I.W.W. has for years pointed out the fact that the present state is only a husk that is powerful only whyn backed by centralized capital and used in its interests. And it has also proclaimed the necessity for labor to build “ a state within a state,” that is, organize its own economic organizations and institutions so that it can acquire the real power on which the state depends and which is the kernel of the husk of so-called politics. Not only has the I.W.W. proclaimed such a necessity, but it has organized the working class industrially to that end, as far as its means and its strength will permit. In other words, the I.W.W. is not a mere labor organization, concerned only with bread and butter questions of immediate interest, but it is also an organization bent on the freeing of labor by the abolition of “ every form of profit-making production, and of capitalist law and custom,” through the ownership of industry by, for and of the working class, that is, the industrial democracy. The I.W.W. attitude toward the state is clehrly set forth in all its literature. Its conception of an industrial democracy, as an industrial evolution, is especially set forth in the forthcoming I.W.W. book, entitled “ The Trial of a New Society,” by Justus-Ebert. This book is a review of the celebrated Ettor - Giovannitti - Caruso trial at Salem, Mass, last October and November. It traces the causes of this trial in the Lawrence strike and gives the facts attending the conduct of this strike, by the strikers themselves. It also shows the influence of these strikers on the court proceedings, together with the prestige exerted by the working class everywhere. In fact, it shows the worker’s state in process of development right in modern society. The book will cost 75 cents, and will he published by the I.W.W. Publishing Bureau, 112 Hamilton Ave. E., Cleveland, 0., U.S.A. It will be illustrated by portraits, posters, and cartoons. Order one now.