EVOLUTIONARY SOCIALISMAND REVOLUTIONARY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2618, 11 August 1923, Page 4

EVOLUTIONARY SOCIALISM—AND REVOLUTIONARY.

IS THERE A REAL DISTINCTION? In our House of Representatives recently, the Honourable C. J. Parr replying to the Labour Party members, said: “Labour will never attain to power unless it hauls down the flag of Socialism.” On this statement of the Minister a Liberal Daily writes: “Buf the value of Mr Parr’s comment upon Labour’s policy and Labour’s consequent future depends on what he means by Socialism. Apparently the Minister is inclined to believe that every form of Socialism necessarily involves more or less violent and destructive changes in the existing economic or social system.” It adds later “that there is certainly no affinity or resemblance between what its advocates describe as “evolutionary” S cialism and the sort of “socialisation” which Mr Parr scathingly and rightly indicated as responsible for the serviture and misery to which the Russian people are now subjected.” Now hat writing raises the question of whether there is such a thing as “evolution:, ry” .-• a part from “revolutionary ' Socialism, so far as we know' every form of Socialism advocate to-day involves a change from the private ownership of land and capital to collective ownership. All the Socialist organisations and parties name their objective as “the socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange.” Their Socialism consists in ' this objective and not in the methods they may propose by which to reach their goal. We are too apt to think that methods which are of the violent order and openly destructive are the “Revolutionary;” and that methods which are temperate in character but insidiously destructive constitute ivliat is “evolutionary.” It has become a fashion with many well-intentioned people to excuse the formula of Socialism, which requiries complete change of the whole economic and social basis of society by attaching to it the word evolutionary, Christian, guild or some other adjective. This practice of qualifying is largely responsible for the widespread political support that Socialist advocates receive. There exists in many inirids a vague idea that all humane desires for amelioration of the lot of the working masses is socialism of a moderate evolutionary type. This is merely playing with loose ideas and language. What is called for is definite, clear thinking on this subject. The word evolution does not mean merely change, nor relate to whether, the process is fast or slow, violent or otherwise. It may mean rapid alteration in one direction and the greatest permanency in another. As attached to the word Socialism the term evolutionary has no clear meaning. The facts to be kept in mind are that socialism is politically a doctrine which demands complete change in the economic basis of Society from private ownership to collective or mass ownership and control; and that the very nature of this objective stamps it as Revolutionary since it involves an overturning of> the present order of society. Peace or war, violence or moderation; democracy or dictatorship are all matters independent of socialism; though the parties who advocate socialism may declare for one or other of these methods and even espouse all of them at varying times. Lenin has denounced democracy, Ramsay MacDonald has upheld it, yet both stand for Socialism. Whether in the general application of Socialist doctrines democracy can be retained is very doubtful, and is doubted strongly even by many Labour leaders. The present leader of the N.Z, Labour Party seeks to throw a glamour over the term revolution by arguing that “in applied science there is no evolutionary process without a revolutionary culminating point.” Thus Mr HollancT'seeks to present evolutionary and revolutionary as one and the same. This sophistry may’account for the fact that in the Labour Parties’ whose

members are credited with being “evolutionary” Socialists, and landed as moderates, there are those who call for revolution, communism, and the culminating point of: Ihe Russian Soviet system. A minority in the British Labour Party vote for admission of the communist parly and it is a growing minority. In New South Wales the voting was in favour of admitting the communists. From the studies we have made there appears to us to he no clear distinction between so-called “evolutionary socialists” and revolutionary. Socialism demands revolution and from time to time we find the seemingly moderate men in Socialist Labour Parties actively supporting proposals which, if given effect to, would bring society to the culminating point of revolution even of the most violent and destructive character. For such reasons we have to fight against the Socialist danger of our time and be watchful against the side tracking of careless .sentimentality and the weakness of wrong assumptions. (Contributed by the N.Z. Welfare League).