THE AIMS OF SOCIALISM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81844, 11 September 1906, Page 4

THE AIMS OF SOCIALISM.

WHAT ARE TIIF.V?

(By R.A.J.)

What arc the aims of Socialism? The man in the street says that it means the equal division of all the money in the utrld; his brother in wisdom says jt means bringing everybody down to one common !<'vt ,(! ; G. H. Roid says it means the turning of Christendom upside down ; A. McLean says it is the economic creed of the weaklings; and some one e'se went so far as to say "It is rot!" Is it, though? A wellknown writer, Stitt Wilson, lays down the tests by which the capitalist or competitive system stands condemn ed without appeal. First, justice, the establishment of equality of opportunity; second, beneficence, help to the suffering; third, the elimination of strife and the amelioration of the struggle for existence; fourth, So cialism as a movement spiritualises the individual life, though it makes no proposition to the soul, as it works by instruction. It would exceed the limits of a short article like this to work out the above by propositions, but no doubt each reader will form his own ideas on the subject. For my own part, I like the second proposit ion, ' help to the suffering.'' or, in other words, love without hope of reward. What mother nursing a sick child looks for material considerat ion for so doing ? A reciprocity of sentiment is all she wants, or "inasmuch as ye did it, "etc, which howevei much it may be sneered at in these days of strenuosity, is more preval ent among the poor than is generally thought. For, as in all the past, the poor arc in evidence, and in a more exaggerated form than ever, owing to the increase of population and the ever-increasing methods of squeezing by the competitive system of trade, and owing to the introduction of ma chinery and the combining together by capitalists of large sums of money by which they are enabled to employ vast numbers of men who are simply units, or atoms of bone and muscle with never a hint of a sou 1 or of sentiment in their composition. Wi'l the germ of the socialistic idea alter this state of things, or wiH it make the lot of the working man worse than it is now? If, as is contended, the mission of Christ was to proclaim the doctrine of self sacrifice, then why is it that during the last two thousand years the idealism he preached and practised has fallen into disrepute, if not by the rampant spread of commerci alism and competition ? The 'ego' of the proletariot i» crushed by the-traffic in souls. And for what end, pray? Simply that the man on top may be attended at the expense of the poor. What greater damnation is possible than to be unreleased from self? A writer more than a hundred years ago said, "the world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, apd to do good is my religion." "Vet he was branded infidel. It is a common habit to brand my innovation for the uplifting of the poor as infidelity, and all true reformers are wise en ough to treat the calling of names with indifference. If socialism is the economic creed of the weaklings, how comes it that the capitalist is so afraid of it, and that, the increase of the vote in America from 2000 in iSSS to 456, 000 in IQO-I, is making him squirm ? But look at Germany, where from 30.000 in 1867 it jumped to 3,008,000 in 1903. If the socialists are the weaklings they are called, how is it that I'pton Sinclair "Jungle" has created such a stir all over the world ? Here is a young socialist, not more than 27 years of age, that has done more to show up the evils of capital i-.m than any man of his time, and what does he prophesy? Just this, that in a comparatively short time socialism will be the c-nly living political issue in America. If the efim ination of selfishness is bad for hu manity, what about the national post office in America, best managed thing in the country, and our own nationally governed post and te'e graph, railway*, etc? If our trades unions are making the mistake of asking too much, it is because tliejare young at the work and in a state of transition. "Wait a bit," is a good policy, for the end is not yet by a long way. If love is the greatest thing in the word, then greater love hath no man than he who is ready to >'av down his life that his fellow men may reap the benefit.