CHAPTER XXI.Fundamental Laws of Socialistic Society.1.—Duty to Work of All Able-bodied Persons.As soon as society has become the owner of all means of production, the duty to work of all able-bodied persons, regardless of sex, becomes a fundamental law of socialized society. Society cannot exist without labor. It therefore is justified in demanding that all who seek to satisfy their requirements, should also serve to the best of their physical and mental abilities in producing the commodities that are needful to satisfy the requirements of all. The silly assertion that the Socialists wish to abolish work is an absurdity. Lazy persons, shirkers of work, are met with in bourgeois societyonly. Socialism is agreed with the Bible in asserting that “he who will not work neither shall he eat.” But work shall be useful, productive activity. The new society will therefore insist that everyone choose some definite industrial, agricultural, or other useful activity, whereby he performs a certain amount of labor for the satisfaction of existing requirements.No enjoyment without labor, without labor no enjoyment.Since all are obliged to work, all have the same interest in having three conditions of labor complied with. Firstly, that the work-day shall not be too long and that the work shall not require over-exertion; secondly, that the work shall be varied and as agreeable as possible; thirdly, that it shall be as productive as possible, since on this the length of the work-day and the number of obtainable enjoyments depend. But these three conditions again are determined by the number and the nature of the means of production and the workers; they are furthermore determined by the required standard of living. Socialistic society does not establish itself in order to lead a proletarian existence,but to abolish the proletarian manner of living of the great majority of people. It seeks to grant to everyone the fullest measure of the comforts and joys of life, and so the question arises: To what extent will the requirements of society grow?In order to determine this an administration will be necessary that comprises all fields of social activity. Here our municipalities will form an appropriate foundation. If they are too large to permit of obtaining an insight, they may be divided into districts. As in primitive society, all members of the communities who are of age,regardless of sex, will participate in the elections and choose the persons who are to take charge of the administration. At the head of all local bodies there will be a central administration. This—let it be noted—will not be a government with ruling powers, but an executive board of managers. Whether this board of managers is to be elected by the entire population or by the local boards is not essential. These questions will not be as important then as they are now, for election to these offices will not mean greater power and influence and a higher income. They will be positions of trust to which the fittest,be they men or women, will be elected, and they can be recalled or re-elected, as conditions may demand, or as it may seem desirable to the voters. All offices are temporary. The persons who hold these positions, therefore, cannot be regarded as officials. Their function is not a permanent one, nor is a hierarchical order of advancement provided for. Viewed from this standpoint, it also becomes a matter of indifference whether there will be any intermediate bodies between the central administration and the local administrations, as provincial administrations,etc.If considered necessary they will be instituted; if not, they will be omitted. All that will be determined by experience. If progress in the development of society should make old institutions superfluous, they will be abolished without any ado and without any conflict, since no one is personally interested in their maintenance, and new ones will be instituted instead.This thoroughly democratic administration is very different from the present.At the present time—what battles in the newspapers, what a warfare of tongues in the parliaments, what piles of documents in the government offices, to accomplish an insignificant change in the administration or government!To begin with, the main task will be to determine the existing forces, the number and kind of means of production,factories, workshops, means of transportation, area of land, and the previous productivity. Further it will be necessary to determine the supply on hand and the number of articles and products required to supply the demand in a given length of time. As at present the state and the various municipalities annually determine their budgets, this will in future be done for the entire social demand, and changes made necessary by new or increased demands can be fully taken into consideration. Statistics here become the main factor. They are the most important auxiliary science in the new society, since they furnish the standard whereby all social activity may be measured. Statistics are being used for similar purposes at present on a large scale. The budgets of nation, state, and municipality are founded on a great number of statistical investigations that are annually undertaken by the various branches of administration. Experience of long duration and a certain stability in current demands simplify them. Undernormalconditions every manufacturer and every merchant is also enabled to determine his requirements for the coming quarter of a year and in what manner he must arrange his production and his purchases. Unless excessive changes occur he can meet them readily and without much difficulty.The experience that the crises are brought on by blind, anarchistic production; that is to say, because goods are produced without any knowledge of the stock on hand, the sales, and the demand for the various articles on the world market, has caused the captains of industry in various branches—as already stated—to form trusts. The object of these trusts is to determine prices on the one hand, and on the other to regulate production. By the producing ability of each individual concern and by the sales it is likely to make, the amount of goods to be produced for the coming months is determined. Failure to comply with these rules is punished by a fine and by proscription. The manufacturers form these agreements not to benefit, but to harm the public, and solely for their own advantage. Their purpose is to use the power of co-operation to insure the greatest advantage for themselves. By regulating production it becomes possible to exact the payment of prices that can never be obtained aslong as the individual manufacturers compete with one another. So the manufacturer enriches himself at the expense of the consumer, who must pay the fixed price for the article that he needs; and, as the consumer is injured by the trusts, so also the worker. Regulation of production by the manufacturers releases a number of workers and employes, and these, in order to live, must underbid their fellow-workers. Moreover, the social power of the trust is so great that the labor unions, too can rarely cope with them. The employers, accordingly, enjoy a double advantage; they receive higher prices and pay lower wages. This regulation of production by associations of employersis the opposite of that which will take effect in Socialistic society. To-day the interest of the employers is the determining factor; in the future it will be the interest of the general public. But in bourgeois society even the best organized trust cannot overlook and compute all the factors. Competition and speculation on the world market continue to rage, in spite of the trust, and suddenly it becomes manifest that the calculation is faulty, and the artificial structure breaks down.Like industry, commerce also possesses far-reaching statistics. Every week the large centers of commerce and seaport towns publish lists of the supplies on hand of kerosene, cotton, sugar, coffee, wheat,etc.Sometimes these statistics are not exact, because the owners of the goods occasionally have a personal interest in preventing the truth from becoming known. But, taken all in all, these statistics are pretty reliable and enable those interested to judge the probable aspect of the market in the near future. But here, too, speculation enters into consideration that frequently deceives and upsets all calculations and often makes it impossible to carry on an honest business. Just as a general regulation of production is made impossible in bourgeois society by the conflicting interests of the countless private producers, so the regulation of distribution is made impossible by the speculative nature of commerce and by the conflicting interests of the great number of persons engaged in it. But what has been accomplished so far gives an idea of what can be accomplished as soon as private interests disappear and the common interest predominates. An example of this is,for instance, the harvest statistics compiled annually by various states, that make it possible to calculate the crops, the amount needful to supply the domestic demand, and the probable prices.But in a socialized society conditions will be perfectly orderly, since the solidarity of society will have been established. Everything is carried out, according to plans, in an orderly way, and so it will be easy to determine the amounts required by the various demands. When some experience has been gained, everything will run smoothly. When the average demand for meat, bread, shoes, garments,etc., has been statistically determined, and when the output of the respective establishments of production is known,the average daily amount of socially necessary labor can be established. It, furthermore, can be determined whether more establishments of production are needed, or whether some can be dispensed with as superfluous and can be fitted out for other purposes.Every individual chooses the branch of industry in which he wishes to be employed. The great number of very different realms of activity makes it possible to take the most varied wishes into consideration. If there is an excess of workers in one branch and a lack of workers in another, it will be the duty of the administration to make the necessary arrangements and to bring about an equalization. To organize production and to give opportunity to the various forces to be employed at the right place, will be the chief task of the elected administrations. As all perfect themselves in their particular tasks the wheels run more smoothly. The different branches of industry and sub-divisions elect their managers, who must control the work. But these are no slave-drivers, as overseers and foremen are to-day, but fellow-workers who simply practice the administrative function entrusted to them, in place of a productive one. It is not impossible that at a more advanced stage of organization and with a more perfect education of all its members, these functions will become alternating and will, in definite rotation, be overtaken by all persons concerned,regardless of sex.
CHAPTER XXI.Fundamental Laws of Socialistic Society.1.—Duty to Work of All Able-bodied Persons.As soon as society has become the owner of all means of production, the duty to work of all able-bodied persons, regardless of sex, becomes a fundamental law of socialized society. Society cannot exist without labor. It therefore is justified in demanding that all who seek to satisfy their requirements, should also serve to the best of their physical and mental abilities in producing the commodities that are needful to satisfy the requirements of all. The silly assertion that the Socialists wish to abolish work is an absurdity. Lazy persons, shirkers of work, are met with in bourgeois societyonly. Socialism is agreed with the Bible in asserting that “he who will not work neither shall he eat.” But work shall be useful, productive activity. The new society will therefore insist that everyone choose some definite industrial, agricultural, or other useful activity, whereby he performs a certain amount of labor for the satisfaction of existing requirements.No enjoyment without labor, without labor no enjoyment.Since all are obliged to work, all have the same interest in having three conditions of labor complied with. Firstly, that the work-day shall not be too long and that the work shall not require over-exertion; secondly, that the work shall be varied and as agreeable as possible; thirdly, that it shall be as productive as possible, since on this the length of the work-day and the number of obtainable enjoyments depend. But these three conditions again are determined by the number and the nature of the means of production and the workers; they are furthermore determined by the required standard of living. Socialistic society does not establish itself in order to lead a proletarian existence,but to abolish the proletarian manner of living of the great majority of people. It seeks to grant to everyone the fullest measure of the comforts and joys of life, and so the question arises: To what extent will the requirements of society grow?In order to determine this an administration will be necessary that comprises all fields of social activity. Here our municipalities will form an appropriate foundation. If they are too large to permit of obtaining an insight, they may be divided into districts. As in primitive society, all members of the communities who are of age,regardless of sex, will participate in the elections and choose the persons who are to take charge of the administration. At the head of all local bodies there will be a central administration. This—let it be noted—will not be a government with ruling powers, but an executive board of managers. Whether this board of managers is to be elected by the entire population or by the local boards is not essential. These questions will not be as important then as they are now, for election to these offices will not mean greater power and influence and a higher income. They will be positions of trust to which the fittest,be they men or women, will be elected, and they can be recalled or re-elected, as conditions may demand, or as it may seem desirable to the voters. All offices are temporary. The persons who hold these positions, therefore, cannot be regarded as officials. Their function is not a permanent one, nor is a hierarchical order of advancement provided for. Viewed from this standpoint, it also becomes a matter of indifference whether there will be any intermediate bodies between the central administration and the local administrations, as provincial administrations,etc.If considered necessary they will be instituted; if not, they will be omitted. All that will be determined by experience. If progress in the development of society should make old institutions superfluous, they will be abolished without any ado and without any conflict, since no one is personally interested in their maintenance, and new ones will be instituted instead.This thoroughly democratic administration is very different from the present.At the present time—what battles in the newspapers, what a warfare of tongues in the parliaments, what piles of documents in the government offices, to accomplish an insignificant change in the administration or government!To begin with, the main task will be to determine the existing forces, the number and kind of means of production,factories, workshops, means of transportation, area of land, and the previous productivity. Further it will be necessary to determine the supply on hand and the number of articles and products required to supply the demand in a given length of time. As at present the state and the various municipalities annually determine their budgets, this will in future be done for the entire social demand, and changes made necessary by new or increased demands can be fully taken into consideration. Statistics here become the main factor. They are the most important auxiliary science in the new society, since they furnish the standard whereby all social activity may be measured. Statistics are being used for similar purposes at present on a large scale. The budgets of nation, state, and municipality are founded on a great number of statistical investigations that are annually undertaken by the various branches of administration. Experience of long duration and a certain stability in current demands simplify them. Undernormalconditions every manufacturer and every merchant is also enabled to determine his requirements for the coming quarter of a year and in what manner he must arrange his production and his purchases. Unless excessive changes occur he can meet them readily and without much difficulty.The experience that the crises are brought on by blind, anarchistic production; that is to say, because goods are produced without any knowledge of the stock on hand, the sales, and the demand for the various articles on the world market, has caused the captains of industry in various branches—as already stated—to form trusts. The object of these trusts is to determine prices on the one hand, and on the other to regulate production. By the producing ability of each individual concern and by the sales it is likely to make, the amount of goods to be produced for the coming months is determined. Failure to comply with these rules is punished by a fine and by proscription. The manufacturers form these agreements not to benefit, but to harm the public, and solely for their own advantage. Their purpose is to use the power of co-operation to insure the greatest advantage for themselves. By regulating production it becomes possible to exact the payment of prices that can never be obtained aslong as the individual manufacturers compete with one another. So the manufacturer enriches himself at the expense of the consumer, who must pay the fixed price for the article that he needs; and, as the consumer is injured by the trusts, so also the worker. Regulation of production by the manufacturers releases a number of workers and employes, and these, in order to live, must underbid their fellow-workers. Moreover, the social power of the trust is so great that the labor unions, too can rarely cope with them. The employers, accordingly, enjoy a double advantage; they receive higher prices and pay lower wages. This regulation of production by associations of employersis the opposite of that which will take effect in Socialistic society. To-day the interest of the employers is the determining factor; in the future it will be the interest of the general public. But in bourgeois society even the best organized trust cannot overlook and compute all the factors. Competition and speculation on the world market continue to rage, in spite of the trust, and suddenly it becomes manifest that the calculation is faulty, and the artificial structure breaks down.Like industry, commerce also possesses far-reaching statistics. Every week the large centers of commerce and seaport towns publish lists of the supplies on hand of kerosene, cotton, sugar, coffee, wheat,etc.Sometimes these statistics are not exact, because the owners of the goods occasionally have a personal interest in preventing the truth from becoming known. But, taken all in all, these statistics are pretty reliable and enable those interested to judge the probable aspect of the market in the near future. But here, too, speculation enters into consideration that frequently deceives and upsets all calculations and often makes it impossible to carry on an honest business. Just as a general regulation of production is made impossible in bourgeois society by the conflicting interests of the countless private producers, so the regulation of distribution is made impossible by the speculative nature of commerce and by the conflicting interests of the great number of persons engaged in it. But what has been accomplished so far gives an idea of what can be accomplished as soon as private interests disappear and the common interest predominates. An example of this is,for instance, the harvest statistics compiled annually by various states, that make it possible to calculate the crops, the amount needful to supply the domestic demand, and the probable prices.But in a socialized society conditions will be perfectly orderly, since the solidarity of society will have been established. Everything is carried out, according to plans, in an orderly way, and so it will be easy to determine the amounts required by the various demands. When some experience has been gained, everything will run smoothly. When the average demand for meat, bread, shoes, garments,etc., has been statistically determined, and when the output of the respective establishments of production is known,the average daily amount of socially necessary labor can be established. It, furthermore, can be determined whether more establishments of production are needed, or whether some can be dispensed with as superfluous and can be fitted out for other purposes.Every individual chooses the branch of industry in which he wishes to be employed. The great number of very different realms of activity makes it possible to take the most varied wishes into consideration. If there is an excess of workers in one branch and a lack of workers in another, it will be the duty of the administration to make the necessary arrangements and to bring about an equalization. To organize production and to give opportunity to the various forces to be employed at the right place, will be the chief task of the elected administrations. As all perfect themselves in their particular tasks the wheels run more smoothly. The different branches of industry and sub-divisions elect their managers, who must control the work. But these are no slave-drivers, as overseers and foremen are to-day, but fellow-workers who simply practice the administrative function entrusted to them, in place of a productive one. It is not impossible that at a more advanced stage of organization and with a more perfect education of all its members, these functions will become alternating and will, in definite rotation, be overtaken by all persons concerned,regardless of sex.
As soon as society has become the owner of all means of production, the duty to work of all able-bodied persons, regardless of sex, becomes a fundamental law of socialized society. Society cannot exist without labor. It therefore is justified in demanding that all who seek to satisfy their requirements, should also serve to the best of their physical and mental abilities in producing the commodities that are needful to satisfy the requirements of all. The silly assertion that the Socialists wish to abolish work is an absurdity. Lazy persons, shirkers of work, are met with in bourgeois societyonly. Socialism is agreed with the Bible in asserting that “he who will not work neither shall he eat.” But work shall be useful, productive activity. The new society will therefore insist that everyone choose some definite industrial, agricultural, or other useful activity, whereby he performs a certain amount of labor for the satisfaction of existing requirements.No enjoyment without labor, without labor no enjoyment.
Since all are obliged to work, all have the same interest in having three conditions of labor complied with. Firstly, that the work-day shall not be too long and that the work shall not require over-exertion; secondly, that the work shall be varied and as agreeable as possible; thirdly, that it shall be as productive as possible, since on this the length of the work-day and the number of obtainable enjoyments depend. But these three conditions again are determined by the number and the nature of the means of production and the workers; they are furthermore determined by the required standard of living. Socialistic society does not establish itself in order to lead a proletarian existence,but to abolish the proletarian manner of living of the great majority of people. It seeks to grant to everyone the fullest measure of the comforts and joys of life, and so the question arises: To what extent will the requirements of society grow?
In order to determine this an administration will be necessary that comprises all fields of social activity. Here our municipalities will form an appropriate foundation. If they are too large to permit of obtaining an insight, they may be divided into districts. As in primitive society, all members of the communities who are of age,regardless of sex, will participate in the elections and choose the persons who are to take charge of the administration. At the head of all local bodies there will be a central administration. This—let it be noted—will not be a government with ruling powers, but an executive board of managers. Whether this board of managers is to be elected by the entire population or by the local boards is not essential. These questions will not be as important then as they are now, for election to these offices will not mean greater power and influence and a higher income. They will be positions of trust to which the fittest,be they men or women, will be elected, and they can be recalled or re-elected, as conditions may demand, or as it may seem desirable to the voters. All offices are temporary. The persons who hold these positions, therefore, cannot be regarded as officials. Their function is not a permanent one, nor is a hierarchical order of advancement provided for. Viewed from this standpoint, it also becomes a matter of indifference whether there will be any intermediate bodies between the central administration and the local administrations, as provincial administrations,etc.If considered necessary they will be instituted; if not, they will be omitted. All that will be determined by experience. If progress in the development of society should make old institutions superfluous, they will be abolished without any ado and without any conflict, since no one is personally interested in their maintenance, and new ones will be instituted instead.This thoroughly democratic administration is very different from the present.At the present time—what battles in the newspapers, what a warfare of tongues in the parliaments, what piles of documents in the government offices, to accomplish an insignificant change in the administration or government!
To begin with, the main task will be to determine the existing forces, the number and kind of means of production,factories, workshops, means of transportation, area of land, and the previous productivity. Further it will be necessary to determine the supply on hand and the number of articles and products required to supply the demand in a given length of time. As at present the state and the various municipalities annually determine their budgets, this will in future be done for the entire social demand, and changes made necessary by new or increased demands can be fully taken into consideration. Statistics here become the main factor. They are the most important auxiliary science in the new society, since they furnish the standard whereby all social activity may be measured. Statistics are being used for similar purposes at present on a large scale. The budgets of nation, state, and municipality are founded on a great number of statistical investigations that are annually undertaken by the various branches of administration. Experience of long duration and a certain stability in current demands simplify them. Undernormalconditions every manufacturer and every merchant is also enabled to determine his requirements for the coming quarter of a year and in what manner he must arrange his production and his purchases. Unless excessive changes occur he can meet them readily and without much difficulty.
The experience that the crises are brought on by blind, anarchistic production; that is to say, because goods are produced without any knowledge of the stock on hand, the sales, and the demand for the various articles on the world market, has caused the captains of industry in various branches—as already stated—to form trusts. The object of these trusts is to determine prices on the one hand, and on the other to regulate production. By the producing ability of each individual concern and by the sales it is likely to make, the amount of goods to be produced for the coming months is determined. Failure to comply with these rules is punished by a fine and by proscription. The manufacturers form these agreements not to benefit, but to harm the public, and solely for their own advantage. Their purpose is to use the power of co-operation to insure the greatest advantage for themselves. By regulating production it becomes possible to exact the payment of prices that can never be obtained aslong as the individual manufacturers compete with one another. So the manufacturer enriches himself at the expense of the consumer, who must pay the fixed price for the article that he needs; and, as the consumer is injured by the trusts, so also the worker. Regulation of production by the manufacturers releases a number of workers and employes, and these, in order to live, must underbid their fellow-workers. Moreover, the social power of the trust is so great that the labor unions, too can rarely cope with them. The employers, accordingly, enjoy a double advantage; they receive higher prices and pay lower wages. This regulation of production by associations of employersis the opposite of that which will take effect in Socialistic society. To-day the interest of the employers is the determining factor; in the future it will be the interest of the general public. But in bourgeois society even the best organized trust cannot overlook and compute all the factors. Competition and speculation on the world market continue to rage, in spite of the trust, and suddenly it becomes manifest that the calculation is faulty, and the artificial structure breaks down.
Like industry, commerce also possesses far-reaching statistics. Every week the large centers of commerce and seaport towns publish lists of the supplies on hand of kerosene, cotton, sugar, coffee, wheat,etc.Sometimes these statistics are not exact, because the owners of the goods occasionally have a personal interest in preventing the truth from becoming known. But, taken all in all, these statistics are pretty reliable and enable those interested to judge the probable aspect of the market in the near future. But here, too, speculation enters into consideration that frequently deceives and upsets all calculations and often makes it impossible to carry on an honest business. Just as a general regulation of production is made impossible in bourgeois society by the conflicting interests of the countless private producers, so the regulation of distribution is made impossible by the speculative nature of commerce and by the conflicting interests of the great number of persons engaged in it. But what has been accomplished so far gives an idea of what can be accomplished as soon as private interests disappear and the common interest predominates. An example of this is,for instance, the harvest statistics compiled annually by various states, that make it possible to calculate the crops, the amount needful to supply the domestic demand, and the probable prices.
But in a socialized society conditions will be perfectly orderly, since the solidarity of society will have been established. Everything is carried out, according to plans, in an orderly way, and so it will be easy to determine the amounts required by the various demands. When some experience has been gained, everything will run smoothly. When the average demand for meat, bread, shoes, garments,etc., has been statistically determined, and when the output of the respective establishments of production is known,the average daily amount of socially necessary labor can be established. It, furthermore, can be determined whether more establishments of production are needed, or whether some can be dispensed with as superfluous and can be fitted out for other purposes.
Every individual chooses the branch of industry in which he wishes to be employed. The great number of very different realms of activity makes it possible to take the most varied wishes into consideration. If there is an excess of workers in one branch and a lack of workers in another, it will be the duty of the administration to make the necessary arrangements and to bring about an equalization. To organize production and to give opportunity to the various forces to be employed at the right place, will be the chief task of the elected administrations. As all perfect themselves in their particular tasks the wheels run more smoothly. The different branches of industry and sub-divisions elect their managers, who must control the work. But these are no slave-drivers, as overseers and foremen are to-day, but fellow-workers who simply practice the administrative function entrusted to them, in place of a productive one. It is not impossible that at a more advanced stage of organization and with a more perfect education of all its members, these functions will become alternating and will, in definite rotation, be overtaken by all persons concerned,regardless of sex.