LABOUR AND SOCIALISM

Grey River Argus, 23 June 1925, Page 2

LABOUR AND SOCIALISM

(By “Rewa.'.ui ■') 11 is not hie:ent for i.s to express si'und urine pies, we must provide -.’:d methods for .ii.plvmg rh)«c principles. The pr jblem of ihe future, as the Socialist sees il, is how to s.uppiy, by the education ami ’raininc of youlh, ihe necessary brain power ami y.-.ill; how to elevate the muscle—- labourer into a status, from which lie may take an intelligent intcres: in the l whole operations of the industry in which lu> is engaged, so that he may become a willing w ,'i.er in it. That Socialists strive fur a. better dis’.iib'.i_ lion of wealth is true, hut what they mean by this is that ‘‘there is some great fund iu existence, created by Labour, ami obtained as ex.ussive prolits which morally belongs to the (•i mmunity, industry, organised as th<‘ Socialist desires it, would comlud trade I'ettci' than capitalism, and secure to each service—giver, not a fortune, but the menus of :i cultured moral, self-respect ing life. 'The way to associate the technical worker with the manual worker, in a union of social service, properly equipped with skill for ])rodnction, energy for mai keting, and intelligence to keep things going with a maximum of efticiency, Ho follow the existing methods. tn a sentence, the form of control proposed follows the present arrangements except that the manual workers, the tichuical workers, the manage! 'ent, shall be appointed by reason of ability shown in less responsible posts, for work in the more responsible ones; and, ns education, primary, classical, theoretical, will be free, each and every one, will have the same opportunities, according to brain power. The fact, is that as Labour becomes moil 1 intelligent, the less willing il will be to produce under the c:i pit a I istie system. A crowd that has no sense of individual liberty, or a crowd content to drudge for a bare living, ami i'o die prettv much where it was, when born, or a crowd, spurred on by the Ivar <d starvation—all are things of the past! So soon as men understand the e( onomiu organisation of capitalism, and the distribution of wealth under it. stinted production is inevitable, and the sw->. Icm, as an efficient system of motives and extra-monetary rewards 1 ■ *-•>’- our for more work and more skill comes to an end. In Ihe meantime, “Uapital’’ we know it for a lad in New Zealanl, has been eonceut rated into trusts and monopolies and combines. \Vo can start from the primary products, the necessities of life, from wheat. Hour, sugar, even vegetables fruit, and the few luxuries the worker enjoys at times, to coni non. oil, timber, right on to the trans,, industries, which include the greatest combine of all, Shipping. These mono, polu-s, trusts and combines are crated in a very quiet manner, just a. quiet convention, in a convenient place, by the holders of these necessities of life (produced by Labour) and up go the prices; and in ctise of over production, or a surplus of these com. , modifies, we know for a fad they have been even destroyed to keep prices up. In New Zealand this state of affairs is becoming a state within a Stati* by the fixing of monopoly and trust prices, limiting production to suit the trusts’ own interests, and holding the community hourly, and daily to ransom. What we want are Government reports on these operations. to show us how this system is worked. When this stage of reporting is reached, the control of capital becomes an urgent communal concern, tor it will control the community, if it be not itself controlled. The most prolific adornments —which, of course, are always of a bogey uharadei -with which our political opponents dress up our supposed plans relate to the political methods which we will iry to adopt, and the chief bogey expression which they use in most instances is ‘‘Socialists are disposed to destroy the machine which has proved able to achieve* so much!’’ Now this idea ol destruction is always a preliminary to the voicing of their opinions. Al. though I do not like to say it. most ol our political opponents know, from the bottom of their hearts, that reconstruction politically, and industrially, is our aim and motive; but they will not publicly make this statement. Th<‘ shocking revelations that the late war has produced, economically, industrially, socially, and politically, will not be forgotten in a hurry. Tin* germs, and the disease of capitalism wen* in it from the start. and the after effects are still here, ami lay buried deep in our minds. Industrially, we have suffered, and are still suffering. The germs of this disease, which is one of long standing, have been here for centuries and are still floating about, and it is up to us who are numerically masters of the situation—l mean politically—to find the remedy! It is impossible to preach the ideals of Socialism, and call for sacrifices on behalf of it, without affecting in a large measure the minds of the workers. We believe in the •justice of our cause, and we believe as firmly in the justice of our claims for better social and industrial conditions. We want to make our action effective in fighting poverty as in fighting that disease “Capitalism.” We are in a hurry, and we are impatient. In answer to our opponents criticism, who are always throwing the word “destruction” and similar epithets at us, let me add that the “destruction” we propose is the sort of destruction which takes place, when a caterpillar becomes a chrysalis, and the 1 chrysalis becomes a butterfly.