Capitalism-The Light That Failed
Capitalism—The Light That Failed GOOD TfieilT^TrrCAPITALISM; aai<r-«b^> rlM^ee. 'JobleM men by the millions in every nation. JITomen and children hungry. Governments bankrupt, yet sus* piciouB...
...The spirfhing wheel, the dye-pot, the loom and various hand tools were their equipment...
...1\ Already it has to its cr«dit greater ser^^H^ \ vice to humanity at smaller coat ta vio^ ^ K ^ leace than any large soda] movement )a ^ • k T L j history...
...Nevertheless 1 do lie can be accused as a renegade or a conscious traitor, [ ^ • i i t Well, which, as Heywood Brotm has reminded us, is weak SO praise at aU...
...But the days of capitalism are numbered...
...the Govt-^ mns unemployment Insurance, and, like President Hoover, tisas that a b(g housing program is the best possible Immeifttmulus to some degree of industrial recovery...
...They pianufactured hats, carpets, quilts, clothing, soap, starch and other necessities...
...is better than no' unionism or than umomsm hMl CBDpletely forfeited the confidence of the workers...
...Certain _ ' principles which shoukl inspire tis I think "jia"" can be sUted >nth some confidence...
...b spite of the very real and great tempUUon for trade i to be "practical" and bargain with poliUcIans and rack. | « tmine<Hate favors such forms of pracUcal buemess unlonleul destroying...
...Occasionally these wars have brqfcen into bloody conflicts...
...I believe that a great many things should (^^BP^dobe before the dole should have been cut...
...at other times they were terribly beaten and their organizations destroyed...
...Union and party must «upK esch other if progress is to be made...
...W « will again be masters of our own lives and wiB have all tlie advantages of modem industry, inventions, afid pow«r-driven machinery...
...There was no "overproduction," no dispute about hours of labor, ne hiring and firing, no economic conflicts within the home...
...If his business increased he employed a few apprentices...
...H r s v LABOR AND SOCIALISM | B M ^ T MacDONALD in one of his numerous explanations of . J * artraordinary poUUcal course says that when a paUent ossd for an emergency operaUon for appendicitis is not to argue vegetarianism as a principle with him...
...cialists must sAnlt that we are not mak\ \ lag the headway we ought...
...In the factory . the worker possessed nothing but his labor power...
...For the same, reason there will be no «cenoinie anugonisms...
...The more efficient factory production gradually destroyed household manufacture...
...But the plain i ^ ^ n a t socialism is more than a matter of taxing capttallsm >^^Mr Its victims...
...Mourned by the kept press, pulpiteers and legalists, old man capitalism, iM-oken and useless, is descending to his well-d» served grave...
...And yet we must have that independence...
...a w migHt have asked the , i ^ ^ B E T ^ price liberty?, or he might have discussed how kmg ^ • g ^ V U Ukely to remain honest and efficient in the service -Jma^ «quality when it retains the unlimited power of a > ^ ^ ^ " M i U command...
...Home production for use became factory proi duction for profit...
...Later the shop was enlarged and he employed more...
...The workers must have their • t j to represent their own interests against an owning class, Km much as their own unions...
...In the home the family owned the • raw materials, the tools and the finished product...
...they are wage workers now...
...Sometimes the workers woa...
...Baasla Adlei were gtvea ainpaiirtart aaatnces, while Aaron I^svaBrtaln waa «ischarfsd...
...unionism, as the history of the United Mine Workers i-^aot of itself the sole guarantee of health, i^bor union acUvity today can scarcely, hope to get...
...The First Industrial Revolution Then steam and machinery were applied to manufacture...
...These things are the fruit of an industrial system which has turned the wealth of the nation^ its natural riches and its machinery,' over to a favored few who use them to exploit the many...
...For SocfaUoa would take the immense riches of Am nal...
...We will no longer produce for Ijflttii^we wifl produce for ourselves...
...It is a dangerous thing to en^ B t t t s precedent of having a Governor remove an elected ^RIVB^^ott clearest grounds of corruption or gross inccmpe• l i AayWsy, I repeat, its the system we have to fight...
...Join this movement on this the most tragierlafcor Day all our history...
...The old world of simple home manufactures was completely ' revolutionized...
...lide lines more and more lose their meaning in modem b> Industrial unionism becomes more and more essential...
...liberty STOCK Oy LABOR DAY ^ P ^ ^ j ^ Y u the last hoiklay of tha summer is a gay ooAmim IjmBIV < ^ working...
...I^^^^^^V The labor movement In the fullest sense \ of the word is the hope of the world...
...A new social system cannot be imposed on B^^^iorstem simply by a progressive reduction of proliu a I ^ r ' ^ D ^ the rich for necessary social legislatioa...
...Other states ara iknua^ ^Par cflwMtution, their laws, or th^lr poverty...
...P^^knaipetent and his incompetence always manages not to ^ r a p a a a y snd the racketeers...
...But G. B. Shaw's praise of it m terms "^^KTLt v"** secret police which wiU get you without benefit ft^C^T^ ^ money, passes the bounds of humor...
...The first one began in Ihe second half of the eighteenth century...
...Then govemmenU begin to wobble, belligerently eyeing each other the while they jockey for favored positi<ms for^ their * particular group of bankers and capitalists...
...i,y when a craft can stand alone in an unorganised >«atken is passiag fast- ^ these times of interdependent general economic collapse the soUdarlty of labor Is M aa obvious and reaUsUc as weU as an idealistic fact...
...The owner ceased to work at the bench and the capitalist appeared...
...But the slt^ nation is anything but hopeless...
...In time joumej-men were ' working for him...
...ittatH^ libMne* of conflict, collective control, and production fofjwe.mtid ea» joyroent if the working class is to enjoy the fnntf?^4»»o emf' turies of industrial and social progress...
...The first change came when a workmai^left the home and began to make things in a small shop for sale...
...That world of simple household manufactures has vanished...
...For generations people had been accustomed to manufacture many of the things they needed in their homes...
...Labor^s Security Disappears * Corporations consolidated into more powerful organizations and mergers in alliance with the great banking houses...
...That is the picture capitalism presents this Labor Day...
...We cannot do thit with railroads, utilities and other great entef)>riieiL> Fan^ ownership and control is out of the questit^ , But suppose we think of the whole o f 8 o d e ^ t i i : « o e ivadfy^ and vest the ownership and control of and distribution in the hands of diis family, t h a t » , tbe tiatfenl We will then have the c<dlective ownership whidudBbiripe out the private and corporation ownership that Itur.'fiiintight us hear to ruin...
...OOSVELrS REUEF PROGRAM lOVBSMt ROOSBTVELT of Naw York has had the sense to J Mstet-an increase in the income tax is the fair and proper Bf d ailing unemployment relief...
...Tet with this aobie hlstoiy bai hiad it, it caaaot be said ttnt ths Jabor ^Hh f movement la America is meaauring Mp to W^Bu,M^t^ t opportunities or to the deoiaads of the • • K C p ^^^^^ J ^foccasioa...
...In every land socialists wUI have a a ^ g ^ to socialise industry as weU as to tax iC The British f^^^V can render a service to the whole world by flghtlBg- at n^^^JMialixaUon as it fights abroad for peace...
...That is the importfmt message this Lab<Kjfcfc Cmm^ italism is sinking, the sun o? Socialism ri^^^ Socialism Would Mean Security for the Worferr The Second Industrial Revolution Will Bring Labor ^8 Trumps T H I S Labor Day the workers face a second industrial revolution...
...xz':,;-4...
...Lawyar Ifrais Haroui of tha ual<m aqaoBnoed tkalr intenUoa of tLppUUag the cut, in view of the City Charter's «iq»lidt code that permits aye only as^paired of reUgfous groupsi...
...Giving birth to two classes, one selling and the other buying labor power, capitalist industries have often been convulsed with class struggles and labor wars...
...independence...
...the food mmd « h * nlmbmi^ wouM be produced for use, eliminatfuf the VfSabmliafi^ profiteering and plaalessness of capitalism...
...X lBrlu<1« the political movecaent...
...They made and mended their own shoes...
...They cured their meat and preserved their fruit...
...The former workman, now owning a large shop and employing wage workers, in time scrapped the hand tools and introduced the steam engine and machines...
...tM priaciplee must be appUed e&mesUy and aggressively...
...T'he shop expanded into a factory...
...New machines, the application of chemistry, technical science, and scientific management brought enormous fortunes to the owners of industry...
...wlK^I^'*^<^<kn&n defend- e^^^P** Bsttdin, Frucbter, •^KS^J^"'^ before Judge ^_j^Bgg,«ad secured a disgd^^ HH|^MU!ges and conVlsiat...
...The speakers'^ of ths Hebrew Butcher Workers umon wim were arrested for causing a crowd to collect at the same comer aad speaking without a police parmlt were found guilty of t}M second charge oa Uoaday, Aug...
...Industry pardyzed while the woikers clamor for a chance to labor...
...Occupation after occupation left the home, was transferred to a shop, and the shop expanded into a factory with a capitalist owning it and getting his income from the workers he exploited...
...h la the SUB <^ Socialism, which m e o u liberfyt ftmae wat§ plenty for all the workers of the worid...
...They had no control over the shop, the machines, the raw materials and the product and they hav^ no such control today They were wage workers then...
...They are the economic descendants of those workmen in the eighteenth century who left the household to set up independent manufacture for customers in their neighborhood...
...White collar workers must be reached as • ofsrsU workers...
...In the baickymnJ k neif Mm b r U i ^ MMrii hope and inspiratkm to the workets of tte .vracU...
...Up to the last possible moment SociaOkts should t^lh sad in the A . F. of L. because of the obvious weakness (West dual unionism There are times, however, when dual MB, sD-called...
...But it U hard to say that he ^•afe as the system is at fault...
...On the other hand, whea the capitalist system of production breaks down, as it now has, tnillitms of workers do" not have the assurance of the rough comiorts their ancestors enjoyed in the cclonial era of home manuiactures for ianafy usel .They do oot haive that senie-s...
...JSar!er long inteUectual rebel we bad a right to expect 5 ' ' ' " ™ ^ " ° 8 r - Mr...
...MacoHplVmper course in the emergency was that which Morris ^^mfaeussed in last week's New Leader...
...But when factory capitalism appeared it also ^rought an antagonism between capitalists and lab<?rers over the division of the product, the hours of labor, over the right to hire and fire, the right to organize by the workers and to exert collective pressure to improve conditions...
...In household production everything was bannonioos...
...Yet there is a deeper lesson than one J^^*ljaiistake or personal failure...
...Meantime the working class remain precisely in the same status as their ancestors who accepted employment as journeymen in the independent colonial shop...
...They sold labpr power then: they sell labor power now...
...He wants a ^•aweek on public works but is afraid to try emergency leg^Kaxtending it to industry, l^hat Is good (or pubUe ymttf» SPECIAL SESSION ^Hir TORK is one of the few states than can iacrsase income ^ ^ s e s tor direct unemployment reliif...
...KUst Party unlike the Communist Party must not seek to Its nniona by hook or crook, but it must be vitaUy interested MhBtf of organisation of workers both wliite and colored and BSisg the gospel of Socialism in fair aSid democratic fashion ^udcos...
...Their living conditions have improved because they fought over many decades against the degrading teodency of capitaltsin to reduce them to mudsills...
...HaAd tools became power-driven machines...
...It is this ideal of a collective humanity njMtiwHing ki powefs of production for human welfare that is iniplring nnt lions of woikers all over the world...
...We So- V^^^K...
...The • times are ripe, and more than ripe, for - a great forward movement...
...afl4 and the tremendons productive capacity «l mmehtitmef and plaee diem at the service of the wwltcn> T%» t h i a p we live by, the doithes...
...pecurity which the colonial workman had and the dm%4 ^ liU*Wt broods over millions of working class familieiL - ^ .\o backward Step PoMlNftrcn...
...Capitalism continue to expand...
...Ideally it was the busiirtas M^ • •^M^ntt igovernment to try a lltUe appUed socialism before the so sick...
...By analla the English unemployment insurance is the necessary J^P» «B the sick patient...
...2^ Socialists ^*29rii t t Meeting ?e^P* Freed in Court oi^HL-_-—^— t JS^^P"^ candidates •9*^^^knstod on a disorderly ^'^l l^^^IBB^l^i to*r^ holding a meet* *^ Soutfaem nil^Vf Oantt on Thuraday...
...The analogy is very weak...
...They were cobblers and hatters, tailors, carpenters, weavers, dyers, spinners, butchers, blacksmiths and bakers...
...But only at this point is jngMB for unemployment relief better than I predicted last t Tmnty million dollars is tragically inadequate...
...t axmot p*M aa industry around to each family to own...
...In any events in •iHiiiiiilili aas^fney only the naUon can act equiUbiy and aOC- Klety...
...In other words, we f^^firoduce for our use as the smaller family unit did more than a.««iitQtry sgoii Soci4di$m Will Bring Secur^^There being no capitalists to wofk for we agsn enjoy...
...Jeaa Coronel and Mrs...
...It Is a-rrtm hoUday wlisn 20% or woriiers are idle and ao ona knows how many others _ tjme, I : is a day, bowev«r,v wtien it wUl pay us to do " , some thinlrtny about the labor moveF^^Hp^L ment...
...Fight the good fight for fnMiii.rpj(ioo n/^ the realiration of a ^cooperative world qi **"^tfT^ "flfMHK ^eeaot, t i i d - } « B a a splidvi^ ,., , :% K m e l y T o p i c s and The Woriken* Needa Baoae^eH and fJC?^ Belief—Seabvrr Dm Ct mfm Tim ^ ' • • ^ ^ l e With Britiak Lmbar-Skmw and RatAm...
...Tliey weaken the confidence <A workers irovs unions...
...When I say this I do sot >i^eak merely of tl>e trade union movemoit...
...Omitting many interesting details, this is a tabloid history I of the origin of the manufacturing class and the working class...
...The system is perishing df its own inadequacy...
...valuable (•^ptJtttlQn is in its place...
...The war^langer is ever present...
...So capitalism also brought« class antagonism into industrv...
...There was no quarrel over the division of the prodtict as ^ members of the family were producing for their own use...
...J K i a P W ON CHAIN SjOMUIIMidc tq Mew York affairs,' it is, I suppose, Roosevelt's Bgaodlaek that he can get credit with anti-Tammany folks or HMgltiBg Judge Crain while avoiding the extremes of Tam- ^bwEitt 19 not removing him fr&a the office of District AttorHTMiartheleM I think Judge Seabury, who was the Governor's HpMaatr, was right in not recommending Cram's removal...
...Agriculture a wasteland of destitute tenant farmeh and peasants ^hose cries for aid are answered with the suggestion thMl they destroy their crops raised in sweat of their labor...
...e will enjoy security in our occopatioos...
...It is* the ided of tiM Socialist movemoit...
...It tuiwwns the disinherited tft ddtvd our industries out of* the hands of exploiters Afid Ut^tad eniirfoyment and hunger...
...A few home workers emerged as capitalists but the many emei^ed as wage workers...
...A fa^ day's wage for a fair day's iMB't mean much when general economic and political forces rMsisst the workers...
...Factories became great plants and the individual capitalist gave way to the corporation...
...Under-consnmption and over-production follow and bring with them unemployment and hnngM...
...Millionaires were succeeded~by multi-millionaires and the latter by billionaires...
...Governments bankrupt, yet sus* piciouB of each other and armed to the teeth ready to •pill the blood of the workers in another world war...
...any,,^Khout poUUcal acUvity...
...What's to be done ? \Vc cannot, and should n o t H « • could, restore the colonial world of family nmmflitore with its independence, its assured security, its abseiKe~«f ecoooiHie antagonism, its collective control of its home oocupttiotu, and its production for human use and enjoyment Ttat sooal tjqie » o f production has passed away forever...
...Home independence gave way to factory dependence...
...The socialisation of natural resources i ^ u s t r i e a , social inaxirance, the winning of civil liberties i a e require political action...
...lat Jl|iiident Hoover call a special session of Congress w St i M t ^ i lK billion dollar Hunger L0an to be repaid out -df iwcBS t|ri||ipil from inheritance taxes in the upper brackets...
...The appeal of Wat it is actually getting things done along new lines, i^^g^ t h e Western worW is that it can get things done at a price than would be imposed by salvation through • m L ^ ' v d LIBERTY ii1^^F'**ia is & wonderful and in many ways an encouraging igl^Kg...
...Operation of industry for- the profit of the favored few brings planless, competitive production and exploitation of the woikers...
...To ^—organised has become the life Wood of every phase of 5tr Bovement...
...I do not doubt...
Vol. 13 • September 1931 • No. 10
