Before beginning our investigation of Socialism, we must define our subject. To talk intelligibly about Socialism, I must first know that you understand what Socialism is and what it isn’t.
You may say that the soap-box orator has made all this very clear to you, but you mustn’t be too certain about that. The soap-box orator may know what Socialism really is, and what it proposes to accomplish, and he may not. I have known soap-box orators who knew so little about Socialism as to contend that it was nothing more than a political movement which proposed to institute some much-needed reforms along purely economic lines. And, there are other soap-box orators who, while fully qualified to tell you all about Socialism, wouldn’t dream of doing it for fear of frightening you.
It may be true that all Socialists agree to some extent upon a few basic principles; but they disagree about so many things that it is almost impossible to pin them down to anything definite. If a Socialist is cornered in an argument, he will try to elude you by asserting that Socialists are “not agreed” upon the answer to the question you have asked, or that “the issue is purely a matter of private opinion.”
Have you noticed how cleverly Socialists can do this?
A Socialist agitator is out on a still hunt for converts. He meets John Jones and asks him why he does not join the Socialist party.
“No,” says John, “I will not join the Socialist party, because it stands for industrial unionism and I believe in the policy of the American Federation of Labor.”
“That’s all right,” replies the Socialist agitator. “There are plenty of prominent Socialists who are enthusiastic members of the A. F. of L.,” and he reels off the names of a dozen or more. Of course, John Jones is persuaded that he was mistaken in his opinion of the Socialist party, and he joins.
Going a block or two further, the Socialist agitator meets Bill Brown, and asks him why he does not carry a red card. Bill replies that he is opposed to the Socialist party because of its friendliness for the A. F. of L.
“I am opposed to violence, but I am an industrial unionist,” he asserts, “and shall have nothing to do with an organization that stands for craft unionism.”
What does the Socialist agitator do? From his pocket he extracts a pamphlet written by Eugene V. Debs, in which Mr. Debs expounds the doctrines of industrial unionism and shows that it is impossible for a Socialist to be a conscientious craft unionist. So, realizing that, as Socialism’s foremost advocate, Eugene V. Debs ought to know what Socialism means, Bill Brown signs up.