8. Socialist attempts to explain or justify the failure of bolshevism. (Brasol, Socialism versus Civilisation, chapter iv.)
CHAPTER XVI
THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM
155. ADMINISTRATIVE DIFFICULTIES CONFRONTING SOCIALISM.—Under socialism the work of government would be greatly increased. Thousands of intricate administrative rules would have to be drawn up for the control and direction of activities now attended to by individuals animated by personal interest.
Now, it is seriously to be questioned whether the most highly centralized government could effectively administer the innumerable activities of our complex industrial life. Upon what basis would land be distributed? How would individuals be apportioned among the various employments? Upon what basis would the wages of millions of workmen be determined? Could so mechanical an agency as government foresee future business conditions expertly enough to direct the productive forces of the nation effectively? If prices are no longer to be fixed by competition, how, and by means of what agency, are they to be determined?
These are only a few of the vital questions which would arise in connection with the administration of a socialist state. Various suggestions have been made with regard to some of these difficulties, but there is among socialists no general agreement as to the answer of any one of these questions. They continue to constitute, in the eyes of practical men, a grave obstacle to socialism.
156. DANGERS OF A SOCIALIST BUREAUCRACY.—Governmental power would have to be very highly centralized if a socialist state were effectively to administer the nation's economic activities as a unit. But this very concentration of power might easily result in the development of a bureaucracy. Waste and the possibility of corruption have unfortunately characterized even those governments over which the people exercise considerable control; it seems probable that the greater centralization of authority demanded by socialism would increase rather than decrease these dangers.
It is to be noted here that the socialists, who might be supposed to consider as paramount the interests of society or of the public, are the very people who are least inclined to do anything of the kind. [Footnote: This concept was suggested to me by Professor Thomas Nixon Carver of Harvard University.] Socialists look upon the state only as an agency for benefiting particular groups of individuals. The emphasis of political socialism upon class struggle, the frank admissions of the I.W.W. that they seek to suppress all but the laboring class, and the establishment by the bolshevists of a dictatorship of the proletariat, all these facts indicate that socialists seek the welfare of particular groups rather than the welfare of the general public.
But class legislation is repugnant to the principles of American democracy. We believe in government by the masses and for the masses; furthermore, we are committed to the ideal of as much individual freedom and as little governmental compulsion as is compatible with the good of both individual and community. The concept of a socialist bureaucracy, administered in the interests of particular groups, runs counter to our fundamental beliefs and ideals.
157. SOCIALISM WOULD DESTROY PERSONAL INITIATIVE.—One of the strongest arguments against socialism is that it would destroy personal initiative. Socialism runs counter to human nature by under- valuing the principle of self-interest. Economists are generally agreed that the abolition of the institution of private property would cause the ambition of the individual to slacken. In spite of its defects, it is the competitive system, with its promise of reward to the energetic and the capable, which is largely responsible for the miraculous prosperity of modern times. Men ordinarily will not undergo systematic training, perfect inventions, strive to introduce greater and greater economies into their business, or undertake the risk of initiating new enterprises, unless they are assured that they will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor.