A history of socialism

by Thomas Kirkup

So much may fairly be said regarding the influence of socialistic speculation on the opinion of the civilised world. It must be admitted, however, that as yet the change is mainly in the region of opinion. For in the domain of practice the competitive system, in spite of many very important modifications, still holds the field; and the old Political Economy, though greatly discredited, still finds its strongest justification in the fact that it is a reasonably accurate analysis of an existing and working system. When asked for any grounds that may be brought forward for believing that the socialistic ideal is becoming a reality, we can only point to symptoms or tendencies, not to definite results on a scale commensurate with the development of modern industry.

Yet these tendencies are large, most significant, and visibly increasing. The following are the main lines along which they may be observed:—

1. The State, which by a reasonable socialism should be regarded as the association of men on a large scale, and as such should continue to have a most important function.

2. The Municipality, or Commune, which, notwithstanding certain objections, is the more convenient word, as it includes the parish as well as the municipality, and which should be regarded as the association for local purposes. As every one knows how greatly the range of State and municipal action for the common good has been extended in recent years, we need not enlarge on this aspect of our subject. But in what we have to say it will be convenient to consider the State and the local body together, as they are really complements of each other. In a well-ordered community there should be no real opposition between the two. Under the conditions which now prevail there can be no nourishing local life except in reasonable relation to an efficient central organ; and the central organ can do its part wisely and effectively only by allowing suitable scope to local energy. No absolute rules can be laid down for the relations of the two to each other; these must be determined by considerations of time and circumstance. But the problem of their opposition under any régime can be a difficulty only for unwise statesmanship.

It may not be a new thing in theory, that the State should be an association for the promotion of the common interests of all its members, or that the commune should be an association for the general good of the inhabitants of a locality; but it is practically new. It is only during the last generation that the people who form the majority of every society have received any reasonable consideration from the organs of the State. We have during the last seventy years seen a tardy reversal of the old injustice in our own country, and for some years the movement towards improvement has been growing apace. But our leading statesmen seem even yet to be reluctant or only half willing to advance. The domestic history of recent times is the record of concessions made, not because the leaders of either of our great parties particularly approved of them, but because they were demanded by large sections of voters. In fact the initiative in legislation has now passed from the statesmen to the democracy. We can hardly regard it as the outcome of a reasoned and comprehensive theory of the State when politicians trained in the theory and practice of laissez-faire in 1908 passed an Old Age Pensions Bill, which under certain restrictions gave a pension of 5s. a week to persons over 70.

The statesmen of Germany have been more consistent; for when they inaugurated their schemes of State socialism they frankly proclaimed their adhesion to its principles. In this they were encouraged by the old law of Prussia, which recognised the duty of the State to provide subsistence for those who could not make a living, and labour for those who were out of employment. The position of the Prussian kingdom has always been such that it required to foster the full strength of the State by all available means, and therefore could not afford to neglect any considerable portion of its population. In his State socialism, therefore, Bismarck could appeal with some show of reason to the traditional policy of Prussia. But it was really a new departure.

Its leading principles were announced in an Imperial message to the Reichstag on the 17th of November 1881. Besides the repressive measures necessary to restrain the excesses of the Social Democracy, the Emperor declared that the healing of social evils was to be sought in positive measures for the good of the working man. The measures proposed were for the insurance of the workmen against accident, sickness, old age, and inability to work, by arrangements under State control. ‘The finding of the right ways and means for this State protection of the working man is a difficult task, but also one of the highest duties that concern every society standing on the ethical foundations of the Christian national life.’ The aged Emperor next went on to say that he would look back with greater satisfaction on the successes with which Providence had visibly blessed his reign, if he could bequeath to the Fatherland new and lasting pledges of peace at home, and to the needy greater security and larger means for rendering the help to which they had a claim. The message also spoke of ‘organising the life of the people in the form of corporative associations under the protection and furtherance of the State, to render possible the solution of problems which the central power alone cannot undertake.’ The Imperial programme has now been realised. It may be regarded as the beginning of better things to come. The help provided by its various measures is scanty enough, but no one can reasonably doubt that it is immeasurably superior to our English Poor Law.

So much for State socialism in Germany. To find a democracy which is really government of the people by the people for the people, we must go to our colonies at the antipodes. It is a democracy which both in theory and practice has most fully recognised that the State is an association for the promotion of the well-being of the whole people. New Zealand, one of the youngest of the English colonies, is the finest example of such a State. The State in New Zealand owns and works railways, telegraphs, and telephones. When the Bank of New Zealand was on the point of stopping payment, with the most disastrous results to the country, the government came to its help with a guarantee of £4,000,000 and made it a State institution. It made advances of cheap money to settlers and passed legislation to break up large estates. The laws for the protection of labour are of the most advanced type. It settles labour disputes by compulsory arbitration, and has in operation an old-age pension scheme by which persons over 65 years of age receive an annual pension. At first fixed at £18, this has been raised to £26, or 10s. a week. It has introduced women’s suffrage, graduated taxation, a complete system of local option in the drink trade, a public system of life insurance and of medical care, and a public trustee with very wide and beneficent powers.

All these measures and others which we need not name are the outcome in New Zealand of a great wave of agrarian labour and socialistic feeling which spread over the world about twenty years ago. It has been well described as socialism without dogma. Every measure has been examined and approved on its merits. The policy therefore is all the more valuable as a mass of testimony to the beneficent tendency of a reasonable socialism. The conditions have no doubt been exceptionally favourable. New Zealand is a young country with great natural advantages and a small population which has a very high average of intelligence, initiative, and energy. It is an example, however, which should be most encouraging to the world, as it shows what may be done in a true democracy, where the government is in entire sympathy with the people and responsive to their wishes. The high honour of carrying out this model legislation belongs to Richard Seddon and his associates. Seddon was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1893 to his death in 1906.

3. The co-operative society or association for the ordinary purposes of industry.—Co-operation for some time made comparatively little progress in production, but when we consider the low point from which the movement started, only about sixty years ago, and how painfully capital, experience, and skill had to be acquired by the poor workers, we should rather be surprised at the advance that has been made in so many progressive countries. It is only a partial realisation of the socialistic ideal, but it is well founded, solid, and most promising. Its strongest point is that it has arisen directly out of the people and remains in close touch with them.