The Labor enquirer., 1885-01-17

4B 70 bVAA4sSA WV Se1sS oS<AOey - - nAS " -
mot 8 building. But the spirit and
general tone of the book is that society
ID building not a growth. The a.
ll,sions are frequent, but may be in,
ssanced as at page 227. where we arr
referred to laying the foundation Of the
new social order !" ~ and again at 272
where it is urged that America, being 9
nation of practical people, are the frs,
who may try "the experiment /"
Socialism is not an experiment, which
america or some other nation may try
It is stage of society into which Am.
erica and other nations will enter when
the conditions for their doing 80 are full.
filled and not before. The most essen.
tlal of these conditions is that the people
shall fully and clearly understand the
life which they are now leading; and
regret to say that the task of criticisinl
capitalism has been neglected by Gron.
lund. Il do not believe that our author
has shirked it, or that he Is incapable ot
performing it. L regret to record my
conviction that he has laid it aside in
order to appear more practical" The
spirit Of the age in America practical
rless-has been attended to at the ex
pense of our authors making his work
comprehensive.
The division Of wealth into wages and
surplus value is pointed out but that il
hot enough. The American and Eng
lish people are not yet sufficiently vel
awarei of the conditions in which they
are actually living, and it is useless te
fell them about the probable character
istics of their position tomorrow, wher
they do not fully realize the degradation
of to-day.
1t would certainly have been con
ducive to the understanding of Social
ism if our author had employed the
critical skill. which he elsewhere dis
plays, in analyzing the conditions of life
which modern society grants to tn.
workers.
The book is likely to do good, as many
of its pages contain matter which is sure
to suggest thought on the possibilities
even now within our grasp. Our author
however, seems more interested in per
fecting the present system, and intro
ducing side. blast of Justice which
will put away actual starvation, than in
trying to fancy and to sketch society
where wealth shall cease to be the main
object of everyone's life, and where men
may turn their thoughts to the higher
development of their race.
1t is real pity that Gronlund has
been so anxious to put Socialism in 8
practical light. In doing so he has put
forth an idea which, although it may be
entlcing to people who delight to pose as
practical politicians, is none the less
chimerical. The best--way to preach
Socialism is to expose capitalism. The
fife Of the future must not only be 6
growth from the present, but the concep
ton of it must arise from those who
see and feel with keen pain the miser'
les of the world to-day. : 1t is quite use
less, and even nansensical: for man te
pit down in his study and arrange so
cietY into better order.
GronlunPs book has too much of the
law-making spirit about it to render i
very attractive to those whose minds
are inclined to fanciful speculations.
would rather dream an hour on what ths
world might be if the ingenuity of mer
had unrestricted scope, than bother my
self about the most feasible practica
schemes for making it little better thar
it is. 1t may be said that dreaming
about the future won't help the future
but it will.
For centuries the world has been "goV
|erned" by laws and cunning regulations
and what is the result? Civilization ii
poisoned, mankind degraded. The or.
thodox idea is that the best way to helr
human development is to clothe society
with laws, to bury her in statutes The
;5ao of ~ n f,frra NIL la 70 bovo 40 Fa,.
laws as possible, to leave society unham-
pered. l do not express unconditional
satisfaction with "The Cooperative Com
monwealth" because it is 30 practical
attempting to picture detailed Utopia
that it becomes drearisome. 1 do not IN
any way despise the practical people; !
only insist that those who are practical
will turn their abilities where they are
likely to do most good for the cause. The
duty of practical men is to criticise Che
society Of to-day. Leave picturing the
future to the poets.
Laurence Grenlund's book will nc
doubt effect a deal of good. What ]
have said is more grumble at it than 9
criticism, and to be fair 1 must say that
everyone l know who has read it thinks
more of it than l do. So it is mos
likely l am wrong in what I have said
about it. Only still insist that mer
who are what they call practical, ought