Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-05-19
THE PLACE OF INDIVIDUAL
ISM IN THE SOCIALIST
SYSTEM.
Lecture Delivered Before the New
York Labor Lyceum.
BY j. EDWARD NALL,

Boston school have appropriated to
themselves the title of being the only
true blue Socialists, and not desiring to
trench upon their individual prerogative,
deem it but honest both to that school
of thought and to ourselves, to declare
that the socialism implied throughout
this lecture is Of the form which con-
ceives the necessity and utility of the
State, Of government, and Of authority,
in spite of all past abuses and misapplca-
ton which confuse and pervert those
terms and their meanings.
Herbert Spencer has said that social
ism meaning State socialism), is " the
coming slavery In parenthesis, lmay
say that of all the writers in the English
language, he has contributed more to my
knowledge and belief towards State So
calism than any other individual.
With his wide range Of study and
clear insight to tendencies, he admits
that it is " coming" If we look about
us to-day, we may well agree with him
that it is not only coming, but that, as
far as the slavery is concerned, it
has already arrived, Unfortunately for
some of his conclusions, this slavery Of
| the present time Is not due to socialism,
| but rather to the development of eX-
treme individualism As one example
| of this fact, we may cite the latest phases
Of modern industrial development, i. e.,
| the so called trusts. Socialists do not
| deny, in fact they have proclaimed, that
such combinations must sooner or later
| be the logical and necessary outcome Of
capitalistlc production. They even now
predict that the logical sequence of these
trusts is combination of trusts, or in
other words, Monopoly of monOpOlies
| But 50 far from these trusts being the
creatures Of and nOurished by the State,
| they exist in their most iiOuriShing con
| ditlOn in affairs or relations over which
as yet there is no State or Government
control, either to assist or interfere
namely, internatIonaIssy ndicates The
| operations of one of these combines with
out State or Government control has
raised the price of tin since July, lSS1,F3
per cent: lead, > per cent; zinc, 20
cents, and copper from 10 to IL cents per
! IT, OF course all the lesser mOnop0-
lists, who happen to need these materi-
ais, have set up howl of Indignation.
No one who Is a close student of events
and an observer of tendencies, can help
being impressed with the tremendously
rapid development of the centralizing
forces of our present civilization. Not
only is it true Of industrial organization,
but it is true also Of political activity
and of religious thought and feeling.
| 4. e., =, 1, 4
| movements toward one al-embracing
unity, taken by themselves, lead us ire
sistibIy to believe that they are destruc
tive Of individual development. We
may illustrate this by the relative free
dom of most Of those engaged in me-
chanical occupations prior to the mo-
nopolistiC era, as compared with their
bondage under the wage system of to-
day. Politically we may compare their
attitude to-day with the independence
enjoyed by the Germanic States previous
to SadOWa; the Italian republics, from
the 18th to the 18th century, with the
present Kingdom Of Italy; of the Scot
fish clans prior to Culloden; or of Po-
land up to li12 This tendency is also
strongly manifesting itself III language.
hundred and more languages of this era
will have become dominated and prob
ably elfaced 10y one universal COmpre-
heuslve language-thOugh it may not
be universally spoken. But social
movements or tendencies can never be
rightly understood, taken individually or
by themselves only.
Along with these movements, tending
steadily to the unity of the race, have
been correspondence we may say COM
Elementary, mOvements-whose tenden-
Cies have been to eXalt individuality
and indeed, to do SO unduly. Take such
examples as our milliOnaireS. the So
called self-made men Of tO-da}. Are
they not almost universally recognized
as being the only conservators of theiI
fortunes while at the same time the
collective energy and its inheritance the
crystalized labor of the past, are subor-
: dnated and lost sight of in that anti-re-
publican. anti-demOCratC spirit and
syrophanCy emanating from our col
leges, schools and puIpits, of which the
apotheOsis of the millionaire is sorry
, example, that should bring TIE blush OF
shame to every true American.
All things tend to unity 1t is the uni
versal law of life. Yet at the same time
a all beings tend to indiVidualize them
selves Thus we see two facts that are
apparently opposed. There is no neces
sary opposition, for they are autono
mits, and when tremendously ascot
, ated. as in Socialism, they produce tn,
true equilibrium, which is liberty
Mature, considered nationally. is ;
unity in diversity of phenomena, har
: mony blending together all created
q things, however dispimilar in form or il
attribute.
Let us examine indiyiduallsm in tn,
light of >ocialistic thought, and thus as