Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1889-04-06
ANOTHER MAN OF STRAW
SLAIN.

Liberty has been at it again. Once
more the happy dispatch has been per-
formed upon State Socialism, or, at
least, upon that shadow Of a shadow
which does duty for State Socialism in
the rarihed and sublimated mind Of
Liberty. Strange that that which is
dead should take so much killing. But
here is the latest mortal blow:
GA Denver correspondent of the WOEK-
MEMS ADVOCATE, Henry Cohen, deals
mechanical and compulsory socialism q
mortal blow in the following very brief
communication: State Socialists are
fond of quoting the following from
SpenCer's Ethics" The relations Of
structures are actually such that by the
help of a central regulative system each
organ is supplied with blood in proper
tion to the work it does. The stomach,
liver, brain, etc, did not haze to elect
this central regulative system in the
body ply ysical, 1t WAS system Of cold,
say, If the body physical has been able
to develop under a free system to this
highly advanced state, what reason have
socialists for believing that the body
polite will not develop in the same way,
if the same system Of freedom would
prevail:
And this. forsooth, Liberty calls NOR
tai blow. Well, certainly. if it hits any
thing it hits individualism, and is a
striking illustration of two things :
first, of the truth of cOllectivism, and
second, of the cOngenital incapacity of
the anarchist to understand its nature;
but as for any mortal result to cOlleCtiv-
ism-bah ! Let Liberty by all means go
on dealing these mortal blows, no one
will be in the least hurt by them, save
the striker, simply because there is no
such thing in the wide, wide world out
side Libertys brainpan as mechanical
and compulsory socialism. True, mech
anism and compulsion enter into both
book physiology and sociology, but the
Collectivist who has looked into Spencer
is quite aware that in all organisms
there is back of the mechanical some
thing which is vital and dynamical, and
back of that again is the great unknow-
able first cause which alone can be
called free bearing, which, in mind, let
us glance for a moment at Mr.. Cohen's
peculiar reading of Spencer's Analogy.
THE stomach, liver, etc, did not
have to elect this central regulative sys-
tenn" We beg Mr.. Cohen's pardon, but
that is precisely what they do. The
nervous system derives its power on the
physical side from functional action of
the stomach, liver, etc. Let these or
gans cease to act, and what becomes of
the nervous system? Nor are the reIa-
tions between the several organs of the
body physical one of cold tdisSez fare.
On,the contrary, it is one of warm sym
pathy and mutual cooperation. The
COllectivist's motto, leach for all and all
for each" is here fully exemplified. The
connection is so close and intimate that
if one suffers all suffer, and there is
absolutely no room for any cold "leave
alone" "go-as- you please" principle un-
til disease and death supervene. Fur
thermore, the action of the stomach,
liver, etc, physically considered, is
purely mechanical Biologically con-
sidered this action is subject to deep
laid vital laws which, in turn, ultimately
derive their force and direction from the
unkuowable first cause; hence, the stom-
aCh, liver, etc, as individual organs are
not free, but, on the contrary, are ''com-
PEELED" to obey mechanically the biolog-
ical laws which dominate the whole or
ganism. And yet Mr.. Cohen coolly
asks us ''if the body physical has been