Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1890-02-01
An Open Letter to PentecOst,

An Upen Lelter 10 rem Jec0St.
MOST NOBLE SIR venture to ask
you few questions. Is not cooperative
production advantageous to every in
dividual producer? Must not the labor.
ers cooperate because of the very ma
ture of the present means of produc-
ton ? Is not cooperation necessary, the
inevitable result of the deve lopmeDt of
society, of human progress ? Yourself
admit that only foolish men would not
cooperate. Are you then pleading the
cause of fools? According to your
statement this cause is the very essence
of Anarchy. Does it not necessarily
follow that your Anarchism is theory
of the interests of the foolS-a foolish
theory whereas Socialism, as opposed
to Anarchism, is theory of the inter.
ests of sensible men--a sensi bile theory?
Again, are the laborers traders? Ger
tainly not. Are not the trad ers capital
lists? Unquestionably they are. And
are the interests of the Capitalists op.
posed to those of the laborers ? Undls
putably. And since you defend the
liberty" of traders, does it not neces.
sarily follow that you are pleading the
cause of the capitalists, not of the labor
ORG as Won imaoinpP
Which system is more NOBLE" do you
exclaim triumphantly after grinding
Socialism into dust in the powerful
windmill of your logic, can archsm or
Socialism?!" But, most no bic sir we
poor laborers are not mobile men," we
know little of such knghtly matters as
"nobleness." We understan q and are
ANXIOUS to know only what is useful
and inevitable. "Nobleness' and such like
subtle entities we leave to nobemen-
and Anarchists.
wv hicn system is more worth sriv.
ing for" you ask. Whose goods are
better and of more WORTH exclaims
Mr.. Snuh, the storekeeper, ''mine, Or
Mr.. Rub's?" Arr systems "A kind of
fancy goods to select from
By the way, Is Socialism a system of
co operation by physical force as you
defined it, or is it, as Spies defined it,
"a resume of the phenomena Of the
social life past and present traced to
their fundamental causes, and brought
into logical connection with one an.
other;' an economical science of the
laws which govern the development of
capitalistic production from its very
origin up to the SocializatIo on of the
means OF production by the universal
association of cooperating Iaborers as
the necessary, ineritdble result of this
Development Dou you not confound
necessity with pulsion-a blunder
generally committed by those who be-
lieve in free Wilt"
"Anarchism believes you say. Is
your Anarchism also sect or religion
But as to Socialism, beg your pardon,
sir, you are greatly mistaken, when you
assert that it too implies belief. Social.
ism, sir. is not belief. 1t is science.
The Socialist does not conclude from an
If" as you do. He knou-s that the
s0cialistic society must come, and is as
sure of 1t as you are that the next year
must come.
Hear what Spies, whose name is com.
monty associated with the idea Of an
arcby, had To say of Socialism,:
The necessity of common o SSnershipin
the means of toll iciH be reach ed, and the
era of Socialism, of universal co operation
will then begin. The dlspossesslng of
the usurping classes-the specialization
of their possessi0ns-and the universal
cooperation of toll, not for speculative