Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1905-11-01
What Is Socialism
BIZ John c. Kennedy, IN New York Worker.

third the tendency modern industry towards organ
iZation and concentration.
The substance of maeriaistc conception of history
may be briefly stated follows:
In given epoch the social pocal, and moral super
structure society is determined by its economic basis Ow
ing inventions and improvements in the productive
the economic basis of society continually changing
This change the economic basis necessate in turn
further changes in the social political and moral super
structure society 1t should be noted however that the
superstructure of industrial epoch sometimes survives
and reaches into another industrial epoch thus acting
clog social progress, ana necessltang Tor s over
throw a revolution
BY this Interpretation of history nteIIgently
plain the evolution of society through the various stages of
savagery barbarism and civilization BY this Interpretation
alone account for the successive OF slavery
serfdom and the wage system If accept the maeriaisc
conception of history is easy understand the different
political organizations and social relations that have prevailed
stages Of society It is likewise easy to understand and ex
plain the great changes in moral ideas during the course OF
propounded and Engels, remain in the dark
to the underlying of social change and progress
The maerastc conception of history then the first fund
amenta principle of socialism.
Next let us consider the class struggle Its is
this:
been property holding class and propertess class In
the struggle for existence the property holders have had
of the propertess class and Hence find III
every epoch class struggle based economic interests
This struggle has been or less keen accordingly as the
economic interests of the classes have been less
posed and the participants or less intelligent Slave has
rebeled against erf turned against euda lord and
the wage worker fights the capitalist In such the in
dvduas belonging to class have common economic IN
erest which opposed to those OF the other class hence
But we know not only that there have been and continue
to struggles We know also which classes have been
and which will be the vcors in these struggles In every epoch
the dominant class has always been the which owned and
controlled the essential means OF production and Distribution
I'm slavery it the master who owned the estate
atifda In the of feudalsm was the feuda lord
who owned the land In the age of capitalism is the cap
taist and landlord who the land mines mills factories
and railroads. which the essential means of production and
distribution
We know also that there has always been redency for
the class which useful society to dsodge the ruling
class and control of the means OF production and dsr
To-day the class struggle is sharper and clearly
defined than before and the participants intelligent
and awake to their material interests The ruling, cap
taist GLASS; is longer socially its funons
are being performed by hired workers From man
ual aborer superintendent find that it is the hired
employee today performing the socially useful labor
Hence the working class the only useful class ano
as il by far the most numerous class, hold that it viii
inevitably get of the of production and dsr
button and become the ruling class of society But in becoming
struggles forever there is other class beneath tho
This is the doctrine of the class struggle and can easily
be proved by a reference to history.
Finally Socialism points out the constant tendency in
modern capastic industry toward organization and central
capitalist economists foreseen and foretod by Soca
writer's fifty years AS generally known the railroads
steel OIL coal iron, sugar. meat leathern fact all the great
industries rapidly passing into the hands OF ew power
full nancers The department stores and the cham stores
such those of the United Cigar Stores Company the Regal
Douglas and Waldorf shoe companies on the one hand ano
the mail order houses such Montgomery Ward Co.. Sears
ROebucK
dependent dealers the wall Moreover several large
featuring concerns such the Lakn Soap Co., eminat
ing the middeman altogether and dealing directly will
the
If YOU would verify the Socialists contention that in
dusry organized and concentrated into the hands
few you need but look about the world OF bust
These then are the three fundamentals of Socialism; thu
materastc conception of istory the class struggle ant
modern industrial concentration
What is the relation of these fundamental doctrines t.
each other? according to the materasc con
cepon of history that when there change in the
basis of society expect corresponding change in h
political and social supersrucure We have seen further
more that the concentration and organization of modern IN
dusry made wonderful change in the economic basis