Enterprise news-record. [volume] (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1910-1911, 1911-03-22
THE CLASS STRUGGLE.


BY courtesy of the chairman of the
Committee, acting on the suggestion
Of Prof. Walter Rauschenbusch, we
are privileged to present our readers
with the clear-cut, scientific, Socialist
report of the Committee on Social
Service to the Indiana Baptist Conyen-
tion with reference to the Class Strug
gle.
That part of the Report which we
quote is frankly and correctly, headed
The Class Struggle, and proceeds as
follows
The Class Struggle.
Christianity proposes for all human
beings, and aims to create in them,
the best life of which they are individ-
ually capable. 1t prescribes as a nor
NAL standard of living for every indi-
vidual such conditions as will, to the
utmost degree, promote the pest life.
A christian civilization Isl that in which
the whole power of society is exerted
establish and maintain normal stan
dard of living for all equally.
In Christian ethics, all members of
society are equally bound, to the limit
of their ability, to do such useful la
Dor as may be necessary in order to
maintain a normal standard of living
and to promote the best life equally
for all All of those who so labor
constitute the worlds working class.
All who cannot SO labor as to earn
normal living constitute the worlds
dependent class. All who can but do
not so labor, but who, by force fraud,
special privilege or social maladjust-
ment, appropriate to their own use,
the benefit of others toll, constitute the
worlds shirking, parasitical, predatory
exploiting, thieving, robbing, or plund-
ering class. The lines of division sep
arating these several classes are not
always perfectly distinct. A person or
pursuit may be partly useful and
partly parasitical. A person may work
hard at a useless or injurious bust
ness. There may be bad economy
and waste in the management of a
business intrinsically good. Some
times the character of business,
whether good or bad, may not be clear
| ly obvious. But broadly, and for the
purpose of economic and moral analy-
sis, society is composed of these
three classes: PRODUCERS, PLUM
DERERS AND PENSIONERS.
Between the working class and the
predatory class there is ceaseless
conflict of interest or effort The
plunderers evermore seek, to enrich
themselves at the expense of the work
ers; and the workers, so far as they
know and have power, resist spolia-
ton Sometimes, incidentally, faction
al divisions and strife arise within
each of these classes, arraying work
ingmen against workingmen or exploit
ers against exploiters. But between
the workers and the exploiters, as
economic classes into which society
as a whole is divided, the conflict
of interest and effort is fundamental,
worldwide and constant.
In this struggle, each class seeks
to utilize the powers of organization
and of social control, economic and
political. The results of this struggle
for social control are, first, to create
a servile class and a master class; and
secondly to create or intensity a vast
brood of evils, such as slavery, peon-
age, oppression, war, political cor
ruption, poverty, misery, disease, vice,
crime, inhumanlty, ignorance and brut-
ality.
In order to eliminate these evils,
society must eliminate the class strug-
gle out of which they spring. But this
can be done only by the emancipation
conservation, education and socializa-
tion of the working class as a whole;
by the eradication of the exploiting
class in all of its forms, and by the
adequate protection and support of
the helpless class. To do these
things is the task of the working
class.
In relation to that task, the true
functions of the church are to make
common cause with the working class
as whole, as its advocate, inspirer,
and moral guide; to hold up the ideal
of a Christian civilization as the
true goal of industrial organization; /;
and to promote amongst the workers
intelligent concert of action both
economic and political. for their de
nomination, and we propose them as
a basis for future action.
General Social Service.
We would call special attention to
the new reading course on social ser
vice for pastors common welfare and
for the adequate care of the helpless.
| We believe these principles to be in
harmony with the history and prin-
,ciples of the Baptist and other Chris
tian workers prepared under the joint
auspices of the Social Service Commit
tee of the Northern Baptist Conyen-
tion and of the American Baptist