Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1912-06-13
THE REAL SOCIALISM.
Editor News:

Editor News:
Continuing our examination of MIR.
Brannan's article in your issue of May
18th. we arrive at his definition of So
cialism. His first statement is that the
Ethics of socialism and the ethics of
Christianity are identical. Are they
indeed! Mr.. Brannan says so, but
that does not make them so and | af-
firm just as strongly that not only are
they not Identical but in one point at
least and that is sufficient to prove
my statement-they are contradictory.
This one point is the question of indi-
vidual ownership of property and the
means of production aud distribution.
Socialism, according to Mr.. Brannan
himself, would deprive the individual
of his right to own any property be-
yond his own immediate need, or to
own the means of production, or to
have the disposal of products. 1t
would take away from the farmers any
surplus acres they may have; it would
put the mill owners out of their own
mills anu forbid them to own them; it
would refuse to allow men to dispose
of what they had produced. That is
to say, socialism, according to its own
advocates, will rob men of rights they
have had since the rae began-rights
which are inherent in human nature.
Such is a specimen of socialist ethics.
Neither Christ, the founder of the
Christian religion, nor Christianity
itself III the nineteen hundred years of
is ex istence, ever made a proposition
like that. On the contrary, it has al
ways defended the right of individual
ownership. MI. Brannan will proba-
bly, say that in taking away these
rights from men. socialism is merely
taking what they have usurped-that
it is simply, as socialists say, ''expro-
priating the expropriators," but Mr..
Brannan would have a very difficult
task to show how a man who owns,
say two or three hundred acres of
land, which he has bought and paid
for at the price asked, is an %expropria-
tor, or again, how a man who owns a
cotton mill is guilty of theft. But ev-
EN- supposing he could; suppOsing So
cialism's plan is really simply robbing
from a robber, when did two wrongs
ever make a right When did two
acts of injustice aver make justice.
Such a thing may be socialist ethics,
but it is not Christian ethics. So here
in a fundamental demand of social
ism, we find its ethics not only not
identical but contradictory of Christ
ian ethics; it begins with an act of in
justice.
Mr.. Brannan continues: "In gener.
al it SOCIALISM, may be described as
that movement which seeks by econ
omic changes to destroy the existing
inequalities of the worlds socialist
(he probably intended ''sociological')
conditions" Beautiful, is it not
Very inspiring, indeed If it were not
for the initial injustice with which it
is to start on this movement, we might
all become socialists on such a plat
form. Mr.. Brannan may think, and
doubtless does, that in giving that de-
scription of socialism he is defining it.
But he is mistaken. He has defined
only part of socialism-tbe econ
omic feature. There is another and a
very important part of socialism, to
which Mr.. Brannan has not alluded
in his definition, namely it's philoso-
ply. l have long suspected, and from
Mr.. Brannan's definition am now con-
WINGED that he doesn't know what So
cialism really means. He has absorb
cu SOLlo bOOIhllSblC flOWb Ou NO
ownership and rents and seems to
think that these views constitute So
But they are far from doing
so. They constitute Mr.. Brannan's
idea of socialism and may most prop
be designated by the term
"Brannanism," using the word in no
derogatory sense, but simply to desig-
nate Mr. Brannan's brand of social
ism. Brannanism and socialism,
alike in some particulars, are
not identical, at least so far as he has
given US his views. Now, Mr.. Bran
nan is perfectly welcome to have his
own views of what socialism is, but he
Is mistaken if be thinks he can sub
his views for socialism itself.
has now been before the
too long, it is too well defined,
for anybody who has studied it to con
it with Brannanism. The only
socialism that is really socialism is
that known variously as International
Scientific Socialism, and
MARKHAM Socialism. This is the so.
of the American Socialist par
ty and the socialist parties of other
countries. As Morris Hillquit, Ma
tional committeeman of the American
Socialist Party, says: "The Interna-
tional Socialist movement with its
million adherents at a consei "a
tive estimate. and its organized par
ties in twenty-five civilized countries
IN both hemispheres, is all based on
same MARKHAM program, and fol-
.ows Substantially the same methods
If propaganda and action. The di-
yerSe aociHlism Outaide the Orpanized
movement are represented by small
of social and political diet
antes toying with the problems of the
Universe and exercising no influence
whatsoever on the course of the Inter
rational Socialist movement" Ac-
to- Mr.. Hillquit, who it seems
to know since he is on the Ma
ional committee of the socialist party,