The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-01-03
HOOVER BODY
MAKES REPORT
Admits New Attack on
Toilers in 1888

CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE
antagonism with the existing pro-
duction relationship, or with the
property relationships within which
they have hitherto developed. From
being forms of productive forces they
are transformed into letters on those
forces. There follows the period of
social revolution. With the change
of BASES there occurs a tranSforma-
ton in all the enormous superstruc-
ture also"
This is the explanation of the ad-
vocacy of the speeding up of social
invention" that is, sops to workers,
and of the term grave maladjust-
ments" which the compilers of the
Hoover Committee report say are
certain to result"
No Real Answer
The political purpose of this re-
port is first of all to answer the
ever growing number of middle class
critics of American capitalism who
declare that it does not try to plan
production and distribution; to an
swer the increasing number of un-
favorable comparisons with the plan
ned economy Of the socialist system
of the Soviet Union; second, to show
that American capitalism is not only
trying to plan but that it can plan
and in this way solve the crisis,
once again restore prosperity and a
measure of economic security to the
masses of the toiling population,
while at the same time maintaining
profits.
Two Props Weakened
In this respect the report is COM
plete failure. 1t fails to erase the
question mark that not only the
working class, but an increasing
number of middle class sections of
the population have placed before
the doorsteps of Wall Street and all
1t represents.
The effect of the rapid industrial
ization of America upon those two
great props Of capitalist society, 'the
church and the home" the revolu
tionizing effect of the change of the
principal base of American economy
from agriculture to industry is adj
mited in the following extracts from
the report:
"Of the great social organizations,
two, the economic and the governtal,
are growing at a rapid rate, while two
other historic organizations, the
church and the family, have declined
in social significance many of the
economic functions of the family
have been transferred to the factory;
its educational functions to the
school; is supervision over santa
ton and pure food to the govern
ment."
1.-THE spiritual values of life are
among the most profound of those
affected by developments in techno-
logy and organization. They are the
slowest in changing to meet altered
conditions"
Modern civilization rests upon
power, upone nergy derived from
inorganic rather than human or an
imal sources"
Here again, in technical language
Is the admission of the growing weak
ness of the grip of capitalist culture
upon the toiling section Of the popu-
lation.
But the report, which, by the way
is not accompanied by direct recon-
mendationS, fails even to answer
criticisms made as long as two years
ago by capitalist writers such as Pro-
fessor Bonn, the German economist
In February, 1881, Professor Bonn
wrote in the Neue RundSchau:
millions of unemployed, hun
.dreds of thousands of ruined lives,
suffering In America under the
blows of the crisis; they no longer
grumble against individual economic
leaders who failed to prevent the
crisis, they are beginning to doubt
the very system which has made
the crisis possible.
Capitalism and the capitalist
economic system hitherto appeared
to the average American TO be the
reasonable form of existence. These
forces had built up the greatness Of
his country In the past, and afford
ed the opportunities of existence
to his predecessors. He expected
from them the possibilities Of
reasonable existence along the
same road"
This the system can no longer
yield. And in thousands of hearts
and brains the question arises: has
the capitalist system any right TO
exist, If in one Of the richest coun-
tries Of the world IL cannot bring
an order of society securing to
relatively sparse, industries and
capable population, an existence
that is consistent with the require
ments, and with the development
Of modern technique, without peri
cdically throwing millions Of people
! ont Of work and dAmulng them to