The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-01-01

to you, Mr.. Stain, for agreeing to
see me. was in the United States
recently. I had long conversation
with President Roosevelt and tried
to ascertain what his leading ideas
we're. Now I have come to you to
ask you what you are doing to
change the world.
STAIN: Not so very much. {.
WELLS: I wander around the
world as a common man and as
common man observe what is
going on around me.
STAIN: Important public men
like yourself are not common men"
OF course, history alone can show
how important this or that public
man has been; at all events you
do not look at the world as a com
mon man"
WELLS: I am not pretending
humility. What I mean is that
try to see the world through the
eyes of the common man and not
as a party politician or respon-
sible administrator My visit to the
United States excited my mind. The
old financial world is collapsing; the
economic life of the country is being
reorganized on new lines. Lenin
said: I'VE must learn to do bust
ness learn this from the capital
lists. Today the capitalists have to
learn from you, to grasp the spirit
Of socialism.
1t seems to me that what Is taking
place in the United States is a
profound reorganization, the crea-
ton of planned, that is, socialist
economy. You and Roosevelt begin
from two different starting points.
But is there not relation in ideas
kinship OF ideas, between WASH
ington and Moscow? In Washing
ton I was struck by the same thing
see going on here; they are build
ing offices, they are creating num-
Der Of new state regulation bodies,
they are organizing a long needed
Civil Service. Their need, like yours,
is directive ability.
A Different Aim
STAIN: The United States is
pursuing a different aim from that
which we are pursuing in the
U.S.S.R. The aim which the Amer
leans are pursuing arose out of the
economic troubles, out of the eco
noniic crisis. The Americans want
to rid themselves of the crisis on
the basis of private capitalist ac-
tivity without changing the eco
nomic basis. They are trying to
reduce to a minimum the ruin, the
losses caused by the existing eco
nomic system. Here, however, as
you know, in place of the old de-
stroyed economic basis an entirely
different, new economic basis has
been created,
Even if the Americans you men,
ton partly achieve their aim, i.e.,
reduce these losses to minimum.
they will not destroy the roots of
the anarchy which is inherent in
the existing capitalist system. They
are preserving the economic system
which must inevitably lead, and
cannot but lead to anarchy in pro-
duction. Thus, at best, it will be
matter, not of reorganization of
society, not of abolishing the old
social system which gives rise to
anarchy and crises, but of restrict
ing certain of it's bad features, re-
stricting certain Of its excuses.
Subjectively, perhaps, these Amer
leans think they are recognizing
society; effectively, however, they
are preserving the present basis of
society. That is why, effectively.
there will be no reorganization of
society.
Planned Economy
Nor will there be planned econ
omy What is planned economy?
What are some of its attributes?
Planned economy tries to abolish
unemployment. Let us suppose it is
possible, while preserving the capt.
talist system, to reduce unemploy-
ment to certain minimum. But
surely, no capitalist would ever
agree to the complete abolition of
unemployment, to the abolition of
the reserve army OF unemployed,
the purpose of which is to bring
pressure on the labor market, to
insure a supply of cheap labor. Here
you have one of the rents in the
planned economy of bourgeois
society.
Furthermore, planned economy
presupposes increased output in
those branches of industry which
produce goods that the masses of