An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England Part 15

*90. Socialism.*--All of these changes are departures from the purely compet.i.tive ideal of society. Together they const.i.tute a distinct movement toward a quite different ideal of society--that which is described as socialistic. Socialism in this sense means the adoption of measures directed to the general advantage, even though they diminish individual freedom and restrict enterprise. It is the tendency to consider the general good first, and to limit individual rights or introduce collective action wherever this will subserve the general good.

Socialism thus understood, the process of limiting private action and introducing public control, has gone very far, as has been seen in this and the preceding chapter. How far it is destined to extend, to what fields of industry collective action is to be applied, and which fields are to be left to individual action can only be seen as time goes on. Many further changes in the same direction have been advocated in Parliament and other public bodies in recent years and failed of being agreed to by very small majorities only. It seems almost certain from the progress of opinion that further socialistic measures will be adopted within the near future. The views of those who approve this socialistic tendency and would extend it still further are well indicated in the following expressions used in the minority report of the Royal Commission on Labor of 1895. "The whole force of democratic statesmanship must, in our opinion, henceforth be directed to the subst.i.tution as fast as possible of public for capitalist enterprise, and where the subst.i.tution is not yet practicable, to the strict and detailed regulation of all industrial operations so as to secure to every worker the conditions of efficient citizenship."

There is a somewhat different use of the word socialism, according to which it means the deliberate adoption of such an organization of society as will rid it of compet.i.tion altogether. This is a complete social and philosophic ideal, involving the consistent reorganization of all society, and is very different from the mere socialistic tendency described above. In the early part of the century, Robert Owen developed a philosophy which led him to labor for the introduction of communities in which compet.i.tion should be entirely superseded by joint action. He had many adherents then, and others since have held similar views. There has, indeed, been a series of more or less short-lived attempts to found societies or communities on this socialistic basis. Apart from these efforts, however, socialism in this sense belongs to the history of thought or philosophic speculation, not of actual economic and social development. Professed socialists, represented by the Fabyan Society, the Socialist League, the Social Democratic Federation, and other bodies, are engaged in the spread of socialistic doctrines and the encouragement of all movements of a.s.sociative, anti-individualistic character rather than in efforts to introduce immediate practical socialism.

*91. BIBLIOGRAPHY*

Webb, Sidney and Beatrice: _The History of Trade Unionism_. This excellent history contains, as an Appendix, an extremely detailed bibliography on its own subject and others closely allied to it.

Howell, George: _Conflicts of Labor and Capital_.

Rousiers, P. de: _The Labour Question in Britain_.

Holyoake, G. I.: _History of Cooperation_, two volumes. This is the cla.s.sical work on the subject, but its plan is so confused, its style so turgid, and its information so scattered, that, however amusing it may be, it is more interesting and valuable as a history of the period than as a clear account of the movement for which it is named. Mr.

Holyoake has written two other books on the same subject: _A History of the Rochdale Pioneers_ and _The Cooperative Movement of To-day_.

Pizzamiglio, L.: _Distributing Cooperative Societies_.

Jones, Benjamin: _Cooperative Production_.

Gilman, N. P.: _Profit Sharing between Employer and Employee_; and _A Dividend to Labor_.

Webb, Sidney and Beatrice: _Problems of Modern Industry_.

Verhaegen, P.: _Socialistes Anglais_.

A series of small modern volumes known as the Social Science Series, most of which deal with various phases of the subject of this chapter, is published by Swan, Sonnenschein and Co., London, and the list of its eighty or more numbers gives a characteristic view of recent writing on the subject, as well as further references.