Discussions in economics and statistics; by Walker Francis Amasa 1840-1897

Author:Walker, Francis Amasa, 1840-1897
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Bellamy, Edward, 1850-1898, Böhm-Bawerk, Eugen von, 1851-1914, Cairnes, John Elliott, 1823-1875, Economics, United States -- Finance and taxation, United States -- Economic conditions, United States -- Statistics
Publisher: New York, Holt
Published: 1899-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

In this sense the advocacy of a socialistic act or measure will not necessarily characterize a Socialist. Socialism will mean, not one, but many things socialistic. Thus, for example, protection is socialistic. Yet the protectionist is not, as such, a Socialist. Most protectionists are not Socialists. Many protectionists are, in their general views, as anti-socialistic as men can well be.

The Socialist, under this definition, would be the man who, in general, distrusts the effects of individual initiative and individual enterprise ; who is easily convinced of the utility of an assumption, by the state, of functions which have hitherto been left to personal choices and personal aims; and who, in fact, supports and advocates many and large schemes of this character.

A man of whom all this could be said might, in strict justice, be termed a Socialist. The extreme Socialist is he who would make the state all in all, individual initiative and enterprise disappearing in that engrossing democracy of labor to which he aspires. In his view, the powers and rights of the state represent the sum of all the powers and all the rights of the individuals who compose it ; and government becomes the organ of society in respect to all its interests and all its acts. So much for the Socialist.

Socialism, under our definition, would be a term properly to be applied (1) to the aggregate of many and large schemes of this nature, actually urged for present or early adoption ; or (2) to a programme contemplated, at whatever distance, for the gradual replacement of private by public activity ; or (3) to an observed movement or tendency, of a highly marked character, in the direction indicated.

Such would be the significance properly to be attributed to the terms Socialist and Socialism, consistently with the definition proposed to be given to the word " socialistic," viz., that which causes government functions to transcend the line of the strictly police powers.

Even this line is not to be drawn with exactitude and assurance, though it is much more plain to view than either of the other two lines which, we said, might be taken for the purposes of the present discussion. The police powers em-

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