296 lines
17 KiB
Markdown
296 lines
17 KiB
Markdown
---
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created_at: '2011-03-11T23:42:21.000Z'
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title: 'Albert Einstein: Why Socialism? (1949)'
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url: http://monthlyreview.org/598einstein.php
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author: niels_olson
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points: 49
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story_text: ''
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comment_text:
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num_comments: 44
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story_id:
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story_title:
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story_url:
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parent_id:
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created_at_i: 1299886941
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_tags:
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- story
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- author_niels_olson
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- story_2315391
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objectID: '2315391'
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---
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Albert Einstein is the world-famous physicist. This article was
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originally published in the first issue of Monthly Review (May 1949). It
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was subsequently published in May 1998 to commemorate the first issue of
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MR‘s fiftieth year.
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—The Editors
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Is it advisable for one who is not an expert on economic and social
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issues to express views on the subject of socialism? I believe for a
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number of reasons that it is.
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Let us first consider the question from the point of view of scientific
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knowledge. It might appear that there are no essential methodological
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differences between astronomy and economics: scientists in both fields
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attempt to discover laws of general acceptability for a circumscribed
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group of phenomena in order to make the interconnection of these
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phenomena as clearly understandable as possible. But in reality such
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methodological differences do exist. The discovery of general laws in
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the field of economics is made difficult by the circumstance that
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observed economic phenomena are often affected by many factors which are
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very hard to evaluate separately. In addition, the experience which has
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accumulated since the beginning of the so-called civilized period of
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human history has—as is well known—been largely influenced and limited
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by causes which are by no means exclusively economic in nature. For
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example, most of the major states of history owed their existence to
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conquest. The conquering peoples established themselves, legally and
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economically, as the privileged class of the conquered country. They
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seized for themselves a monopoly of the land ownership and appointed a
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priesthood from among their own ranks. The priests, in control of
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education, made the class division of society into a permanent
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institution and created a system of values by which the people were
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thenceforth, to a large extent unconsciously, guided in their social
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behavior.
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But historic tradition is, so to speak, of yesterday; nowhere have we
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really overcome what Thorstein Veblen called “the predatory phase” of
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human development. The observable economic facts belong to that phase
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and even such laws as we can derive from them are not applicable to
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other phases. Since the real purpose of socialism is precisely to
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overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development,
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economic science in its present state can throw little light on the
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socialist society of the future.
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Second, socialism is directed towards a social-ethical end. Science,
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however, cannot create ends and, even less, instill them in human
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beings; science, at most, can supply the means by which to attain
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certain ends. But the ends themselves are conceived by personalities
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with lofty ethical ideals and—if these ends are not stillborn, but vital
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and vigorous—are adopted and carried forward by those many human beings
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who, half unconsciously, determine the slow evolution of society.
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For these reasons, we should be on our guard not to overestimate science
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and scientific methods when it is a question of human problems; and we
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should not assume that experts are the only ones who have a right to
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express themselves on questions affecting the organization of society.
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Innumerable voices have been asserting for some time now that human
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society is passing through a crisis, that its stability has been gravely
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shattered. It is characteristic of such a situation that individuals
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feel indifferent or even hostile toward the group, small or large, to
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which they belong. In order to illustrate my meaning, let me record here
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a personal experience. I recently discussed with an intelligent and
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well-disposed man the threat of another war, which in my opinion would
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seriously endanger the existence of mankind, and I remarked that only a
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supra-national organization would offer protection from that danger.
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Thereupon my visitor, very calmly and coolly, said to me: “Why are you
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so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?”
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I am sure that as little as a century ago no one would have so lightly
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made a statement of this kind. It is the statement of a man who has
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striven in vain to attain an equilibrium within himself and has more or
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less lost hope of succeeding. It is the expression of a painful solitude
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and isolation from which so many people are suffering in these days.
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What is the cause? Is there a way out?
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It is easy to raise such questions, but difficult to answer them with
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any degree of assurance. I must try, however, as best I can, although I
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am very conscious of the fact that our feelings and strivings are often
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contradictory and obscure and that they cannot be expressed in easy and
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simple formulas.
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Man is, at one and the same time, a solitary being and a social being.
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As a solitary being, he attempts to protect his own existence and that
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of those who are closest to him, to satisfy his personal desires, and to
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develop his innate abilities. As a social being, he seeks to gain the
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recognition and affection of his fellow human beings, to share in their
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pleasures, to comfort them in their sorrows, and to improve their
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conditions of life. Only the existence of these varied, frequently
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conflicting, strivings accounts for the special character of a man, and
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their specific combination determines the extent to which an individual
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can achieve an inner equilibrium and can contribute to the well-being of
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society. It is quite possible that the relative strength of these two
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drives is, in the main, fixed by inheritance. But the personality that
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finally emerges is largely formed by the environment in which a man
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happens to find himself during his development, by the structure of the
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society in which he grows up, by the tradition of that society, and by
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its appraisal of particular types of behavior. The abstract concept
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“society” means to the individual human being the sum total of his
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direct and indirect relations to his contemporaries and to all the
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people of earlier generations. The individual is able to think, feel,
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strive, and work by himself; but he depends so much upon society—in his
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physical, intellectual, and emotional existence—that it is impossible to
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think of him, or to understand him, outside the framework of society. It
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is “society” which provides man with food, clothing, a home, the tools
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of work, language, the forms of thought, and most of the content of
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thought; his life is made possible through the labor and the
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accomplishments of the many millions past and present who are all hidden
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behind the small word “society.”
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It is evident, therefore, that the dependence of the individual upon
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society is a fact of nature which cannot be abolished—just as in the
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case of ants and bees. However, while the whole life process of ants and
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bees is fixed down to the smallest detail by rigid, hereditary
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instincts, the social pattern and interrelationships of human beings are
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very variable and susceptible to change. Memory, the capacity to make
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new combinations, the gift of oral communication have made possible
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developments among human being which are not dictated by biological
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necessities. Such developments manifest themselves in traditions,
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institutions, and organizations; in literature; in scientific and
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engineering accomplishments; in works of art. This explains how it
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happens that, in a certain sense, man can influence his life through his
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own conduct, and that in this process conscious thinking and wanting can
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play a part.
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Man acquires at birth, through heredity, a biological constitution which
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we must consider fixed and unalterable, including the natural urges
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which are characteristic of the human species. In addition, during his
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lifetime, he acquires a cultural constitution which he adopts from
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society through communication and through many other types of
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influences. It is this cultural constitution which, with the passage of
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time, is subject to change and which determines to a very large extent
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the relationship between the individual and society. Modern anthropology
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has taught us, through comparative investigation of so-called primitive
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cultures, that the social behavior of human beings may differ greatly,
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depending upon prevailing cultural patterns and the types of
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organization which predominate in society. It is on this that those who
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are striving to improve the lot of man may ground their hopes: human
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beings are not condemned, because of their biological constitution, to
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annihilate each other or to be at the mercy of a cruel, self-inflicted
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fate.
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If we ask ourselves how the structure of society and the cultural
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attitude of man should be changed in order to make human life as
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satisfying as possible, we should constantly be conscious of the fact
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that there are certain conditions which we are unable to modify. As
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mentioned before, the biological nature of man is, for all practical
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purposes, not subject to change. Furthermore, technological and
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demographic developments of the last few centuries have created
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conditions which are here to stay. In relatively densely settled
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populations with the goods which are indispensable to their continued
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existence, an extreme division of labor and a highly-centralized
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productive apparatus are absolutely necessary. The time—which, looking
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back, seems so idyllic—is gone forever when individuals or relatively
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small groups could be completely self-sufficient. It is only a slight
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exaggeration to say that mankind constitutes even now a planetary
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community of production and consumption.
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I have now reached the point where I may indicate briefly what to me
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constitutes the essence of the crisis of our time. It concerns the
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relationship of the individual to society. The individual has become
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more conscious than ever of his dependence upon society. But he does not
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experience this dependence as a positive asset, as an organic tie, as a
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protective force, but rather as a threat to his natural rights, or even
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to his economic existence. Moreover, his position in society is such
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that the egotistical drives of his make-up are constantly being
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accentuated, while his social drives, which are by nature weaker,
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progressively deteriorate. All human beings, whatever their position in
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society, are suffering from this process of deterioration. Unknowingly
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prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived
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of the naive, simple, and unsophisticated enjoyment of life. Man can
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find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting
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himself to society.
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The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my
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opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community
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of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive
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each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on
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the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules. In this
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respect, it is important to realize that the means of production—that is
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to say, the entire productive capacity that is needed for producing
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consumer goods as well as additional capital goods—may legally be, and
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for the most part are, the private property of individuals.
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For the sake of simplicity, in the discussion that follows I shall call
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“workers” all those who do not share in the ownership of the means of
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production—although this does not quite correspond to the customary use
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of the term. The owner of the means of production is in a position to
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purchase the labor power of the worker. By using the means of
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production, the worker produces new goods which become the property of
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the capitalist. The essential point about this process is the relation
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between what the worker produces and what he is paid, both measured in
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terms of real value. Insofar as the labor contract is “free,” what the
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worker receives is determined not by the real value of the goods he
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produces, but by his minimum needs and by the capitalists’ requirements
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for labor power in relation to the number of workers competing for jobs.
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It is important to understand that even in theory the payment of the
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worker is not determined by the value of his product.
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Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly
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because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because
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technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage
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the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller
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ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private
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capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even
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by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the
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members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely
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financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all
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practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The
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consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact
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sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of
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the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists
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inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of
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information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult,
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and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to
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come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his
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political rights.
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The situation prevailing in an economy based on the private ownership of
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capital is thus characterized by two main principles: first, means of
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production (capital) are privately owned and the owners dispose of them
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as they see fit; second, the labor contract is free. Of course, there is
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no such thing as a pure capitalist society in this sense. In particular,
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it should be noted that the workers, through long and bitter political
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struggles, have succeeded in securing a somewhat improved form of the
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“free labor contract” for certain categories of workers. But taken as
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a whole, the present day economy does not differ much from “pure”
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capitalism.
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Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision
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that all those able and willing to work will always be in a position to
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find employment; an “army of unemployed” almost always exists. The
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worker is constantly in fear of losing his job. Since unemployed and
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poorly paid workers do not provide a profitable market, the production
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of consumers’ goods is restricted, and great hardship is the
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consequence. Technological progress frequently results in more
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unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all. The
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profit motive, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, is
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responsible for an instability in the accumulation and utilization of
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capital which leads to increasingly severe depressions. Unlimited
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competition leads to a huge waste of labor, and to that crippling of the
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social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before.
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This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism.
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Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated
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competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to
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worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future career.
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I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils,
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namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by
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an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals. In
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such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and
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are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts
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production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to
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be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to
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every man, woman, and child. The education of the individual, in
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addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop
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in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men in place of the
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glorification of power and success in our present society.
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Nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that a planned economy is not
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yet socialism. A planned economy as such may be accompanied by the
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complete enslavement of the individual. The achievement of socialism
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requires the solution of some extremely difficult socio-political
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problems: how is it possible, in view of the far-reaching centralization
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of political and economic power, to prevent bureaucracy from becoming
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all-powerful and overweening? How can the rights of the individual be
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protected and therewith a democratic counterweight to the power of
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bureaucracy be assured?
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Clarity about the aims and problems of socialism is of greatest
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significance in our age of transition. Since, under present
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circumstances, free and unhindered discussion of these problems has come
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under a powerful taboo, I consider the foundation of this magazine to be
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an important public service.
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