Socialism As It Is

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After Mr. Debs, Mr. Charles Edward Russell is now, perhaps, the most
trusted of American Socialists. His statement, made a few months later
(see the _International Socialist Review_ for March, 1912), reaches
identical conclusions. As it is made from the entirely independent
standpoint of the observations of a practical journalist as to political
methods, it strongly reenforces and supplements Mr. Debs's conclusions,
drawn chiefly from labor union experience. As I have already quoted Mr.
Russell at length in the previous chapter, a few paragraphs will give a
sufficient idea of this important declaration:--

"Let us suppose in this country," writes Mr. Russell, "a political
party with a program that proposes a great and radical
transformation of the existing system of society, and proposes it
upon lofty grounds of the highest welfare of mankind. Let us
suppose that it is based upon vital and enduring truth, and that
the success of its ideals would mean the emancipation of the race.

"If such a party should go into the dirty game of practical
politics, seeking success by compromise and bargain, striving to
put men into office, dealing for place and recognition, concerned
about the good opinion of its enemies, elated when men spoke well
of it, depressed by evil report, tacking and shifting, taking
advantage of a local issue here and of a temporary unrest there,
intent upon the goal of this office or that, it would inevitably
fall into the pit that has engulfed all other parties. Nothing on
earth could save it.

"But suppose a party that kept forever in full sight the ultimate
goal, and never once varied from it. Suppose that it strove to
increase its vote for this object and for none other.... Suppose it
regarded its vote as the index of its converts, and sought for such
votes and for none others. Suppose the entire body was convinced of
the party's full program, aims, and philosophy. Suppose that all
other men knew that this growing party was thus convinced and thus
determined, and that its growth menaced every day more and more the
existing structure of society, menaced it with overthrow and a new
structure. What then?

"Such a party would be the greatest political power that ever
existed in this or any other country. It would drive the other
parties before it like sand before a wind. They would be compelled
to adopt one after another the expedients of reform to head off the
increasing threat of this one party's progress towards the
revolutionary ideal. But this one party would have no more need to
waste its time upon palliative measures than it would have to soil
itself with the dirt of practical politics and the bargain counter.
The other parties would do all that and do it well. The one party
would be concerned with nothing but making converts to its
philosophy and preparing for the revolution that its steadfast
course would render inevitable. Such a party would represent the
highest possible efficiency in politics, the greatest force in the
State, and the ultimate triumph of its full philosophy would be
beyond question."

Thus we see that in America reformism is regarded as a dangerous
innovation, and that, before it had finished its second prosperous year,
it had been abjured by those who have the best claim to speak for the
American Party. Nevertheless it still persists and, indeed, continues
to develop rapidly--if less rapidly than the opposite, or revolutionary,
policy--and deserves the most careful consideration.

While "reformism" only became a practical issue in the American Party in
_1910_, it had its beginnings much earlier. The Milwaukee Socialists had
set on the "reformist" course even before the formation of the present
national party (in 1900). Even at this early time they had developed
what the other Socialists had sought to avoid, a "leader"--in the
person of Mr. Victor Berger. At first editor of the local German
Socialist organ, the _Vorwaerts_, then of the _Social-Democratic
Herald_, acknowledged leader at the time of the municipal victory in the
spring of 1910, and now the American Party's first member of Congress,
Mr. Berger has not merely been the Milwaukee organization's chief
spokesman, organizer, and candidate throughout this period, but he has
come to be the chief spokesman of the present reformist wing of the
American Party. His editorials and speeches as Congressman, and the
policies of the Milwaukee municipal administration, now so much in the
public eye, will afford a fairly correct idea of the main features both
of the Socialism that has so far prevailed in Milwaukee, and of American
"reformism" in general.

"Socialism is an epoch of human history which will no doubt last many
hundred years, possibly a thousand years," wrote Mr. Berger,
editorially, in 1910. "Certainly a movement whose aims are spread out
over a period like that need have no terrors for the most conservative,"
commented Senator La Follette, with perhaps justifiable humor.

If Socialism is to become positive, said Mr. Berger again, it must
"conduct the everyday fight for the practical revolution of every day."
Like the word "Socialism," Mr. Berger retains the word "revolution," but
practically it comes to mean much the same as its antithesis, everyday
reform.

It has been Mr. Berger's declared purpose from the beginning to turn the
Milwaukee Party aside from the tactics of the International movement to
those of the "revisionist" minority that has been so thoroughly crushed
at the German and International Congresses. (See Chapter VII.) "The
tactics of the American Socialist Party," he wrote editorially in 1901,
"if that party is to live and succeed--can only be the much abused and
much misunderstood Bernstein doctrine."

"In America for the first time in history," he added, "we find an
oppressed class with the same fundamental rights as the ruling
class--the right of universal suffrage...."[147]

It was the impression of many of the earlier German Socialists in this
country that political democracy already existed in America and that it
was only necessary to make use of it to establish a new social order.
The devices the framers of our Constitution employed to prevent such an
outcome, the widespread distribution of property, especially of farms,
disfranchisement in the South and elsewhere, etc., were all considered
as small matters compared to the difficulties Socialists faced in
Germany and other countries. Many have come more recently to recognize,
with Mr. Louis Boudin, that the movement "will have to learn that in
this country, as in Germany or other alien lands, the fight is on not
only for the use of its power by the working class, but for the
possession of real political power by the masses of the people." Neither
in this country nor in any other does the oppressed class have "the same
fundamental rights as the ruling class." In America the working class
have not even an approximately equal right to the ballot, because of
local property, literacy, residence, and other qualifications, as
alluded to in an earlier chapter, and it is at least doubtful whether
the workers are in a more favorable position here than elsewhere to gain
final and effective control of the government without physical
revolution (as Mr. Berger himself has admitted; see Chapter VI).

In explanation of what he meant by the Bernstein doctrine, Mr. Berger
wrote in 1902: "Others condemn every reform which is to precede the
'Great Revolution.' ... Nothing can be more absurd.... Progress is not
attained by simply waiting for a majority of people, for the general
reconstruction, for the promised hour of deliverance.... We wicked
'opportunists' want action.... We want to reconstruct society, and we
must go to work without delay, and work ceaselessly for the cooeperative
Commonwealth, the ideal of the future. But we want to change conditions
now. We stand for scientific Socialism."[148]

It is quite true that there was a Socialist Party in this country before
1900, a large part of which ridiculed every reform that can come before
the expected revolution, but these "Impossibilists" are now a dwindling
handful. Nearly every Socialist now advocates all progressive reforms,
but different views obtain as to which of these reforms do, and which
of them do not, properly come within the Socialists' sphere of action.

Mr. Berger's opinion is that the Socialists should take the lead in
practically all immediate reform activities, and belittles all other
reformers. No sooner had Senator La Follette appeared on the political
horizon in 1904 than Mr. Berger classed him with Mr. Bryan, as
"visionary."[149] And after Senator La Follette had become recognized as
perhaps the most effective radical the country has produced, Mr. Berger
still persisted in referring to him as "personally honest, but
politically dishonest," and was quoted as saying, with particular
reference to the Senator and his ideas of reform, and to the great
satisfaction of the reactionary press: "An insurgent is 60 per cent of
old disgruntled politician, 30 per cent clear hypocrisy, 9 per cent
nothing, and 1 per cent Socialism. Put in a bottle and shake well before
using and you will have a so-called 'progressive.'"[150]

Let us see how the Socialist platform in Wisconsin differs from that of
the insurgent Republicans and Democrats. It begins with the statement
that the movement aims at "better food, better houses, sufficient sleep,
more leisure, more education, and more culture." All progressive and
honest reform movements stand for all these things and, as I have shown,
promise gradually to get them. Under capitalism per capita wealth and
income are increased rapidly and the capitalists can well afford to
grant to the workers more and more of all the things mentioned, not out
of fear of Socialism, but to provide in the future for that steady
increase of industrial efficiency which is destined to be the greatest
source of future profits.

The platform goes on to state that "the final aim of the
Social-Democratic Party is the emancipation of the producers and the
abolition of the capitalist system" and describes the list of reforms it
proposes as "mere palliatives, capable of being carried out even under
present conditions." But it also suggests that these measures are in
part, though not all, Socialistic, whereas a careful comparison with the
Democratic and Republican platforms, especially the latter, shows that
they are practically all adopted by the capitalist parties (not only in
Wisconsin, but in States where the Socialists have no representation
whatever). If the Social-Democrats of Wisconsin demand more government
ownership and labor legislation, the Republicans are somewhat more
insistent on certain extensions of political democracy--as in the demand
for less partisan primaries.

The New York Socialist platform makes very similar demands to that of
Wisconsin, but precedes them by the long explanation (see Chapter VI) of
the Socialist view of the class struggle, which the Wisconsin platform
barely mentions, while containing declarations that might be interpreted
as contradicting it. _The Wisconsin idea is that a Socialist minority in
the nation has actual power to obtain reforms that will advance us
towards Socialism and that would not otherwise be obtained. The New York
idea is that a Socialist minority can have no other reforming power than
any honest reform minority, unless Socialism has actually won or is
about to win a majority._

The legislature of Wisconsin has doubtless gone somewhat faster than
those of other "progressive" States, on account of the presence of the
"Social-Democrats." It has passed the latters' resolutions, for example,
calling for the government ownership of coal mines and of such railroad,
telegraph, telephone, and express companies as pass into the hands of
receivers, and also to apply incomes from natural resources to old-age
pensions as well as other resolutions already mentioned. But an
inspection of the resolutions of the legislatures of other States where
there are no Socialist legislators and only a relatively small per cent
of Socialists shows action almost if not quite as radical. This and the
fact that a very radical tendency appeared in Wisconsin when Mr. La
Follette was governor and before Socialism had any apparent power in
that State, suggests that the influence of the latter has been entirely
secondary.

The _Social-Democratic Herald_ complains significantly, at a later date,
of "the cowardly and hypocritical Socialistic platforms of the two older
parties," while Mr. Berger was lately predicting that Senator La
Follette would be "told to get out" of the Republican Party. The
reformer who was so recently "retrogressive" had now become a rival in
reform. Mr. Berger, however, claims that he does not object when
reformers "steal the Socialist thunder." If both are striving after the
"immediately attainable," how indeed could there be any lasting
conflict, or serious difference of opinion? Or if there is to be any
difference at all between Socialists and "Insurgents," is it not clear
that the Socialists must reject, absolutely, Berger's principles, and
follow Bebel's advice (quoted below), _i.e. concentrate their attention
exclusively on "thunder" which the enemy will not and cannot steal_?

But perhaps an even more striking indication of the nature of Milwaukee
Socialism is shown by the very general welcome it has received among
capitalist organs of all parties, from the _Outlook, Collier's Weekly_,
the _Saturday Evening Post_, and the _American Magazine_, to the _New
York Journal_, the _New York World_, the _Chicago Tribune_, the
_Milwaukee Journal_, and other capitalist papers all over the country.
The _New York Journal_ stated editorially after the municipal election
of 1910, that won Milwaukee for the Socialists of the Berger School,
that the men of Milwaukee who have accumulated millions show no signs of
fear and that "before the election many of the biggest Milwaukee
business men (including at least two of the brewers) had expressed
themselves privately in admiration of Mr. Berger and his character _and
his purposes_." (My italics.)[151]

_La Follette's Weekly_ on this occasion quoted from an editorial of Mr.
Berger in which he had written: "We must show the people of Milwaukee
that the philosophy of international Socialism can be applied and will
be applied to the local situation, and that it can be applied with
advantage to any American city of the present day.... It is our duty to
give this city the best kind of an administration that _a modern city
can get under the present system, and the present laws_." (My italics.)
La Follette's repeats the phrase in italics and adds that this policy
contains "nothing to arouse fear on the part of the business interests
that is tangible enough to be felt or genuine enough to be contagious,"
that the people want "new blood in the city offices," "had confidence in
the Socialist candidates," and "are not afraid of a name."

I have mentioned Liebknecht's remark that the enemy's praise is a sign
of failure. Debs in this country is reported as saying, "When the
political or economic leaders of the wage worker are recommended for
their good sense and wise action by capitalists, it is proof that they
have become misleaders and cannot be trusted."

It may be imagined that the revolutionary Socialists have never approved
these tactics of Mr. Berger's and do so less to-day than ever. His
anti-immigration proposals were defeated by a large majority at the last
Socialist congress and some of the best-known Socialists and organs of
Socialist opinion have definitely repudiated his policy. Mr. J. G.
Phelps Stokes, formerly a member of the National Executive Committee,
declared publicly, after the Milwaukee victory of 1910, that the
Milwaukee Socialists "had compromised with capitalism" by their campaign
utterances, and in certain instances had acted as "mere reformers, not
as Socialists at all." It is not surprising that the anti-Socialist
reform press thereupon took up the cudgels in behalf of Mr. Berger,
including the _New York World_, the _Chicago Tribune_, and _Milwaukee
Journal_. The last-named paper very curiously claimed that, wherever
Socialists "have been intrusted with the powers of the government," they
have taken a similar course to that of Mr. Berger. This is that very
obvious truth of which I have spoken in preceding chapters, namely, that
when Socialists have allowed themselves to be saddled with the
responsibilities of some department or local branch of government,
_without having the sovereign power_ needed to apply _Socialist
principles_, they have frequently found themselves in an untenable
situation. The Socialists have been the first to recognize this, and for
this reason oppose any entrance of Socialists into capitalist
governments, _i.e._ their acceptance of minority positions in national
cabinets or councils of State. (See Chapters II, VI, and VII.)

Expressing the belief of the overwhelming majority of those who are
watching the progress of affairs in Milwaukee, the _Journal_ of that
city stated, "What they [the Socialists] are doing [in Milwaukee] is not
essentially Socialistic, though some of the reforms they propose are
Socialistic in tendency." This need not be taken to mean that the
Milwaukee reforms are supposed to tend to Socialism as Socialists in
general understand it, but rather to that capitalistic collectivism to
which Mr. Taft refers when he says that in the present regulation of the
railroads "we have gone a long way in the direction of State Socialism."

Mr. Stokes's comment upon many widely published defenses of the
Milwaukee Socialists by anti-Socialists was published in a letter to the
_New York World_ which sums up admirably the International standpoint:
"It is surely public opinion out of office and not the party in office,"
wrote Mr. Stokes, "that does the most for progress in this country, and
it seems to me exceedingly doubtful whether any party in power has ever
led public opinion effectively at any time. I share with very many
Socialists the view that it is entirely fallacious to suppose that more
can be done at this stage of the world's progress through politics, than
through 'education, agitation, and perpetual criticism.'"

I have referred to Mr. Berger as a "reformist" to distinguish his
policies from the professed opportunism of some of the British
Socialists. But I have also noted that his tactics and philosophy, as
both he and they have publicly acknowledged, are alike at many points.
For example, his views, like theirs, often seem less democratic than
those of many non-Socialist radicals, or even of the average American.
Years after the labor unions and the farmers of most of the States had
indorsed direct legislation, and in a year when it was already becoming
the law of several States, Mr. Berger, looking out for the interests of
what he and his associates frankly call the "political machine" of the
Wisconsin Party, damned it by faint praise, though it was an element of
his own platform; and he had claimed credit for having first proposed it
in Wisconsin. He acknowledged that the Initiative and Referendum _make
towards_ Socialism and are the surest way in the end, but urged that
they are "also the longest way," and wrote in the _Social-Democratic
Herald_:--

"The real class conscious proletariat is still in a minority, and
liable to stay so for a time to come. It can only show results by
fighting as a well-organized, compact mass.

"But the initiative, the referendum, and the right to recall have a
tendency to destroy parties and loosen tightly knit political
organizations.

"Therefore, while the Socialist Party stands for direct legislation
as a democratic measure, we are well aware that the working class
will be helped very little by getting it. We are well aware that
the proletariat, before all things, must get more economic and
political, strength--more education and more wisdom. That, besides
teaching cooeperation, we must build _political machines_."[152] (My
italics.)

On the question of Woman Suffrage, also, Mr. Berger long showed a
similarly hesitating attitude, saying that intelligent women "have
always exercised great political power" even without the ballot;
doubting whether women's vote would help the advance of humanity "in the
coming time of transition," saying this is a question of fact on which
Socialists may honestly differ, and urging that "no one will deny that
the great majority of the women of the present day--_and that is the
only point we can view now_, are illiberal, unprogressive, and
reactionary to a greater extent than the men of the same stratum of
society." (The italics are mine.) Finally, Mr. Berger concluded as
follows, twice throwing the balance of his opinion from one scale into
another:--

"Now, if all this is correct, female suffrage, for generations to
come, will simply mean the deliberate doubting of the strength of a
certain church,--will mean a great addition to the forces of
ignorance and reaction....

"However, we have woman suffrage in our platform, and we should
stand by it. Because in the end it will help to interest the other
half of humanity in social and political affairs, and it will be of
great educational value on both women and men....

"Nevertheless, it is asking a great deal of the proletariat when we
are requested to delay the efficiency of our movement _for
generations_ on that count. And we surely ought not to lay such
stress on this one point as to injure the progress of the general
political and economic movement--the success of which is bound to
help the women as much as the men."[153] (The italics are mine.)

It is no wonder, with such a lukewarm advocacy of its own platform by
the Party's organ and its chief spokesman, that some of the lesser
figures in the Milwaukee movement--such as certain Socialist
aldermen--seem to have lost the road altogether until even Mr. Berger
has been forced to call a halt. For the leader of a "political machine,"
to use Mr. Berger's own expression, may allow himself certain liberties;
but when his followers do the same, disintegration is in sight. Witness
Mr. Berger's words, written only a few weeks after the Socialist victory
in Milwaukee; words which seem to indicate that the tendencies he
complains of were the direct result, not of slow degeneration, but of
the local Party's reformistic teachings and campaign methods:--

"The most dangerous part of the situation is that some of our
comrades seem to forget that we are a Socialist Party.

"They not only begin to imitate the ways and methods of the old
parties, but even their reasoning and their thoughts are getting to
be more bourgeois and less proletarian. To some of these men the
holding of the office--whatever the office may be--seems to be the
final aim of the Socialist Party. These poor sticks do not know
that there are many Socialists who deplore that the necessity of
electing and appointing officeholders will make it twice as hard to
keep the Socialist Party pure in this country, than in other
countries where the movement is relieved of this duty and danger.

"And even some of the aldermen seem to have lost their Socialist
class consciousness--if they ever had any."

It is difficult to see how Mr. Berger can expect to maintain respect for
principles that he teaches and applies so loosely himself. It is,
furthermore, difficult to understand how he expects submission to the
decisions of his organization when he himself has been on the verge of
revolt both against the national and international movement. He has
always avowed his profound disagreement with the methods of the
Socialists in practically every State but his own. He and his associates
were at one moment so far from the national and international principle
that they sought to support a non-Socialist candidate for judge--on the
specious ground that no Socialist was nominated. But the National
Congress condemned and forbade such action by an overwhelming majority.
Mr. Berger's unwillingness to act with his organization even went so far
at one point that he was punished by a temporary suspension from the
National Executive Committee. And, finally, he even threatened in
Socialist Berlin that if the American Party, which he claimed held his
views on immigration, was not allowed to have its way, it would pay no
attention to the decision of the International Congress; though at the
very time he was threatening rebellion the decision of the recent
Congress showed that two-thirds of the American Party stood, not with
him, but with the International Movement. Should he be surprised if
Milwaukee aldermen, like himself, interpret Socialism as they see fit,
and forget that they are a part of a Socialist Party?