The Theory And Practice Of Socialism PDF Download

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1909 edition. Excerpt: ... APPENDIX HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIALIST MOVEMENT Early History Some writers on the subject include in the history of the socialist movement all ancient and mediaeval manifestations of communistic thought and institutions. But as a matter of fact the modern socialist movement has nothing in common with the utopias of Plato, Campanella and More, or with the prehistoric tribal institutions, early Christian practices or the various sectarian communities of the Middle Ages. The political socialist movement of our day is primarily a movement of the working class, and has for its object the reconstruction of the present-day system of industry on the basis of collective ownership of the tools of production. The movement thus presupposes the existence of a competitive individualist system of industry and of a wageearning class. In other words, modern socialism is unthinkable without its antithesis -- capitalism. Socialism is the child of the modern or "capitalist" system of production. And more than that, it is the product of that system at a certain advanced stage. The socialist movement is a protest against the present industrial system, hence it presupposes a state of development of that system to a point where it has become oppressive; it involves a criticism of the system, hence it implies a dissatisfaction with it; and finally, it offers a substitute for the present system, hence it is predicated on the assumption of a state of decline of the capitalist regime. Thus while the beginnings of the present industrial system may be traced back to the fifteenth or sixteenth century of our era, the modern socialist movement is barely more than a century old. Socialism, like most other social theories and movements, has passed through several...