The Socialist Case [antikvár]

FOREWORD I would like to commend this book to all those interested in the present British experiment in democratic socialism. It is the aim of The Socialist Case to set out the basic philosophic arguments for collective management of our economic resources, under the ultimate authority of Parliament, and to show that the economic scramble of laissez-faiTe cannot achieve a distribution of wealth in accordance with the needs of the common people. I believe myself that these arguments are unanswerable; and they certainly deserve the attention of those throughout the English-speaking world, whether convinced Socialists or not, who are watching the present efforts and achievements of the British Labour Movement. The future of free Governmen t will partly depend on the success of these efforts, and the general understanding of the fundamental issues involved. C. R. Attlee. November, 1946 PREFACE The purpose of this book is to sum up the case for socialism on the basis of an examination of the fact of poverty as it exists in the contemporary world. It may be thought that such an examination is co-extensive with the whole of economics. But this is not so; for economics as a science quite rightly investigates economic phenomena in abstraction from their social, legal, and institutional context. This book seeks to consider the problem of poverty in relation not merely to ultimate economic causes but also to the social institutions of a modern industrial community. The argument that follows is consequently not planned on the basis of any particular traditional system of thought. It attempts to ascertain the facts— both of practice and of principle—and to draw on the traditional systems in so far as they throw light on these facts. In general the circumstances discussed are those of a modern industrial country. For purposes of clarity, however, the existence of international exchange is ignored, except where it is for some special reason relevant to the argument. Normally it is simpler and clearer to pursue the inquiry on the assumption of an economically 'closed' system, such as the world as a whole. The conclusion which the argument of this book suggests is the entirely unoriginal one that democratic socialism, properly understood, is the best cure for poverty and the best method of furthering the happiness of the human race. There are of course a great many other lines of argument of a political, scientific, aesthetic, religious, or personal kind which tend to the same conclusion. With these other arguments this book is not concerned. It is written in the belief that the fundamental case for socialism rests on the necessity to alleviate economic privation. The argument is therefore based on considerations which would normally be called economic. Such questions as whether socialism could or could not abolish war are consequently not discussed. The output of literature by even the most eminent economists in the last twenty years has been large; and to most of them, and above all to Lord Keynes, the majority of us are deeply indebted. The argument of this book owes in particular a great deal to Plan