The Conquest of Bread - The Anarchist Library

118 Pages·2015·0.44 MB·English

The Conquest of Bread
Pëtr Kropotkin
1892
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter1:OurRiches 9
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter2:Well-BeingforAll 15
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter3:AnarchistCommunism 21
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chapter4:Expropriation 27
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Chapter5:Food 34
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
VII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Chapter6:Dwellings 49
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Chapter7:Clothing 55
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2
Chapter8:WaysandMeans 57
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Chapter9:TheNeedForLuxury 61
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter10:AgreeableWork 70
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter11:FreeAgreement 75
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Chapter12:Objections 83
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Chapter13:TheCollectivistWagesSystem 93
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Chapter14:ConsumptionAndProduction 102
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Chapter15:TheDivisionofLabour 106
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Chapter16:TheDecentralizationofIndustry 108
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Chapter17:Agriculture 114
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
3
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Table1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4
Preface
OneofthecurrentobjectionstoCommunismandSocialismaltogether,isthattheideaisso
old, and yet it could never be realized. Schemes of ideal States haunted the thinkers of Ancient
Greece;lateron,theearlyChristiansjoinedincommunistgroups;centurieslater,largecommu-
nistbrotherhoodscameintoexistenceduringtheReformmovement.Then,thesameidealswere
revivedduringthegreatEnglishandFrenchRevolutions;andfinally,quitelately,in1848,arev-
olution,inspiredtoagreatextentwithSocialistideals,tookplaceinFrance.“Andyet,yousee,”
wearetold,“howfarawayisstilltherealizationofyourschemes.Don’tyouthinkthatthereis
somefundamentalerrorinyourunderstandingofhumannatureanditsneeds?”
At first sight this objection seems very serious. However, the moment we consider human
historymoreattentively,itlosesitsstrength.Wesee,first,thathundredsofmillionsofmenhave
succeededinmaintainingamongstthemselves,intheirvillagecommunities,formanyhundreds
ofyears,oneofthemainelementsofSocialismthecommonownershipofthechiefinstrumentof
production,theland,andtheapportionmentofthesameaccordingtothelabourcapacitiesofthe
differentfamilies;andwelearnthatifthecommunalpossessionofthelandhasbeendestroyed
inWesternEurope,itwasnotfromwithin,butfromwithout,bythegovernmentswhichcreated
a land monopoly in favour of the nobility and the middle classes. We learn, moreover, that the
mediævalcitiessucceededinmaintainingintheirmidstforseveralcenturiesinsuccessionacer-
tainsocializedorganizationofproductionandtrade;thatthesecenturieswereperiodsofarapid
intellectual, industrial, and artistic progress; and that the decay of these communal institutions
camemainlyfromtheincapacityofmenofcombiningthevillagewiththecity,thepeasantwith
the citizen, so as jointly to oppose the growth of the military states, which destroyed the free
cities.
Thehistoryofmankind,thusunderstood,doesnotoffer,then,anargumentagainstCommu-
nism.Itappears,onthecontrary,asasuccessionofendeavourstorealizesomesortofcommunist
organization,endeavourswhichwerecrownedwithapartialsuccessofacertainduration;andall
weareauthorizedtoconcludeis,thatmankindhasnotyetfoundtheproperformforcombining,
oncommunisticprinciples,agriculturewithasuddenlydevelopedindustryandarapidlygrow-
inginternationaltrade.Thelatterappearsespeciallyasadisturbingelement,sinceitisnolonger
individuals only, or cities, that enrich themselves by distant commerce and export; but whole
nationsgrowrichatthecostofthosenationswhichlagbehindintheirindustrialdevelopment.
Theseconditions,whichbegantoappearbytheendoftheeighteenthcentury,took,however,
theirfullswinginthenineteenthcenturyonly,aftertheNapoleonicwarscametoanend.And
modernCommunismhadtotakethemintoaccount.
It is now known that the French Revolution apart from its political significance, was an at-
temptmadebytheFrenchpeople,in1793and1794,inthreedifferentdirectionsmoreorlessakin
toSocialism.Itwas,first,theequalizationoffortunes,bymeansofanincometaxandsuccession
duties,bothheavilyprogressive,asalsobyadirectconfiscationofthelandinordertosubdivide
it,andbyheavywartaxesleviedupontherichonly.Thesecondattemptwastointroduceawide
national system of rationally established prices of all commodities, for which the real cost of pro-
duction and moderate trade profits had to be taken into account. The Convention worked hard
at this scheme, and had nearly completed its work, when reaction took the overhand. And the
third was a sort of Municipal Communism as regards the consumption of some objects of first
necessity,boughtbythemunicipalities,andsoldbythematcostprice.
5
It was during this remarkable movement, which has never yet been properly studied, that
modernSocialismwasborn—FourierismwithL’Ange,atLyons,andauthoritarianCommunism
withBuonarotti,Babeuf,andtheircomrades.AnditwasimmediatelyaftertheGreatRevolution
thatthethreegreattheoreticalfoundersofmodernSocialism—Fourier,SaintSimon,andRobert
Owen,aswellasGodwin(theNo-StateSocialism)—cameforward;whilethesecretcommunist
societies,originatedfromthoseofBuonarottiandBabeuf,gavetheirstamptomilitantCommu-
nismforthenextfiftyyears.
To be correct, then, we must say that modern Socialism is not yet a hundred years old, and
that, for the first half of these hundred years, two nations only, which stood at the head of the
industrialmovement,i.e.BritainandFrance,tookpartinitselaboration.Both—bleedingatthat
timefromtheterriblewoundsinflicteduponthembyfifteenyearsofNapoleonicwars,andboth
envelopedinthegreatEuropeanreactionthathadcomefromtheEast.
Infact,itwasonlyaftertheRevolutionofJuly,1830,inFrance,andtheReformmovementof
1830–32,inEngland,hadshakenoffthatterriblereaction,thatthediscussionofSocialismbecame
possibleforthenextsixteentoeighteenyears.Anditwasduringthoseyearsthattheaspirations
ofFourier,SaintSimon,andRobertOwen,workedoutbytheirfollowers,tookadefiniteshape,
andthedifferentschoolsofSocialismwhichexistnowadaysweredefined.
In Britain, Robert Owen and his followers worked out their schemes of communist villages,
agricultural and industrial at the same time; immense co-operative associations were started
forcreatingwiththeirdividendsmorecommunistcolonies;andtheGreatConsolidatedTrades’
Union was founded — the forerunner of the Labour Parties of our days and the International
Workingmen’sAssociation.
InFrance,theFourieristConsidérantissuedhisremarkablemanifesto,whichcontains,beauti-
fullydeveloped,allthetheoreticalconsiderationsuponthegrowthofCapitalism,whicharenow
describedas“ScientificSocialism.”ProudhonworkedouthisideaofAnarchism,andMutualism,
withoutStateinterference.LouisBlancpublishedhisOrganizationofLabour,whichbecamelater
ontheprogrammeofLassalle,inGermany.VidalinFranceandLorenzSteininGermanyfurther
developed, in two remarkable works, published in 1846 and 1847 respectively, the theoretical
conceptions of Considerant; and finally Vidal, and especially Pecqueur — the latter in a very
elaborate work, as also in a series of Reports — developed in detail the system of Collectivism,
whichhewantedtheAssemblyof1848tovoteintheshapeoflaws.
However,thereisonefeature,commontoallSocialistschemes,oftheperiod,whichmustbe
noted. The three great founders of Socialism who wrote at the dawn of the nineteenth century
were so entranced by the wide horizons which it opened before them, that they looked upon
it as a new revelation, and upon themselves as upon the founders of a new religion. Socialism
had to be a religion, and they had to regulate its march, as the heads of a new church. Besides,
writing during the period of reaction which had followed the French Revolution, and seeing
more its failures than its successes, they did not trust the masses, and they did not appeal to
themforbringingaboutthechangeswhichtheythoughtnecessary.Theyputtheirfaith,onthe
contrary,insomegreatruler.Hewouldunderstandthenewrevelation;hewouldbeconvinced
of its desirability by the successful experiments of their phalansteries, or associations; and he
would peacefully accomplish by the means of his own authority the revolution which would
bring well-being and happiness to mankind. A military genius, Napoleon, had just been ruling
Europe…WhyshouldnotasocialgeniuscomeforwardandcarryEuropewithhimandtransfer
6
the new Gospel into life?… That faith was rooted very deep, and it stood for a long time in the
wayofSocialism;itstracesareeverseenamongstus,downtothepresentday.
It was only during the years 1840–48, when the approach of the Revolution was felt every-
where, and the proletarians were beginning to plant the banner of Socialism on the barricades,
thatfaithinthepeoplebegantoenteroncemoretheheartsofthesocialschemers:faith,onthe
oneside,inRepublicanDemocracy,andontheothersideinfreeassociationandtheorganizing
powersoftheworkingmenthemselves.
ButthencametheRevolutionofFebruary,1848,themiddle-classRepublic,and—withit,bro-
kenhopes.FourmonthsonlyaftertheproclamationoftheRepublic,theJuneinsurrectionofthe
Parisproletariansbrokeout,anditwascrushedinblood.Thewholesaleshootingoftheworking-
men,themassdeportationstoNewGuinea,andfinallytheNapoleoniancoupd’étatfollowed.The
Socialistswereprosecutedwithfury,andtheweedingoutwassoterribleandsothoroughthat
for the next twelve or fifteen years the very traces of Socialism disappeared; its literature van-
ishedsocompletelythatevennames,oncesofamiliarbefore1848,wereentirelyforgotten;ideas
whichwerethencurrent—thestockideasoftheSocialistsbefore1848—werewipedoutofthe
memoriesandweretaken,lateron,bythepresentgeneration,fornewdiscoveries.
However, when a new revival came, about 1866, when Communism and Collectivism once
more came forward, the conception as to the means of their realization had undergone a deep
change. The old faith in Political Democracy was gone, and the first principles upon which the
Paris working men agreed with the British trade-unionists and Owenites, when they met in
1866 at London, was that “the emancipation of the working-men must be accomplished by the
working-men themselves.” Upon another point they also fell in. It was that the labour unions
themselves would have to get hold of the instruments of production, and organize production
themselves.TheFrenchideaoftheFourieristandMutualist“Association”thusjoinedhandswith
RobertOwen’sideaof“TheGreatConsolidatedTrades’Union,”whichwasextendednow,soas
tobecomeanInternationalWorking-men’sAssociation.
AgainthisnewrevivalofSocialismlastedbutafewyears.Sooncamethewarof1870–1871,
theuprisingoftheParisCommune—andagain:thefreedevelopmentofSocialismwasrendered
impossibleinFrance.ButwhileGermanyacceptednowfromthehandsofitsGermanteachers,
Marx and Engels, the Socialism of the French “forty-eighters” — the Socialism of Considérant
andLouisBlanc,andtheCollectivismofPecqueur,—Francemadeafurtherstepforward.
InMarch,1871,Parishadproclaimedthathenceforwarditwouldnotwaitfortheretardatory
portionsofFrance,andintendedtostartwithinitsCommuneitsownsocialdevelopment.
Themovementwastooshort-livedtogiveanypositiveresult.Itremainedcommunalistonly.
Buttheworking-classesoftheoldInternationalsawatonceitshistoricalsignificance.Theyun-
derstoodthatthefreecommunewouldbehenceforththemediuminwhichtheideasofmodern
Socialism may come to realization. The free agro-industrial communes, of which so much was
spoken in 1848, need not be small phalansteries, or small communities of 2000 persons. They
mustbevastagglomerations,likeParis,or,stillbetter,smallterritories.Thesecommuneswould
federate,evenirrespectivelyofnationalfrontiers(liketheCinquePorts,ortheHansa);andlarge
labourassociationsmightcomeintoexistencefortheinter-communalserviceoftherailways,the
docks,andsoon.Suchweretheideaswhichbeganvaguelytocirculateafter1871amongstthe
thinkingworking-men,especiallyintheLatincountries.Insomesuchorganization,thedetails
of which life itself would settle, the labour circles of these countries saw the medium through
7
which Socialist forms of life could find a much easier realization than through the Collectivist
systemoftheStateSocialists.
ThesearetheideastowhichIhaveendeavouredtogiveamoreorlessdefiniteexpressionin
thisbook.
Lookingbacknowattheyearsthathavepassedsincethisbookwaswritten,Icansayinfull
conscience that its leading ideas must have been correct. The State Socialism of the collectivist
systemhascertainlymadesomeprogress.Staterailways,Statebanking,andStatetradeinspirits
have been introduced here and there. But every step made in this direction, even though it re-
sultedinthecheapeningofagivencommodity,wasfoundtobeanewobstacleinthestruggleof
theworking-menfortheiremancipation.Sothatwefindnowamongsttheworking-men,espe-
ciallyinEngland,theideathateventheworkingofsuchavastnationalpropertyasarailway-net
couldbemuchbetterhandledbyaFederatedUnionofrailwayemployés,thanbyaStateorgani-
zation.
Ontheotherside,weseethatcountlessattemptshavebeenmadealloverEuropeandAmerica,
theleadingideaofwhichis,ontheoneside,togetintothehandsoftheworking-menthemselves
widebranches of production,and, on theother side,alwaysto widen inthe cities thecirclesof
the functions which the city performs in the interest of its inhabitants. Trade-unionism, with a
growingtendencytowardsorganizingthedifferenttradesinternationally,andofbeingnotonly
aninstrumentforimprovingtheconditionsoflabour,butalsotobecomeanorganizationwhich
might, at a given moment, take into its hands the management of production; Co-operativism,
bothforproductionandfordistribution,bothinindustryandagriculture,andattemptsatcom-
bining both sorts of co-operation in experimental colonies; and finally, the immensely varied
fieldoftheso-calledMunicipalSocialism—thesearethethreedirectionsinwhichthegreatest
amountofcreativepowerhasbeendevelopedlately.
Ofcourse,noneofthesemay,inanydegree,betakenasasubstituteforCommunism,oreven
forSocialism,bothofwhichimplythecommonpossessionoftheinstrumentsofproduction.But
wecertainlymustlookatallthejust-mentionedattemptsasuponexperiments—likethosewhich
Owen, Fourier, and Saint Simon tried in their colonies — experiments which prepare human
thought to conceive some of the practical forms in which a communist society might find its
expression.Thesynthesisofallthesepartialexperimentswillhavetobemadesomedaybythe
constructivegeniusofsomeoneofthecivilizednations,anditwillbedone.Butsamplesofthe
bricksoutofwhichthegreatsyntheticbuildingwillhavetobebuilt,andevensamplesofsome
ofitsrooms,arebeingpreparedbytheimmenseeffortoftheconstructivegeniusofman.
Bromley,Kent.
October,1906.
8
Chapter 1: Our Riches
I
The human race has travelled far, since those bygone ages when men used to fashion their
rude implements of flint, and lived on the precarious spoils of the chase, leaving to their chil-
drenfortheironlyheritageashelterbeneaththerocks,somepoorutensils—andNature,vast,
ununderstood,andterrific,withwhomtheyhadtofightfortheirwretchedexistence.
Duringtheagitatedtimeswhichhaveelapsedsince,andwhichhavelastedformanythousand
years, mankind has nevertheless amassed untold treasures. It has cleared the land, dried the
marshes, pierced the forests, made roads; it has been building, inventing, observing, reasoning;
it has created a complex machinery, wrested her secrets from Nature, and finally it has made
a servant of steam. And the result is, that now the child of the civilized man finds ready, at its
birth,tohishandanimmensecapitalaccumulatedbythosewhohavegonebeforehim.Andthis
capital enables him to acquire, merely by his own labour, combined with the labour of others,
richessurpassingthedreamsoftheOrient,expressedinthefairytalesoftheThousandandOne
Nights.
Thesoilisclearedtoagreatextent,fitforthereceptionofthebestseeds,readytomakearich
returnfortheskillandlabourspentuponit—areturnmorethansufficientforallthewantsof
humanity.Themethodsofcultivationareknown.
OnthewideprairiesofAmericaeachhundredmen,withtheaidofpowerfulmachinery,can
produceinafewmonthsenoughwheattomaintaintenthousandpeopleforawholeyear.And
where man wishes to double his produce, to treble it, to multiply it a hundred-fold, he makes
the soil, gives to each plant the requisite care, and thus obtains enormous returns. While the
hunterofoldhadtoscourfiftyorsixtysquaremilestofindfoodforhisfamily,thecivilizedman
supportshishousehold,withfarlesspains,andfarmorecertainty,onathousandthpartofthat
space. Climate is no longer an obstacle. When the sun fails, man replaces it by artificial heat;
and we see the coming of a time when artificial light also will be used to stimulate vegetation.
Meanwhile,bytheuseofglassandhotwaterpipes,manrendersagivenspacetenandfiftytimes
moreproductivethanitwasinitsnaturalstate.
Theprodigiesaccomplishedinindustryarestillmorestriking.Withtheco-operationofthose
intelligent beings, modern machines — themselves the fruit of three or four generations of in-
ventors, mostly unknown — a hundred men manufacture now the stuff to clothe ten thousand
persons for a period of two years. In well-managed coal mines the labour of a hundred miners
furnisheseachyearenoughfueltowarmtenthousandfamiliesunderaninclementsky.Andwe
have lately witnessed twice the spectacle of a wonderful city springing up in a few months at
Paris,1 withoutinterruptingintheslightestdegreetheregularworkoftheFrenchnation.
1FortheInternationalParisExhibitionsof1889and1900.
9
Andifinmanufacturesasinagriculture,andasindeedthroughourwholesocialsystem,the
labour, the discoveries, and the inventions of our ancestors profit chiefly the few, it is none the
less certain that mankind in general, aided by the creatures of steel and iron which it already
possesses,couldalreadyprocureanexistenceofwealthandeaseforeveryoneofitsmembers.
Truly, we are rich, far richer than we think; rich in what we already possess, richer still in
the possibilities of production of our actual mechanical outfit; richest of all in what we might
winfromoursoil,fromourmanufactures,fromourscience,fromourtechnicalknowledge,were
theybutappliedtobringingaboutthewell-beingofall.
II
We,incivilizedsocieties,arerich.Whythenarethemanypoor?Whythispainfuldrudgery
for the masses? Why, even to the best paid workman, this uncertainty for the morrow, in the
midstofallthewealthinheritedfromthepast,andinspiteofthepowerfulmeansofproduction,
whichcouldensurecomforttoallinreturnforafewhoursofdailytoil?
TheSocialistshavesaiditandrepeateditunwearyingly.Dailytheyreiterateit,demonstrating
it by arguments taken from all the sciences. It is because all that is necessary for production —
the land, the mines, the highways, machinery, food, shelter, education, knowledge — all have
beenseizedbythefewinthecourseofthatlongstoryofrobbery,enforcedmigrationandwars,
ofignoranceandoppression,whichhasbeenthelifeofthehumanracebeforeithadlearnedto
subduetheforcesofNature.Itisbecause,takingadvantageofallegedrightsacquiredinthepast,
these few appropriate to-day two-thirds of the products of human labour, and then squander
them in the most stupid and shameful way. It is because, having reduced the masses to a point
at which they have not the means of subsistence for a month, or even for a week in advance,
thefewonlyallowthemanytoworkonconditionofthemselvesreceivingthelion’sshare.Itis
becausethesefewpreventtheremainderofmenfromproducingthethingstheyneed,andforce
themtoproduce,notthenecessariesoflifeforall,butwhateveroffersthegreatestprofitstothe
monopolists.InthisisthesubstanceofallSocialism.
Take, indeed, a civilized country. The forests which once covered it have been cleared, the
marshesdrained,theclimateimproved.Ithasbeenmadehabitable.Thesoil,whichboreformerly
onlyacoarsevegetation,iscoveredto-daywithrichharvests.Therock-wallsinthevalleysare
laidoutinterracesandcoveredwithvinesbearinggoldenfruit.Thewildplants,whichyielded
nought but acrid berries, or uneatable roots, have been transformed by generations of culture
into succulent vegetables, or trees covered with delicious fruits. Thousands of highways and
railroads furrow the earth, and pierce the mountains. The shriek of the engine is heard in the
wildgorgesoftheAlps,theCaucasus,andtheHimalayas.Therivershavebeenmadenavigable;
the coasts, carefully surveyed, are easy of access; artificial harbours, laboriously dug out and
protected against the fury of the sea, afford shelter to the ships. Deep shafts have been sunk in
the rocks; labyrinths of underground galleries have been dug out where coal may be raised or
mineralsextracted.Atthecrossingsofthehighwaysgreatcitieshavesprungup,andwithintheir
bordersallthetreasuresofindustry,science,andarthavebeenaccumulated.
Wholegenerations,thatlivedanddiedinmisery,oppressedandill-treatedbytheirmasters,
andwornoutbytoil,havehandedonthisimmenseinheritancetoourcentury.
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