Why socialism is the next step forward for humanity

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Where to Find Us 14 SOCIALIST ACTION AUGUST 1988 Most of us have been inculcated with the idea that our thoughts and values are independent of our material and historical circumstances. We have grown up believing in some form of "free will."

Thus, people in our society tend to believe that social and historical events are caused by "great geniuses" (either benevolent or evil). For example, many people believe that Herbert Hoover caused the Depression in 1929 and Adolph Hitler caused the Second World War.

Alternatively, some people will argue a determinist position, that our greedy "human nature" will always result in social conflict no matter what system we live under.

The materialist conception of history disagrees with both these views in that it attributes much of the content and form of our behavior and thinking-both as individuals and groups—to the prevailing forms of the means of production and distribution.

This theory was put forth by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels during the last century. In "Socialism Utopian and Scientific," Engels summarized the theory and its ramifications. He wrote:

"The materialist conception of history starts from the proposition that the production of the means to support human life and, next to production, the exchange of things produced, is the basis of all social structure; that in every society that has appeared in history, the manner in which wealth is distributed and society divided into classes or orders is dependent on what is produced, how it is produced, and how the products are exchanged.

"From this point of view, the final causes of all social changes and political revolutions are to be sought, not in men's brains, not in man's better insight into eternal truth and justice, but in changes in the mode of production and exchange. They are to be sought, not in the philosophy, but in the economics of each particular epoch."

Development over the centuries The evidence for this theory is based on correlations between the historical evo Jution of systems of production and distribution of products and the economic, political, legal and social forms of each epoch in society.

Over the centuries, human beings have developed their use of tools and their economic production skills to create ever higher standards of living. History has documented this progress from the early primitive cave dwellers to today's sophisticated production society.

The rate of this progress has been quite uneven, surging madly foward at times and sometimes regressing—as during the Dark Ages and periods of great wars and natural disasters. Progress has also been remarkably diverse in different parts of the world; technologically primitive cultures coexist, even today, with the automated factories in industrial areas.

The earliest societies Evidence indicates that the earliest human economic activity was food gathering and, later, hunting and fishing with stone tools. The means of obtaining food, shelter and protection demanded cooperative behavior, a "primitive communism." Thus, there was a material basis for the common interest.

Gradually, in each society, more efficient tools were developed. The significant invention of agriculture and, finally, field cultivation and livestock accumulation revolutionized the existing economic and social relationships.

For the first time, a relative abundance of food could be produced with only a part of the tribal clan working. The improved material conditions (newer and easier ways to satisfy human needs) which allowed agricultural surplus required the consolidation of small plots of arable land and the need for specialized field labor.

Rather than being killed, captives from neighboring groups were needed to work in the fields. Thus, the first class division appeared when the producers (the slaves) no longer owned the products of their labor. A dramatic restructuring of life from a nomadic existence to land-based settlements occurred, the first signs of private property.

The rate and ferocity of the exploitation of the slaves ultimately resulted in the escalation of this class struggle to the point of mass slave revolts and the reluctance of slaves (and freemen) to fight for their masters.

Despite impressive economic develop ment for the time, the chattel slave economic system was unable to sustain further economic growth, and the system collapsed. The resulting chaos (the Dark Ages) caused a long period of economic decline and the return of barbarian tribal warfare, which impeded any significant economic development until the Middle Ages.

Rise of feudalism

Coincident with the decline of slavery Baltimore P.O. Box 16005 Baltimore, MD 21218 Boston P.O. Box 1046 GMF Boston, MA 02205 (617) 497-0230 Chicago P.O. Box 267848 Chicago, IL 60626 (312) 327-5752 Cincinnati P.O. Box 37029 Cincinnati, OH 45222 (513) 272-2596 and the resulting scarcity of slave labor, most of the mines and farms failed. Owners began leasing land to former slaves and destitute freemen demanding a share of their produce and their labor for the use of the land.

Seeking security from marauding raiders, the owners established their own defense forces from their work force, the serfs. This new system gradually developed (in various forms and very different rates in different parts of the world) into the system of feudalism.

In the "Evolution of Property" Paul LaFarge succinctly described feudalism: "The system in its essence, is a compact of reciprocal services; the feudal lord only holds his land and possesses a claim on the labor and harvests of his tenants and vassals on condition of doing suit and service to his superiors and lending aid to his dependents.

"On accepting the oath of fealty and homage, the lord engaged to protect his vassal against all and sundry by all the means of his command; in return for which support the vassal was bound to render military and personal service and make certain payments to his lord. The latter, in his turn, for the sake of protection, commended himself to a more puissant feudal lord, who himself stood in the relation of vassalage to a suzerain, to the king or emperor."

The social, political, and legal aspects of feudal society were remarkably different from those of the previous epoch. Organized religion was transformed to insist on a sense of duty by the serf or tenant to Cleveland P.O. Box 6151 Cleveland, OH 441 (216) 429-2167 Detroit P.O. Box 32546 Detroit, MI 48232 Grand Rapids P.O. Box 3505 Grand Rapids, MI 49501 Los Angeles P.O. Box 60605 Terminal Annex _os Angeles, CA 90060 (213) 250-4608 which would bring its own new social relationships and systems of belief and thinking.

Development of capitalism

Initially, under capitalism, the skilled craftsmen owned their own tools of pro duction; but quickly it became apparent that assembly-line manufacturing with newly developed machines was much more efficient. In industrial countries, the working class grew from a small minority to an overwhelming majority.

Since the early 1900s, competition greatly increased between the capitalist classes of Europe, America, and Japan for trade markets, raw materials, and cheap labor. This has resulted in an almost continuous series of wars and economic rivalries.

Business production periodically stagnates during periods of recession or depression because of overproduction of commodities which cannot be sold for profit. The system of capitalism is now— like during the latter period of feudalism— becoming more and more inefficient in terms of allowing economic growth and advancing the living standards of the majority of the people in the world.

A new worldwide system is on the agenda, one in which the means of production, now run socially, will be owned socially and products will be produced for use, rather than for exchange.

Marx and Engels formulated this theory more than a century ago; their writings indicated they felt capitalism was then on the verge of collapse. Although they underestimated the viability of the capitalist system, their analyses remain remarkably timely.

They stress that revolutionary changes will not appear automatically; they depend on an aroused, informed working class that is aware of its own self-interest and the organization needed to achieve it.

Minneapolis

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China. It is not surprising that the bureaucrats approved of Bertolucci, a longtime supporter of the Italian ComBertolucci has stated that the film's story about the change the emperor undergoes "for some reason coincides