Why Socialism?

In: Monthly review: an independent socialist magazine, Band 44, Heft 1, S. 1-8

Abstract

(A reprint of an article originally published in Monthly Review, 1949, 1, 1, May.) It is contended that the individual's relation to society is the fundamental contemporary crisis. Because man is both a solitary & a social being, difficult-to-resolve conflicts arise in his search for inner equilibrium & societal stability. Certain aspects of modern society are relatively unalterable -- man's biological nature, conditions resulting from technological & demographic developments of the last few centuries, centralized production & the division of labor in densely populated areas -- making the individual all the more dependent on societal ties. In a capitalist society, however, individuals strive ceaselessly to deprive one another of the profits of labor in accordance with the legal system that protects private property & the owners thereof. Neither democratic politics nor freedom of communication can effectively balance the tremendous power of those who own the means of production & are motivated by profit. The worst evil resulting from unfettered free-market competition is the "crippling of the social consciousness of individuals" whereby younger workers are educated "to workship acquisitive success." A planned economy, as the first step toward socialism, & a radically transformed educational curriculum are called for, & the enslavement of individuals to a centralized bureaucracy must be guarded against. M. Maguire