Wednesday 24 July 2013

OUTLINES OF A NEW DOCTRINE.

  
AS PROPOUNDED BY CARL MARX, PROUDON, FOURIER, BEBEL, AND OTHERS.
The following is translated from the French by Mr. A. Gilyard, of this town, for THE GUARDIAN.   

Haeckel in his Evolution of Man state that "In the life of plants and animals one feeble minority only comes to live and develop." Herbert Spencer says:—" All the arrangements which tend to suppress the difference between a superior and inferior race are absolutely opposed to the degrees of organisation and advancement of the higher life. The theory of Darwin gives one conception of the essential history of Nature as being aristocratic, anti-democratic, and anti-socialistic. In the place of harmony, she shows us one eternal struggle, the triumph of the best qualities, and the strongest; she justifed the belief in a great people and in great men by which progress is accomplished in this world.—[Note by the reviewer. When one speaks of great men one understands the word in the sense of the chosen celebrity ]— The historic celebrities have the power to be contested. It is the perfecting of the most important accomplishments of the race in the individual -that is to say, the superior minority. The Socialists pretend to say that the establishing of a civilisation is the result  of a collective work, and that the re-distribution has the duty to be collective also; and that the collective work towards progress shall be intellectual and the elite, the chosen, shall be devoted to science and its application. The Socialists state to the contrary, in spite of Darwin himself, that "Darwinism conducts logically to Socialism,"  and this is how they define their formula :——(Resume of a conference held in England by Grant Allan)"The capitalist has the monopoly of the earth and the instruments of work, prejudging like they recognise according to Darwin the free game of competition:—which prevents the favor of placing the capitalist in an advantageous position. While the proletaires, with his intelligence, and industrial force and certain high qualities among them, have not the power to struggle, then, say they, there is no benefit in that, for in capitalist society the most powerful, the most rich, are often the most incapable. The civil law of inheritance gives to the exhausted and degenerated families and artificial advantage over the best qualities, and goes against the natural and sexual selection. The idiot and scrofulous son of the millionaire often seen before him the best prospect in the combat for existence over the son of the intelligent, healthy, robust workman. Society, with her monopolies, makes, then, a check to the survival of the fittest. This does not say that Socialism aspires to establish a free competition in rudeness and primitive bestialities; far a from that, they pretend to check the struggle for existence, to soften and transform the struggle. She treats only in the cruelty the inferior species—the savage and barbarous races.   She takes her example from the bee, who struggle not as bee against bee, but swarm against swarm. The man is not permitted to kill his fellow man, but tribe against tribe and nation against nation. In all organised societies law, order, and morality gives one superior form. There in one continual effort to redress the inequalities of nature, setting out from this civilised struggle under the law of bitter competition. It belongs to Socialism to make disappear this last form of combat for individual existence; to put man above the animal conditions, and enter into that of humanity; and to deliver from the necessity to oppress and introduce into the world true liberty. When the human family shall have come to that stage, the most elevated and developed, the struggle for existence shall become the struggle for pre-existence and favor the indefinite progress. What a confused and vague idea is conveyed in this word "progress!" A theory not strictly exact than in the sense of the accumulation of human knowledge, the means of action from the man over nature, but transported in the moral world is applied to individuals. We have the duty to think over the past centuries the miscarriages, the checks, for one little parcel of good thrown to the patrimony of humanity. Gross error!   If one wishes to believe in the voluntary moral progress, does he not follow that of intelligence and science? The good and beautiful maxims are to be formulated from the origin of civilisation, says Pascal; they only lack the application. It is not the idea of indefinite progress, but scientific truth conforming to reality; it is the idea of evolution, which implies also decadence. Huxley states in the Lake sermons-

"The gradual progress towards perfection is very far from being necessary to the part of the Darwinian doctrine, when that doctrine appears to as perfectly compatible with the indefinite persistence to be organised in one and the same state, and with the gradual recoil. Considering for the present the popular superstitions of the Socialists by which they conciliate Marx, Darwin and Condorcet. Before making application of the economic laws to the human society, Bebel commences logically to ameliorate the laws of selection already practiced in Lacedomone, where the term Darwin never was invented. They create a race of men of pure blood in the Socialist states. The vile interests of money presides no more at the marriage; the infants are born naturally, as in love ; no false prudery prevents the study of the scientific law of generation. The cardinal poles of the social question is the report of the population and the means of subsistence according to Malthus and Darwin. If there is no restraint put on the increase of population, there will be more men than the earth will nourish. The result, then, is struggle and misery, and all efforts for social prosperity will be without result. But there are new territories to develop. Chemistry  renders new nutritive substances. Then the doctrine of Malthus is reported by the people the most rich who possess in abundance the elements for subsistance, and those who increase the least the more prosperous the man and the less infants. Stuart Mill demonstrates that in the Socialist state the report of the population and the supply of nourishment would show a better equilibrium than any other form of society.  Says Bebel :— When the race is ameliorated by selection and by universal selection, and ignorance and superstition banished, the individuality of each develop liberally. After the regeneration and education the task of the society of the future shall be organised for work. It shall be obligatory for all to work, which is not the case at present for a great majority. But, asks one in this social paradise, what about the choice of professions and the distribution of products? Bebel replies, are they not in your bourgeoise society? hold they not all the vocations ?   Ask of the citizen if he will be a soldier. We will render the work short, varied attractive, and productive. The material work will not destroy the intellectual work. Spinosa, optical workman writes —We make disappear all distinction between indolence and  labor, the frugal dissipator and the  economist. We establish so well  equality that the industrious receives  as much for his work as supplies all his wants where talent ceases to be capital. It is only an innate gift, which to possess is only an ordinary merit. You ask, Who will take the repugnant employment? In the present imperfect society lack you ever volunteers for the least attractive work, or the care of the sick in the hospitals ? Some of the strong reasons for the society of the future, whereby the abolition of classes, the exploiters, and the defalcators will be accomplished, is the equality of conditions, when all trace of egotism shall disappear. One recognises no more the thief. Each class will present his particular moral. The previous aristocrat will practice the casuistry of the Jesuites ; the bourgeoise will practice the utilitarian rationalism, and the proletaire will practice morality, and the well-being of all and the future will be founded on an unique solid altruism. The immediate motive of the German Socialists is that they pretend to give the entire world the model of the communistic international propaganda, which is to remedy all approach to suffering by the working classes, and to organise the workers as one distinct class and one disciplined army. Bebel states he sees with clear vision splendid workshops, laboratories, and science applied to all human activities. Anything which recalls the mournful establishments of the present society—the college, the convents the barrack, the prison—shall be abolished.   It is capitalism that has created this political and military servitude. Society, freed from this incubus and from the cares of fortunes, will be free to look after its proper duties and wants: marriage will be founded on true attachments, and in place of the monotonous conjugal fireside they are to live the life of society—assemblies, conferences, family parties, theatres, gardens, etc.  This, which is the privilege at the present of the high classes only, shall become the pleasure of all. Thus ends the outlines of the new doctrine. Many minor points have had necessarily to be left out. Since these are the experiences and theories of the most advanced men of learning in Europe, and, according to the law of the Decent of Man, the Evolution of Man, and of Natural Selection, they may be the giant intellects of the universe—the survivors of the fittest; and if they can show how misery can be avoided and happiness obtained for Europe, the lessons may be made practicable for Australians. To all those readers of THE GUARDIAN who have perused these doctrines, l' Monsieur, Madame, et Mademoselle, jai did Au Revoir.

 Healesville Guardian 30 March 1894,

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