Page:Friedrich Adolf Sorge - Socialism and The Worker (1876).djvu/8

 duced by them. Now, if the government of our country or any other part of the world would order a similar calculation to be made, the result would prove the same.

Can you approve of such a state of things? I know, you cannot. No sensible man can approve of it. And now say what you may against Socialists—in this point they are right: This state of things cannot and must not continue, It is wrong, and therefore it must be changed. Socialists do not object to acquisitions made by honest work, on the contrary, they try to secure the product of work to the worker himself, and to protect it from the clutches of those, who hitherto have been accustomed, not to work themselves, but only, to draw profit from the work of others, and who, in doing so, are not content with a small part, but try to take the lions share, as it is in the fable.

But do the Socialists not go too far in their zeal? It would, certainly, be well and just, if it could be accomplished, that those who toil and work, could be liberated from care and want, and those who have been idle so far, could be forced to work also. But are not the Socialists enemies of the property-holders, and is not everybody, who owns property, threatened to loose it by the Socialists, should they come into power—so much so, that he would have to face penury and want? Are they not Communists?

These objections and reproaches have been made and are made. Let us not make light of them, but let us consider them quietly, in order to judge right and justly.

Before we go on, we must explain two conceptions:

About Communism many lies have been set afloat, especially by people, whose interest it was to do so, viz. by those money-making idlers, so that most people cannot, but connect with the word Communism the idea of rascality; communist and scoundrel of the worst kind appear to them to be synonymes. Therefore it is not an easy matter to speak of communism, without running risk to be condemned, before one commences. Many people, in such a case, will not hear, will not see, will not judge,—their verdict is formed.—All social predjudices are awakened and called forth by this expression. For that reason it is very difficult to come to a quiet understanding about it. But the reader, who has followed us so far, will follow us farther, not blindfolded, but using good common sense.

What is Communism?

If we open our eyes and look around us, we find many beneficial and useful institutions, brought forth by many, or by the whole people, in common. In one place associations are formed, for inst. to save and shelter shipwrecked persons; at another place the community erect a school, or the state, the commonwealth, builds a harbor or a canal. In ordinary life everybody cares for himself, but in such cases, as those just mentioned, people unite