Page:James Ramsay MacDonald - The Socialist Movement.pdf/129

 Rh swept by the furious conflicts of Anarchism with Socialism. And yet, by a curious twisting of actual fact, many people associate these two opposing systems of political thought, as though they were the same, the reason probably being that every kind of opposition to the existing order is grouped together and made identical in minds not accustomed to discriminate in an intelligent way.

An examination of the current notions regarding the Socialist view about property and what is indeed the real view is equally enlightening. The common idea is that Socialism proposes to abolish private property. That is no less mistaken than is the view that Socialism and Anarchism are one and the same thing. Private property in one of its aspects is a limitation of the liberty of the woods, under which he who had the power took what he wanted, and of the struggle for life—although it may be used to revive this ancient form of liberty and this objectionable method of selection. It puts an end to the strife of keeping—although it may be used to exploit. It runs counter to the physical struggle of the survival of the fittest individual and secures the survival of the fittest community. Of all that Socialism approves, and it consequently aims at eliminating the evil consequences of private property and realising its desirable possibilities. Its proposals and views regarding