Page:James Ramsay MacDonald - The Socialist Movement.pdf/157

 Rh it drifted away from its mandates. Some authority had to be created which would judge when the democratic house was acting as a representative, and when as an autocratic, body.

The politics of Socialism have been constructed on a different plan. They offer no abject allegiance to representative government though they assume that in every state of considerable area and population the representative must be the legislator. The representative, however, needs to be checked, but the Socialist proposes to do that by the people themselves and not by a particular section of the people. Hence, the referendum and proportional representation present themselves to the Socialist in alluring garments, and undoubtedly in countries suffering from corrupt legislators and from gross injustice from an inequality of constituencies, these proposals may be entitled to the term "reforms." In our country, however, that name cannot be given to them. The former is but a clumsy and ineffective weapon which the reaction can always use more effectively than the democracy, because it, being only the power to say "No," is far more useful to the few than to the many, and that will be more and more the case as the many become enlightened. The other adds greatly to the expense of elections, offers increased opportunities for the manipulating caucus managers, makes majorities and governments more dependent upon stray odd men in the legislature, and returns to