Page:The International Socialist Review (1900-1918), Vol. 1, Issue 1.pdf/55

 nity and accuracy worthy of the position it is destined to attain in the world wide advance toward the commonwealth. In the second place we shall endeavor to keep our readers in touch with the socialist movements in other countries, and through the very able corps of foreign socialist writers and thinkers who have kindly agreed to contribute to this end, bring together each month the work and opinions of the best thought of the world on the philosophy of socialism. Finally, but perhaps most important of all, we shall aim to secure the interpretation of American social conditions in the light of socialist philosophy by the socialists of this country. To do this we invite the of all who feel that they have some contribution to offer to this end. While the editorial policy of the "Review" will be in accordance with the principles now universally accepted by the socialists of the world of independent political action by the laborers upon the basis of a struggle of classes with divergent material interests, with the ultimate object of securing the common ownership by such laborers of the means of production and distribution, nevertheless our columns will be open at all times, as far as space will permit to intelligent students of social questions whether agreeing with this position or not.

It is a characteristic of capitalism, which it shares with all life, that it must grow or die. Resting upon the exploitation of the producing classes, who continuously receive little more than their subsistence, the improvement of productive processes brings to the ruling possessing classes an ever larger mass of unearned products. These cannot be resold to the laborers who produced them. Hence a market is sought among a less highly developed society, where these finished products can be exchanged for raw material. Because England has been fairly successful in this policy she has become the "workshop of the world," and by a careful manipulation of her working class at home and her markets abroad has been able to maintain a semblance of local tranquility while promoting "civilization" in other lands.

Germany's capitalist class trained her workers in her marvelous system of technical schools until they were able to supply their employers with a surplus of goods for this same purpose, and Germany, with Italy, Belgium, France and Austria sought to carry the "torch of civilization" into those places where cheap raw material could be obtained for the goods her workers had created for their employers. No sooner was Russia awakened from her mediaeval slumber than her ruling class also discovered that while the condition of the laborers remained the same they were able