The Socialism of to-day

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 835096955

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-28834

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Laveleye, Émile de

Title:: The Socialism of to-day

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Field & Tuer

Year of publication:: 1884

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XLIV, 331 S.)

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

264 THE SOCIALISM OF TO-DAY. The Evolutionist-Collectivists or Possibilists are much the most numerous among the Socialist working men, and they are continually gaining ground on the Irreconcilables, the Anar chists and Jacobins, who look upon them as traitors and cowards. In order to give a more precise idea of their principles, I shall here reproduce the most important passages from one of their programmes issued at the National Congress at Havre in 1880 :— “Whereas the emancipation of the productive classes is the emancipa tion of all human beings irrespective of sex or race, and whereas the producers can never be really free until they possess the means of production, and whereas there are only two forms under which the means of production can belong to them . (i) the individual form, which has never existed as a general fact, and which is being more and more circumscribed by industrial prepress ; (2) the collective form, the material and intellectual elements of which are furnished by the very growth of capitalistic society : the French Socialist working men, while announcing, as the aim of their efforts regarding the economic order, a return to the collective ownership of all the means of production, have decided to take part in elections with the following programme :— “ Economic Progra7nme. ‘ (i) One day of rest in the week ; reduction of the labour of adults to eight hours per day ; prohibition of the employment of children under fourteen years of age in factories. (2) A minimum rate of wages to be fixed by law every year according to the local price of food. (3) Equal wages for the two sexes, for equal work. (4) General, scientific, and professional education of all children, who should be maintained at the cost of the State and the Communes. (5) Maintenance by the Community of old people and disabled workmen. (6) Liability of employers for accidents. (7) Workmen to have a voice as to the speeial regulations of factories. (8) Revision of all contracts that have alienated public property (e.g. banks, rail ways, mines), and the management of the State workshops to be entrusted to those working in them. (9) Abolition of indirect taxes, and the substitu tion of a progressive tax on all incomes exceeding 3000 frs. (;¿'i2o). Suppression of all hereditary succession, except in the direct line to the extent of 20,000 frs. {£^qo). (io) Reconstitution of Communal property, (il) Application by the municipalities of funds at their disposal to the construction on Communal lands of buildings of various kinds, such as working men s houses, stores for the deposit of goods, etc., to be let to the inhabitants without profit to the municipalities.”

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: The Socialism of to-day

Monograph

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation