Finally, some of the goals of the Fabian Society are simply impossible, or against standard human nature. The motivation which the Fabians cite for the individual in capitalism is that it offers selfish motives for doing good, at least in theory. They also claim that the socialist worker would work the hardest, the socialist soldier would fight the fiercest. (Winsten, Stephen. _Days,_ 266.) In these, the socialist would be doing his good for the community of which he is a member. Thus, he has a personal stake in the matter, and could very well be working for personal gain. Furthermore, true devotion to community above the self would hold two prerequisites. The socialist would have to have little or no sense of selfishness, and he would have to have little or no loss factor in the prescribed course of action. These held to be true, there would be no loss for a possible gain.
The Fabians would also abolish all rent, all differences in unearned income. The four types of rent that they cite are rent in land, rent in ability, rent in opportunity, and rent in interest. (Shaw, G. B. “Economic,” _Fabian Essays._) Three of these four cannot be regulated efficiently. Rent in land could only be abolished if the land were truly communal, which is possible, though unlikely. Rent in ability would only be abolished if use of extraordinary abilities such as strength or imagination were proscribed. Rent in opportunity could be avoided by limiting the opportunities of all to those available to the lowest, and only from that point widening the opportunities of the lowest. Rent of interest would only result from the abandonment of the concept of interest altogether, which would make any money lending a losing operation from the beginning. Regulating these factors and others could easily require the regulation of more base operations. Differences in the physical body would have to be done away with through cloning. Differences in philosophy and religion would have to be done away with by indoctrination during childhood. One might insert any number of Huxleyan devices to help regulate and stabilize society.
Thus, though the Fabians may have seen lofty goals in the past, we have seen attempts at socialism in our world through routes similar and different to their own. We have seen Soviet Communism, which fell apart from the greed of its citizens, the greed of its leaders, and the oppressive nature of its structure. We have seen attempts at traditionalism, where small agrarian communities truly do live as a single unit. However, this would only work so long as the community remained agrarian, and remained small. Large communities need more regulation, as do industrial communities. The regulation is what people most often rebel against, and thus would be a symbol for that which must be avoided in proper socialism. We have even seen regulated “democracy” cover the name of socialism with that of its rival. This would not work simply because mob rule would tend to override any truly beneficial opportunities for the whim of the masses.
Whether the future holds a bright future for socialism or not, we can still see the inroads socialism has made into our society today. The Labour Party in both the United Kingdom and the United States seeks to place the means of production and the results of production in the hands of the producers. (Watson, Peter. “Fabian Society.”) The entire idea of Welfare is to raise the low a bit higher than they are, to put money in the hands of those who have none. HMO groups offer a controlled and regulated medicine to those who join.
But to return to the idea of democracy, a true democracy might be sold on the idea of socialism. In a mob rule, power lies in that hands of numbers, not intelligence, and it truly sounds like a good idea. “Make all people the same, so that the poor would not be poor.” Alas, in real life, there exists no true democracy, and there is no true utopia from which to begin anew. Thus, the only route available to the socialists who wish to make a lasting societal change is through patient infiltration of the status quo.
There may indeed be good points to socialism, but the socialist government?s true worth could only occur from a utopian society. Any attempt at socialism in the world we live in would be doomed never to achieve its full potential simply from human nature and opponents from other nations. It would be compromised in its integrity, in its leadership, and in the hearts of its people. As has been seen through the Marxism of the Soviet Union and the Maoism of the People?s Republic of China, the pseudo-socialism that may be achieved with resources currently available is certainly much more harmful to society than the semi-capitalism that exists in most nations. It is the encouragement of mediocrity by rewarding those with less ability, it is the idea of the high being brought down that cannot be accepted by the public.
Perhaps capitalism will fall someday, but those cities built upon the rubble of its ruins will not be assured of a socialist existence. As admitted by the Fabians themselves, a period of dictatorship is inevitable, and an extended period would be more than likely. So long as there is held some form of class and power in the world, there will be those reluctant to release it. The self is the most reliable person, the most trustworthy, and therefore will always receive first merit in the eyes of worth. Thus, the community is always afforded a second place to the selfish man.
Still, we must be constantly watching for infiltration. Perhaps Adolf Hitler said it best in 1933: “When an opponent declares ?I will not come over to your side,? I calmly say, ?Your child belongs to us already… What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short while they will know nothing else but this new community.?” (Grover, John C. _The Hellmakers,_ p. 36.)
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Works Cited
DeConte, Michael. Personal conversation. 25 Feb., 1998.
Grover, John C. _The Hellmakers._ Cranbrook: Veritas Publishing Company Pty Ltd, 1993.
Henderson, Archibald and Shaw, G. B. _The Table-Talk of G.B.S._ New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1925.
Maoist International Movement. “Maoist International Movement,” “Re: Cult of Attis,”"Re: Capital Punishment.” mim3@mim.org (28 Sep. 1997 – 4 Nov. 1997). E-mail conversations.
“Marxist and Utopian Socialists: Developments after Marx.” Monarch Notes. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1 Jan., 1990.
“Marxist and Utopian Socialists: Socialism in Great Britain.” Monarch Notes. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1 Jan., 1990.
Shaw, G. B. “Androcles and the Lion.” _The Theatre of Bernard Shaw, Vol. I._ Ed. Alan S. Downer. New York: Dodd, Mead, & Company, 1913. 459-503.
__________ _Pygmalion._ Reading: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1913.
Shaw, G. B. et al. “Economic,” etc. Fabian Essays on Socialism. Ed. G. B. Shaw. London: Walter Scott, 1889.
Watson, Peter. “Fabian Society is communist destroyer.” talk.politics.european-union 3 Feb. 1998. Usenet Article.
Winsten, Stephen. _Days with Bernard Shaw._ New York: The Vanguard Press Inc., 1949.