kusT** r>~"

The Official Journal of The Socialist League^;

^Vcl. i.—No. FEBRUARY, 1885.

Pb«€,

INTRODUCTORY.& be . our readers' leave for a few words in which to introduce to

m tj -s Socialist journal, The Commonweal. In the first place we

therr to understand that the Editor and Sub-Editor of The:imo- weal are acting as delegates of the Socialist League, and under

d» re' - ontrol : any slip in principles, therefore, any mis-statement

»iis or tactics of the League, are liable to correction from the

Natives of that body.

the conduct of The Commonweal, it must be remembered

is one aim—the propagation of Socialism. We shall not, there-

ke any excuses for what may be thought journalistic short-

, if we can but manage to attract attention to the study of our

•s from those who have not yet thought of Socialism, or who

jff*s ofu ii happens, bitterly hostile to them through ignorance; or if

:£Li help those whose feelings are drawing them towards the causetl workers, but who need definite instruction as to ijts aims and

)ds. To awaken the sluggish, to strengthen the waverers, to

ct the seekers after truth ; these are high aims, yet not too high

a journal that claims to be Socialistic, and we hope by patience

?eal to accomplish them.

is our duty to attack unsparingly the miserable system which«kl make all civilisation end in a society of rich aud poor, of slaves

:?id slave-owners. In all its details we must attack it; but in doing

shall avoid mere personalities, not fc* the*ake of e^ping the

saUons irf bad taste and bitteii^lfto anyhi flung at us, but beea*ia^it is illogical to attad^l$QS£t^m^ii.

U pus as !tn&"*posi5wi is, who ^re themaeiyei mere helpless1

s ;n the temfele mchine of mo^^Gm^amm To attack such

r^..Iess they put themselves forwardj»ti& representatives of

Astern, implies the belief that the decency orta&evolence of theirwquld usefully palliate the evils of that Sj^mi an implication

isi which we protest from the outset.

ie Commonweal will only deal with poi^al matters when theytly affect the progress of the Cause. Weaasamsas a matter of

xsi that a government of privileged persons, hereditary andJercial, cannot act usefully or rightly toward* the. community

;

position forbids it ; their arrangements for the distribution of the\r of the workers, their struggles for the national tfbare of theStation of barbarous peoples are nothing to us except so far as3nay give us an opportunity of instilling Socialism into men's

ife, or of organizing discontent into Socialism.

m invite from all, Socialists or others, free discussion of any-

m we put forward, in the belief that even an uninstructed attack^Ucit useful information which might otherwise have lain

.a ir.

0*1 articles will, for the most part, be of an educational nature

:

will be a series on historical revolutions, expositions of the*ific basis of Socialism, and contributions from men of variouslialities.

h a word of appeal, to the workers chiefly. It is not only thatper we say is professedly directly in their interest : much more it

through them alone, through the slaves of society, we look forleneration, for its elevation from its present corruption and

We cannot pretend to think that they, the workers, as yet|iuch of the principles of the cause that rests upon them, ,oftwn cause, in fact. We beseech them to help us in spreadingIdge of those principles amongst their fellows, that as we believew now. find us honest, so their support may make us resolute,

^atiei^jand* hopeful—in a word, successful in our efforts for the

THE MANIFESTO OF THE SOCIALIST LEA<

*ai*ce of the cause we have at heart,

WILLIAM

Fellow Citizens,

;

We come before you as a body advocating the prinpiples

Revolutionary International Socialism ; that is, we seek a caaag$|j

the basis of Society—a change which would destroy the \"

classes and nationalities.

As the civilised world is at present constituted, there are two^of Society—the one possessing wealth and the instruments df its 3duction, the other producing wealth by means of those instruo

but only by the leave and for the use of the possessing classes^

These two classes are necessarily in antagonism to one anotJ

The possessing class, or non-producers, can only live as a cla^on l

unpaid labour of the producers—the more unpaid labour ttiey/^

wring out of them, the richer they will be ; therefore the prodia

class-—the workers—are driven to strive to better themselves at^expense of the possessing class, and th£ conflict between the Upceaseless. Sometimes it takes the form of open rebellion, someti

of strikes, sometimes of mere widespread mendicancy and crj|k^;:1

it is always going on in one form or other, though it may not afa

be obvious to the thoughtless looker-on.

We ^ave spoken of unpaid labour: it is necessary to explain what*

that means. ±ne sole possession of th?^ producing class is the power

of labour inherent in their bodies ; but sirjQgras_ we have already 5tt*^i^'>

the rich glasses possess all tie instruments* oi.jaTDpur, that is, the tesfc&f'

capital, and machinery, the producers or1

workers 'aW forced to'"-**

Htp^T--gftj^

nngcocc1>Qn- the power of labour, on such terni^ as

possesjng class will grant them.

Thee terms are, that after they have produced enough to keep the

in woking order, and enable them to beget children to take \hi

places when they are worn out, the surplus of their products shd

belong to the possessors of property, which bargain is based on t^

fact tot every man working in a civilised community can produc

more :han he needs for his own sustenance.

Thi relation of the possessing class to the working class is

essenial basis of the system of producing for a profit, on whicr/Qt

modem Society is founded. The way in which it works is as fallc^

The manufacturer produces to sell at a profit to the %roker cr fac

who in his turn makes a profit out of his dealings with the mercha

who again sells for a profit to the retailer, who must make his prttf

out of the general public, aided by various degrees of fraud and r^

'

teration and the ignorance of the value and quality of goods to wh*

this system has reduced the consumer.

The profit-grinding system It fiaittlained by competition, or <

war, not only between the confgctiog classes, rM also within the cla^

themselves : there !• ilways wa**mong tips woikers for bare subsist^

ence, and among their masters; the-emptors attd middle-men, f-

.the share of the profit wrmfg out of the wooers; l«Sy< there is r ^

petittGi!--^avis» and sometimes open wax, atfcO^ tl^*

civilised worl&^rJrheir share of the world-iaarkf%*""^

all the rivalries q,Anti0RS have been reduced tOlpiM

struggle for thej&jshare of the spoils of barbaro^

at home for tl^purpose of increasing the riches*

poverty of <the p bor.m

™—

-

,

For, owing to, the fact that goods are made primarlfto seU, and

only secondarily for use, labour is wasted on ^11 hands ; since the

pursuit of profft compels the manufacturer competing with his fellowsj

to force bis wdfjres on the markets by means of their cheapness, whether fthere it any W fal demand for them or not. In the words of the Com-^

> of 1847 :—

j are their artillery for battering down Chinese <

^xring the obstinate hatred entertained against C

fed ^nations: under p^alty o£r^4§t^ **

w^ij^m

«w»ipetiticm the uaiverswl adaption of their fjstern of

jfjfcey for«£fl nations to aeeept what3« called avfiisatioo

Bourgerife—and th»s U&e middle-class shapes the world

aage,"

>the ttfeade method of <fetributio» under this system is

Istestec; for It employs wfeole anaies of clerks, travellers, shop-

ancf what not, merely for the sake of shifting moneyP^frj^ecscm's pocket to another's; and this waste in production

rj# distribution, adde$ to the maintenance of the useless lives

^possessing and non-producing class, must all be paid for out of*' ^

£ofthe workers, and is a ceaseless burden on their lives.

J^j^tiecessary results of this so-called civilisation are only

J; in the lives of its slaves, the working-class—in the anxiety

of l&sure amidst which they toil, in the squalor and

Bess in those parts of our great towns where they dwell \ in

ion of their bodies, their wretched health, and the shortness

/Hires \ in the terrible brutality so common among them, and

is indeed but the reflection of the cynical selfishness found" the well-to-do classes, a brutality as hideous as the other; and

ym the crowd of criminals who are as much manufactures of our

aercial system as the cheap and nasty wares which are made at

rfor the consumption and the enslavement of the poor.

it remedy, then, do we propose for this failure of our civilisation,

e is now admitted by almost all thoughtful people ?

i^e have already shown that the workers, although they produce

| Site wealth of society, have no control over its production or distri-

: the people, who are the. only really organic part of society, are

as a mere appendage to capital-—as a part of its machinery,

i ifiustf be altered from the foundation : the land, the capital, the

fccbineryvfactories* workshops, stores, means of transit, minesrJinking,; means of production and distribution of wealth, musfc'fee. 4ed%ed. treated as the common property of all. ^j^tfftif- m^Tl^.'i&tniverthe full value of his labr>rr3 with^^#riWiHpi fbr tke pneft^f

iter, and as all will have \o^Q^^^mmm*m incurred by *hc

rsuit of profit will be ajt *nm^8m smm* tfhihom necessary for

every mdividual .W.flifcrjrt Uj <yf9mj» csatf <m tie essential work of

the werl^ja* ,1# two or three hours daily;

llfiHiave ^bundafift Insure for following intellectual

\ t& ifes nature. ,J

•retrod of productior^wwi dUribution wouldrtive decently, and free fx*m*hg/Q$& V££g&U&L

which at present weigh so hm$g On the greatet part;

Bat, moreover, men's social and moral tzktaam would be sewusly1 * led by this gain of economical freedom, and by the collapse rf the

[perditions, moral and other, which necessarily accompany a stite of

cmti&kkzl slavery : the test of duty would now rest on the fulfixnent

clear and well-defined obligations to the community rather thm onjgjwmlding of the individual character and actions to some pre-

fefved standard outside social responsibilities.

Oi» modern bourgeois property-marriage, maintained as it is Dy its

^^ssarf complement, universal venal prostitution, would give plr.ee to

Ly and human relations between the sexes.

Bdscation freed from the trammels of commercialism on the oneand superstition on the other, would become a reasonable drawing

©f men's varied faculties in order to fit them for a life of social

:ourse and happiness ; for mere work would no longer be proposed

^ $fije end of life, but happiness for each and all.

^tiHtf by such fundamental changes in the life of man, only by the

of Civilisation into Socialism, can those miseries of the

before-mentioned b^mended. -

eS to mere politics, Absolutism, Constitutionalism, Republicanism,

beea tried in our day and under our present social system, andaiifee foiled in dealing with the real evils ofUife.

&*? Jfte other hand, will certain incomplete^fnemes of social

f^^fP'taflare the public solve the question.

^PHealled—that is, competitive co-oper

rioMirfifg increase the number of small joint-!

r*€Se mask of creating an aristocracy of labour,*~~

: the severity of labour by its temptations to ovton of the J&fld alone, which many earne

ma ftow preacKag, wouM be useless so long

,to tie faici^;^«iDi^-«dtie kevkable under

»n for profit

—

>ck capitalists,

it would

•work,

and sincere

labour was

Cajntalistthe

'

(^8e4 "^0mf0B^m^^i0f make cortaw*"

'"

M eapk

te^er'uameons to the

k*i*d,w*ge$

the workers are in possession of all political poweif would aakureal approach toSocklism,The Socialist League feerefcn* aims at the realisafl&n <.f con

Revolutionary Socialism, and weS knows that this cafi ne :.. Upany one country without the help of the workers of all - vilii

For us neither geographical boundaries, political history race, rfc£creed makes rivals or enemies; for ns there are no nation but'oiflfvaried masses of workers and friends, whose mutual symp thies nj

checked or perverted by groups of masters and fleecers who 3 inter*!it is to stir up rivalries and hatreds between the dwellers indiffe.en;

'

nnf j

It is clear that for all these oppressed and cheated masses cf worktiand their masters a great change is preparing : the dominant clasJare uneasy, anxious, touched in conscience even, as to the coi ditionf^^those they govern ; the markets of the world are being com >eted j|p^^with an eagerness never before known; everything points to th* f^tot the great commercial system is becoming unmanageable, andslipping from the grasp of its present rulers.

The one change possible out of all this is Socialism. As chatti

slavery passed into serfdom, and serfdom into the so-called free-labc

system, so most surely will this latter pass into social order.To the realisation of this change the Socialist League a Jdres^

itself with all earnestness. As a means thereto it will do all in its povtowards the education of the people in the principles of this gr^cause, and will strive to organise those who will accept this educati^so that when the crisis comes, which the march of events is preparii

there may be a body of men ready to step into their due places 1

deal with and direct the irresistible movement.Close fellowship with each other, and steady purpose for the

vancement of the Cause, will naturally bring about the organisation!

and discipline amongst ourselves absolutely necessary to succe ss ; b^"

we shall look to it that there shall be no distinctions of rank or dig 1*1

amongst us to give opportunities for the selfish ambition of le* denh|which has so often injured the cause of the workers. We are worddfor equality and brotherhood for all the world, and it is only throuk

equality and brotherhood that we can make our work effective. . c^jgj

Let us all strive, then, towards this end of realising the c<Efe*

towards social order, the only cause worthy the attention ofj t|

workers of all that are proffered to them : let us work in that Cau*

patiently, yet hopefully, and not shrink from making sacrifices lo

Industry in learning its principles, industry in teaching them, are mcj

necessary to our progress ; but to these we must add, if we wiiih

avoid speedy failure, frankness and fraternal trust in each other, ai

single-hearted devotion to the religion of Socialism, the only re'igij1

which the Socialist League professes.

Signatures of the Provisional Council of the Socialist League.

'%

. &«a«i Atilino.

Thomas Binning.

E. Charles.William J.

Clark.

J. Cooper.

J.T. Craig,

harles J. Faulkner,W. Hudson.Frank Kitz.

Joseph Lane.Frederic Lessner.Thomas Maguire (Leeds).

J. L. Mahon.S. Mainwaring.James Mavor (Glasgow).

William Morris.C. Mowbray.Andreas Scheu (Edinburgh)

Edward Watson.

IMPERIALISM v. SOCIALISM

We seem at the present time to have arrived at the acute stage ot

colonial fever which during the past three or four years has affiiC

the various powers of Europe. Germany is vying with France, r

land with both, in the haste to seize upon " unoccupied y

\coun

jj

and to establishu protectorates "-—the cant diplomatic for mconj

annexation—over uncivilised peoples. "The rivalry among the n*

for their share of the world market " (to quote the words of our|

festo) must now, one would think, have ^discovered itself tcJ

the casual newspaper reader as the only meaning, the

" diplomacy " and "foreign policy" any longer possess,

jealousy between the courts of Europe, once the sole and

recently the main cause of national enmity and war, T-- ^ **

been superseded by the jealousy between the great c ^various nationalities. The flunkey-patriot, zefrtew^T

honour, dances as readily to-day to the pipe Oi eft]

did before to that of royal intrigue, let it but ««m^hatwd. Ilk b0t& case* he w&&* tite n£*faj;J|K: