The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 14, 1924, Page 11

|Debating Capitalism - - ESPITE an extremely warm day, a crowd of upward of 1,500 per- sons heard Scott Nearing debate Prof. E. R. A. Seligman of Columbia Univer- sity on the subject: “Resolved, That present world problems cannot be solved under capitalism.” The debate which was held under the auspices of the Workers School of New York, took place at the Central Opera House, New York, on Sunday, April 27th. Nearing, in defending the affiirm- ative, opened with a definition of capi- talism, and spent the greater part of his speech enlarging and explaining this definition. Capitalism, he said, is the system of social organization in which the means of production and distribution, and the job are owned by one class and used by another, the second getting a return in the form of rent, interests, profits and dividends. Since the organization of the Stand- ard Oil in the ’70s, a turning point in American economic history, compe- titive capitalism has been changing in- to monopoly capitalism. The greater part of the $12 billion yearly income of the country is derived from rent, in- terest and dividends, part of which is invited within the country, and part of which our financial imperialism in- vests abroad, with protection guaran- teed by capitalism’s police, the State. Three of the world problems which Nearing said were unsolvable by capi- talism are: (1 Competitive struggle for raw materials; (2) Competitive nationalism and war; (3) Expropria- tion of the workers. With regard to (1), Nearing stated that the Ruhr and Lorraine coal and iron fields, the oil deposits, and other sources of raw ma- terials cause and will continue to cause conflicts, which capitalism cannot avoid, and which lead to war. As to (2), he said the great wheat plain reaching from Portugal to. the Urals, with coal and iron to the south, and timber to the north and rubber and cotton in he neighboring continents make the continent of Europe practic- ally self-sustaining. This natural scheme of things, however, is broken up by national boundries and customs barriers, and imperialistic wars are the result. This second problem is un- solvable under capitalism. Thirdly, when machinofacture expropriated the craftsman of his skill and tools, i. e., of his job, the masses of dispossessed workers became involved in a class struggle. Since economic power deter- mines political and social power, this economic civil war internally, and imperialistic wars externally resulted, eating the very heart out of society. This third great problem is unsolvable by capitalism. In his opening speech Prof. Selig- man accepted Nearing’s definition of capitalism, insisting, however, that the intellectual job of managing production makes capitalist as much of a sharer in production as worker. Ue also said he would accept Nearing’s formulation of the world’s great problems. He chose rather to call them evils, and said that some had been unsolvable under precapitalist systems, such as private and social morality, the prob- lem of the individual and society, hate, greed, sex, deceit, etc. These evils existed in ancient times, are indepen- dent of economic causes, and cannot be solved under any system. He ques- tioned whether any system could cure them, and refused to believe-that so- cialism would be able to. In answer to Nearing’s statement of the problems (Prof. Seligman chose to rebut during his first speech, rather than to state his side of the proposi- tion). lem should not be stated as the con- flict over raw materials, but as the conquest of nature, since all people, you and I, as well as Stinnes, Rocke- feller, etc., need tea, rubber and coal. The conflict is not worker versus own- er, but consumer versus nature. (Laughter.) War is not caused by capitalist struggles for raw materials and markets, but by the power of the population to increase and encroach upon supplies of raw materials. In answer to the question of capitalism’s abiilty to avoid wars, Prof. Seligman pointed to the wars we did not have with Mexico, Cuba, etc., over oil, sugar and so on. Capitalism is being held in check by an enlightened. public opin- ion, Answering Nearing’s second point, as to nationalism and war, Seligman said that wars are not due to capital- ism, since we have had wars thruout known history, many of them precapi- talistic. Capitalism is in its incipient stage, considered from a world point of view, and wars are as old as his- tory. Moreover many of them are due to religion, to radicalism, (such as Nordie vs. non-Nordic conflicts,) and as such are ineradicable. These na- tionalistic, racial, religious causes lie deeper than their economic aspects. In answer to Nearing’s statement that national trusts cause wars, Seligman contended that there are international trusts, which don’t stop at national borders, and which prevent war. Se- ligman refused to accept Nearing’s statement that capitalism today is monopoly capitalism. He insisted that concentratiof#, not monopoly was proper term, the potential monopoly was admissable. The World Court as an international police, will stop wars, as in the case of Danzig, Poland, etc. At Versailles, the conflict was not be- tween economic forces, but between racial, religious, and nationalistic forces. The division of Europe into MONETARY REFORM IN RUSSIA © (Continued from page 2.) to give him credits up to 500 rubles. With emission to cover the deficit eliminated and without credits as yet from the outside, there remains one means, domestic loans. In that the Soviet Government had a fair success for the last year, placing domestie loans to the amount of 122 million rubles, mostly on short terms, the very latest being a six per cent loan under treasury obligations for a three months’ term, but with the right to hold it up to a year and receive interest for all the time, from the date of the issuance to that of actual payment. 7 In all the loaas_ practically the cities alone took part, the peasantry taking only thirty per cent of it, to- gether with the bread loans which were of very favorable terms for the holders. It uas veen decided there- fore, to issue a new loan for the peas- antry. The 18th of March last such a loan, with a lottery combination, to the amount of fifty million rubles, was announced. Also this loan ia very favorable to the peasants. It is ia the first place in very small deno-znizations, in one, three, and five rubles, giving the peasant a chance to save up in any small amount. It is for three years, in ten: series of five million each, bringing five per cent yearly inter- est, and to be sold for the time of subscription at 85 for 100, with a reduction, that is, of fifteen per cent of the nominal price. But that is not the whole thing. There will be drawings at certain periods and one out of every three hundred holders has the assured chance to win a certain amount from one thousand rubles down to five. There will be eighty chances of a thousand rubles, 1200 of a hundred, 6000 of fifty, 20,000 of twenty-five, 50,000 of ten, and 100,000 of five. Above all it will be accepted of the peasantry at nominal price in pay- ment of the single cash money tax this year. In other words every peas- ant who will not care for the inter- est the loan brings or for the possi- bility of being among the lucky ones and win a.thousand rubles, will, by the mere process of buying it, gain fifteen per cent by paying off with these lottery loan obligations his taxes. The bread and other short term loans were successful and there are already signs that this new loan- lottery will be successful, too, as the government was already compelled to take proper means that this loan goes directly to the peasantry and avoids the speculators, Seligman said that the prob-! countries was due, not to capitalism, but to exaggerated nationalism. With regard to the expropriation of the workers, Prof. Seligman said that he preferred to call that problem the distribution of wealth. He said it could be made more equitable thru taxes; thru more “good” capitalism, such as Ford, Johnston, and Dennison typified, and thru the elimination of sweatshops, contracting shops, etc.; thru good government interference; thru a shorter workday, as in the steel industry. Our finest not our worst capitalists should determine our judg- ment of capitalism. In Russia, where Communists rule, Seligman contended that liberty, comforts, etc., are gone, and medieval conditions prevail. Kras- notchokoft’s imprisonment proves that human nature, not capitalism causes many of our evils. In conclusion, Se- ligman said that capitalism was un- lovely, man was unlovely, and civiliza- tion only a veneer. Agencies are now transforming the world, and if we only give them a chance (laughter), if we act rightly and truly, the vision of a better future will be réalized. We haven’t enough knowledge today, we don’t know the truth, we must wait for a balance of forces. The natural development of individual energy, sub- ject to the common interst, and in- creased production of wealth, will give each man more some day. In rebuttal, Nearing said that the struggle for raw materials came with capitalism, and that financial imperial- ism could not abolish this — strug- gle. He instanced the marines and battle ships in Cuba, Mexico, Hon- duras, Haiti, etc. He said that capital- ists were Kinder because the press re- fused to tell the truth about them. Nearing insisted that the World War was due to the capitalists of the five great powers, and that the Treaty of Versailles and the Balkan-Baltic coun- tries were the product of the capital- ists and finance struggle for raw ma- terials and markets. Good capitalists, like Ford, are the most efficient ex- ploiters and open-shoppers in the country, the best slave-drivers, except for Gary. The problems he had enum- erated, Nearing said, were real prob- lems, not evils, were cancerous growths, not mere beads of perspira- tion. The expropriation of labor by capitalism, not the distribution of wealth, was the fundamental relation in society today, and to get rid of the basic defects of the present system, we must get rid of capitalism. Prof. Seligman, in his rebuttal, in- sisted that wars are not caused by capitalism. The cure for wars lay in some such compulsory arbitration as the world court. One cause of war was paucity of raw materials. A cer- tain bishop, by wonderful imagination and argument caused the opium prob- Penetrating Analysis! Burning Criticism! THE NEW AND SIGNIFICANT BOOK ENTITLED The World’s By A. G. Bosse fem to be solved, and other problems could similarly be solved. Russia, under the N. E. P. had all the evils of slavery and none of its benefits, so Hourwich and Levine had told him. The workers were seething with dis- content and anxious to wipe out the present regime. The cure for present evils was the extension and de- velopment of the present system, not a socialist system. Model factories, if extended, will raise the standard of living of the workers, and give them a greater share of civilization. Gary instittited the shorter day because Harding told him to. The Child Labor Amendment is another instance of advance under capitalism. In short, salvation, in so far as it is possible today, lies under capitalism, not under socialism. A few opinions which the reporter heard outside the hall from proleta- rians who had heard the debate may interest the reader, as typifying the at- titude and intelligence of the average workingman in the audience. One worker thought that Nearing should have had the last word, since debates were usually run so. Anyway, he thought that Nearing, in the limited time he had, had answered Seligman well. Another contended that Near- ing had overlooked, or hadn’t had time enough to point out that precapital- istic wars were due to economic causes, resulting from private owner- ship of property. Many workers said that they had heard of Seligman as the foremost defender of capitalism in the country, and if that was true, they were disappointed with him. He had put up a very poor case, in their opinion. One intellectual clamored that Nearing had not answered the example of international trusts men- tioned by Seligman. A worker an- swered him that due to limited time, to the large topic, to Seligman’s dis- gressions, and to his early rebuttal (in his first speech), and to the fact that Nearing had not had the last speech, he could not answer all of his oppon- ent’s arguments. Leave the reader to judge of the merits of the case. SS “KOMMENTS ON THE KU KLUX KLAN” The deeper meaning of Wizard, Dragon, Titan, Cyplops, Hydras, Fur- ies, etc. A complete expose. Secret work, oath, and constitution. The klan is dead the minute the people understand it. This book explains all. You may now look under the sheet. One dozen | ermacth y 15¢ var nun deta hase wanted.” Mention The Daily Worker MAC’S BOOK STORE 27 JOHN R STREET DETROIT Full line of Sociological and Labor Literature. Periodicals and Newspapers TU TIM LM Sound Logic! Trade Union Movement By A. 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