Other Days—Other Ways (1946)

From the February 1946 issue of the Socialist Standard

Mr. Arthur Deakin is fast gaining reputation as the Labour Party's most blatant capitalist propagandist.

Quoted with great satisfaction in the Daily Herald for November 6th, 1945, he calls upon the workers to reject unofficial stoppages which are rendering a grave disservice to the "nation" and (as an afterthought) their fellow workers.

   “While applying our minds to schemes for sharing wealth," he writes, "we have also to get down to the job of producing wealth."
   "The nation is fighting for its economic survival, and if it is to succeed, the people, both workers and management, must put their backs into the job with the same team spirit as in the days of the war.”

We have shown, in recent issues of the Socialist Standard how the Labour Party, loudly demanding a drastic re-distribution of income when out of office—on the grounds that there was plenty of cake; only too few had got too much— suddenly discovers when in office that "we” have got to produce more—the cake isn't big enough !

What we would here point out is Mr. Deakin's naive and stupid conception of Socialism, which he imagines is "schemes for sharing wealth."

Socialism is not "a scheme for sharing wealth.” It is the only method of producing wealth up to full capacity by modern society. Socialism is the ONLY way to take the capitalist brake off production.

When wealth is produced in superabundance under Socialism—it will not be "shared out" by a "scheme" it will be freely distributed. These Labour Party Trade Union officials never have known, and still do NOT know, what Socialism is.

Horatio.