Letter: Sadists in Socialism? (1986)

Letter to the Editors from the August 1986 issue of the Socialist Standard

Dear Friends.

In an otherwise excellent article in the June Socialist Standard titled "Criminal Convictions" it stated "If there was no property, no competition, no oppression, exploitation or deprivation, but instead freedom for all to pursue peaceful, uncorrupted and useful existences, then there would be no violence".

Do you not believe that there are certain individuals whose violence is not due to the symptoms of capitalism but because they actually enjoy inflicting pain on others?

If so. what will become of the anti-social element in a socialist society?

Fraternally.

G Ellis 

Halesworth

Reply:

There is very often a great deal more to be said about the motives of those who are described as enjoying inflicting pain on others; they are not simply sadists. In many cases they have themselves been subjected to rejection and violence. Sometimes they are unable to contain, as most workers are. their responses to the frustrations and repressions which capitalism imposes on us. day after day. Or perhaps a lifetime of alienation has taught them to fear and mistrust any kind of human relationship, or to be unable to admit to any dependence on others.

These examples of social neuroses — and there are many others — spring directly from the way property society operates. Another important example is the way in which capitalism positively encourages workers to enjoy inflicting pain, by rewarding those who are the most efficient and ruthless killers of the ""enemy"' in wartime (Remember the famous "Gotcha" headline in the Sun?)

The advent of socialism will remove the cause of all these problems and so abolish all but a few examples of violence. And those few will be the acts of individuals who are mentally sick, for although socialism will obviously eradicate most mental illness there will probably be isolated cases where it has physical and not social roots. If such people express their sickness in violence they will need to be restrained in the interests of society. But they will be treated as patients, not as criminals and while they are restrained they will also be helped to recover.

Editors.