Correspondence: [The Armed Forces] (1909)

Letter to the Editors from the October 1909 issue of the Socialist Standard

Sir,—The philosophy of the S.P.G.B. as I understand it from your platform and literature is as follows: “The workers must become class-consciously organised for the capture of the political machinery, and by so doing gain control over the armed forces. They would then be able to work out their own emancipation.” But the capitalist class, seeing this organisation growing, may hand over control cf the armed forces to a private company. Ought not, therefore, the workers organise industrially as well as politically, so that if we fail with one we can fall back on the other ?—S.H.

Reply:

The question is briefly answered in the affirmative in our Manifesto; not, however, that the failure of the political means is contemplated, but for reasons given in our answer to H. Harrison. In the light of history our correspondent has surely allowed his imagination to play tricks with him when he supposes the armed forces passed by the capitalist class “to a private company.” The thing is to make our class Socialist: the rest follows—Ed. “S.S.”]