Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

On May 1st, 1949, the essay 'Why Socialism?' was published in the first issue of Monthly Review, written by actual genius, Albert Einstein.

It addresses some of the main & ongoing problems with capitalism, predatory economic competition, & growing wealth inequality.

It highlights how control of the mass media by private capitalists makes it difficult for citizens to arrive at objective conclusions, & how political parties being influenced by wealthy financial backers results in an "oligarchy of private capital".

Sound familiar?

Einstein concludes that these recurring problems can only be corrected with a mixed/planned economy which maintains a strong democracy to protect the rights of individuals.

Below are edited highlights from the essay which imho still have a strong resonance & relevance today.

Einstein starts by asking "is it advisable for one who is not an expert on economic & social issues to express views on the subject of socialism?"

He of course believes it is:

"Let us first consider the question from the point of view of scientific knowledge."

He says that while scientists in both astronomy & economics "attempt to discover laws of general acceptability for a circumscribed group of phenomena in order to make the interconnection of these phenomena as clearly understandable as possible...

...in reality such methodological differences do exist. The discovery of general laws in the field of economics is made difficult by the circumstance that observed economic phenomena are often affected by many factors which are very hard to
evaluate separately."

"In addition, the experience which has accumulated since the beginning of the so-called civilized period of human history has—as is well known—been largely influenced & limited by causes which are by no means exclusively economic in nature."

"For example, most of the major states of history owed their existence to conquest. The conquering peoples established themselves, legally and economically, as the privileged class of the conquered country."

"They seized for themselves a monopoly of the land ownership and appointed a priesthood from among their own ranks. The priests, in control of education, made the class division of society into a permanent
institution and created a system of values...

...by which the people were thenceforth, to a large extent unconsciously, guided in their social behaviour. But historic tradition is, so to speak, of yesterday; nowhere have we really overcome what Thorstein Veblen called "the predatory phase" of human development."

(Veblen was a Norwegian-American economist & sociologist & critic of capitalism who coined the concepts of conspicuous consumption & conspicuous leisure, through which rich & poor alike signal status in an attempt to impress others to gain advantage, which Veblen detested).

(Veblen claims predation was a phase in the evolution of culture, ‘attained when the predatory attitude has become habitual & accredited’. From this, we derive the concept of predatory capitalism: the cultural acceptance of domination & exploitation as normal economic practice.)

Einstein continues his critique of the scientific method: "Since the real purpose of socialism is precisely to overcome & advance beyond the predatory phase of human development, economic science in its present state can throw little light on the socialist society of the future."

"Socialism is directed towards a social-ethical end. Science, however, cannot create ends &, even less, instil them in human beings; science, at most, can supply the means by which to attain certain ends."

"But the ends themselves are conceived by personalities with lofty ethical ideals and—if these ends are not stillborn, but vital and vigorous—are adopted and carried forward by those many human beings who, half unconsciously, determine the slow evolution of society."

"For these reasons, we should be on our guard not to overestimate science & scientific methods when it is a question of human problems & we should not assume that experts are the only ones who have a right to express themselves on questions affecting the organization of society."

A reminder that Einstein was writing just 4 years after the end of WWII & the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"Innumerable voices have been asserting for some time now that human society is passing through a crisis, that its stability has been gravely shattered."

"It is characteristic of such a situation that individuals feel indifferent or even hostile toward the group, small or large, to which they belong. In order to illustrate my meaning, let me record here a personal experience."

"I recently discussed with an intelligent and well-disposed man the threat of another war, which in my opinion would seriously endanger the existence of mankind, and I remarked that only a supra-national organization would offer protection from that danger."

"Thereupon my visitor, very calmly and coolly, said to me: "Why are you so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?" I am sure that as little as a century ago no one would have so lightly made a statement of this kind."

"It is the statement of a man who has striven in vain to attain an equilibrium within himself & has more or less lost hope of succeeding. It is the expression of a painful solitude & isolation from which so many people are suffering in these days. What is the cause?"

"Is there a way out?

Before Einstein attempts to answer these difficult questions, he offers a few caveats:

"I am very conscious of the fact that our feelings and strivings are often contradictory and obscure and that they cannot be expressed in easy and simple formulas."

"Man is, at one and the same time, a solitary being and a social being. As a solitary being, he attempts to protect his own existence and that of those who are closest to him, to satisfy his personal desires, and to develop his innate abilities."

"As a social being, he seeks to gain the recognition & affection of his fellow human beings, to share in their pleasures, to comfort them in their sorrows, & to improve their conditions of life."

"Only the existence of these varied, frequently conflicting strivings, accounts for the special character of a man, & their specific combination determines the extent to which an individual can achieve an inner equilibrium & can contribute to the well-being of society."

"It is quite possible that the relative strength of these two drives is, in the main, fixed by inheritance. But the personality that finally emerges is largely formed by the environment in which a man happens to find himself during his development...

...by the structure of the society in which he grows up, by the tradition of that society, & by its appraisal of particular types of behaviour."

"The abstract concept "society" means to the individual human being the sum total of his direct & indirect relations to his contemporaries and to all the people of earlier generations. The individual is able to think, feel, strive, & work by himself;

but he depends so much upon society—in his physical, intellectual, & emotional existence—that it is impossible to think of him, or to understand him, outside the framework of society."

"It is "society" which provides man with food, clothing, a home, tools, language, the forms & most of the content of thought; his life is made possible through the labor & the accomplishments of the many millions past & present who are all hidden behind the small word "society"."

"It is evident, therefore, that the dependence of the individual upon society is a fact of nature which cannot be abolished—just as in the case of ants & bees. However, while the whole life process of ants & bees is fixed down to the smallest detail by rigid, hereditary instincts

...the social pattern & interrelationships of human beings are very variable & susceptible to change. Memory, the capacity to make new combinations, the gift of oral communication have made possible developments among human being which are not dictated by biological necessities."

"Such developments manifest themselves in traditions, institutions & organizations; in literature (etc) This explains how it happens that, in a certain sense, man can influence his life through his own conduct, & that in this process conscious thinking & wanting can play a part."

"Man acquires at birth, through heredity, a biological constitution which we must consider fixed & unalterable, including the natural urges which are characteristic of the human species."

"In addition, during his lifetime, he acquires a cultural constitution which he adopts from society through communication and through many other types of influences."

"It is this cultural constitution which, with the passage of time, is subject to change & which determines to a very large extent the relationship between the individual & society."

"Modern anthropology has taught us, through
comparative investigation of so-called 'primitive' cultures, that the social behaviour of human beings may differ greatly, depending upon prevailing cultural patterns and the types of organization which predominate in society."

"It is on this that those who are striving to improve the lot of man may ground their hopes: human beings are not condemned, because of their biological constitution, to annihilate each other or to be at the mercy of a cruel, self-inflicted fate."

"If we ask ourselves how the structure of society and the cultural attitude of man should be changed in order to make human life as satisfying as possible, we should constantly be conscious of the fact that there are certain conditions which we are unable to modify."

"As mentioned before, the biological nature of man is, for all practical purposes, not subject to change. Furthermore, technological & demographic developments of the last few centuries have created conditions which are here to stay."

"In relatively densely settled populations with the goods which are indispensable to their continued existence, an extreme division of labour and a highly-centralized productive apparatus are absolutely necessary."

"The time—which, looking back, seems so idyllic—is gone forever when individuals or relatively small groups could be completely self-sufficient. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that mankind constitutes even now a planetary community of production and consumption."

"I have now reached the point (in the essay) where I may indicate briefly what to me constitutes the essence of the crisis of our time. It concerns the relationship of the individual to society. The individual has become more conscious than ever of his dependence upon society."

"But he does not experience this dependence as a positive asset, as an organic tie, as a protective force, but rather as a threat to his natural rights, or even to his economic existence."

"His position in society is such that the egotistical drives of his make-up are constantly being accentuated, while his social drives, by nature weaker, progressively deteriorate. All humans, whatever their position in society, are suffering from this process of deterioration."

"Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, & deprived of the naïve, simple, & unsophisticated enjoyment of life.

Man can find meaning in life, short & perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society."

"The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labour...

—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules."

Einstein then goes on to articulate his main hypothesis regarding the relentless multiple crises of capitalism, which imho, is just as insightful & perceptive today as it was 73 years ago.

"In this respect, it is important to realize that the means of production—that is to say, the entire productive capacity that is needed for producing consumer goods as well as additional capital goods—may legally be, & for the most part are, the private property of individuals."

"For the sake of simplicity, in the discussion that follows I shall call "workers" all those who do not share in the ownership of the means of production—although this does not quite correspond to the customary use of the term."

"The owner of the means of production is in a position to purchase the labour power of the worker. By using the means of production, the worker produces new goods which become the property of the capitalist."

"The essential point about this process is the relation between what the worker produces & what he is paid, both measured in terms of real value."

(In this part of the essay, Einstein is informed by, but developing, Marx's theory of 'surplus value').

"Insofar as the labour contract is "free," what the worker receives is determined not by the real value of the goods he produces, but by his minimum needs and by the capitalists' requirements for labour power in relation to the number of workers competing for jobs."

"It is important to understand that even in theory the payment of the worker is not determined by the value of his product. Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands...

partly because of competition among the capitalists, & partly because technological development & the increasing division of labour encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones."

"The result of these developments is an #oligarchy of private capital, the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society."

"This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature."

"The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population."

"Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information - press, radio, education."

"It is thus extremely difficult, & indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions & to make intelligent use of his political rights."

"The situation prevailing in an economy based on the private ownership of capital is thus characterized by two main principles: first, means of production (capital) are privately owned and the owners dispose of them as they see fit."

"Second, the labour contract is free. Of course, there is no such thing as a pure capitalist society in this sense."

"It should be noted that workers, through long & bitter political struggles have succeeded in securing a somewhat improved form of the “free labour contract” for certain categories of workers. But taken as a whole, the present economy does not differ much from “pure” capitalism."

"Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision that all those able & willing to work will always be in a position to find employment; an "army of unemployed" almost always exists. The worker is constantly in fear of losing his job."

"Since unemployed & poorly paid workers do not provide a profitable market, the production of consumers' goods is restricted: great hardship is the consequence. Technological progress frequently results in more unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all."

"The profit motive, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, is responsible for an instability in the accumulation & utilisation of capital which leads to increasingly severe depressions."

"Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labour, & to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before.

This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil."

"An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his
future career."

"I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals."

"In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself & are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work, & would guarantee...

a livelihood to every man, woman, & child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men in place of the glorification of power & success in our present society."

"Nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that a planned economy is not yet socialism. A planned economy as such may be accompanied by the complete enslavement of the individual."

"The achievement of socialism requires the solution of some extremely difficult socio-political problems: how is it possible, in view of the far-reaching centralization of political and economic power, to prevent bureaucracy from becoming all-powerful & overweening?"

"How can the rights of the individual be protected and therewith a democratic counterweight to the power of
bureaucracy be assured? Clarity about the aims and problems of socialism is of greatest significance in our age of transition."

"Under present circumstances, free & unhindered discussion of these problems has come under a powerful taboo".

Imho, intelligent, nuanced & widespread discussion of the catastrophic failures of (& alternatives to) free-market capitalism is once again in danger of becoming taboo.