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The Inhumanity of Socialism by Edward Francis Adams
page 19 of 46 (41%)
character by adopting for, and applying to the manual workers of the
world a contemptuous epithet. When Marx, if it was he, I am not sure,
shouted: "Proletariat of all nations, unite" he said a very wicked
thing. It is not my conception of the manual worker that he is a mere
"child getter," but rather that he is as such, morally and socially the
equal of any of us, from whose ranks there are continually emerging the
leaders of thought, of discovery, of direction and of accumulation to
whose abilities and activities all human progress is due, and I cannot
hear without indignation suggestions from his own would-be leaders which
impair his self-respect. I wish, for a concrete example, that the
workingman should pay his poll tax and contribute to his occupational
insurance with the rest of us, not to relieve Capital of a burden, but
that the character of the working man himself may be strengthened by a
conscious contribution to the upkeep of Society.

Our emotions are stronger than our reasoning powers, and as a matter of
fact, collective human action is and during any period which we need
consider will be controlled by humanitarian instincts and not by the
rigidity of economic theory. Individually, we do and always shall, seek
each his own particular interest. Collectively, we invariably consider
the welfare of all. This has been particularly impressed on me during
the last few years, during which I have presided over the deliberations
of a large body of good citizens, probably about equally divided between
the accumulating and non-accumulating classes. Whatever the individual
practices and tendencies of the respective members, whenever after
discussion the collective opinion is expressed on any social topic the
vote is invariably substantially unanimous for that policy which those
present believe will make for the general good. It is not true that the
rich desire to oppress the poor. It is not true that there is any real
conflict of interest between classes. It is true that there is a general
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