Socialism in the New Society

Socialism in the New Society by Douglas Jay

Review by: J. F. Cairns
The Australian Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Sep., 1962), pp. 106-108
Published by: Australian Institute of Policy and Science
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20633816 .
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 Sept, 1962 THE AUSTRALIAN QUARTERLY
SOCIALISM IN THE is because of the process of free ex
NEW SOCIETY change and inheritance. Mr. Jay
makes 'gas and water* socialism old
Socialism in the New Society,
fashioned. He is a market and in
Douglas Jay, 1962. (Longmans
heritance socialist.
Green and Company Ltd.), 43/6d.
He correctly argues that if all pro
Aust.
perty were publically owned but all
Mr. Jay's book is a comprehensive incomes were allowed to be deter
analysis of the problems of progress
mined by market forces, or by an
for democratic socialists everywhere. idea like
essentially unegalitarian
Socialism is defined as the belief communism, then, most of the main
that every human being has an equal forces making for social injustice
right to happiness and whatever else would operate as powerfully as ever.

gives meaning to life; and that a But this is not the answer to the
world society enshrining this right question, 'what is needed to remove
can best be achieved, or approached, the evils of capitalism?' Can they
by collective, social, and not just in be removed by controlling only the
dividualist methods. Socialism con market and inheritance? Or is it
sists of an aim, and, perhaps, more necessary to go further into private
important a method. The significance economic power, into the structure
of socialism is that it
emphasises of productive assets ? It is difficult to
method?the good attitude and the understand how, at this stage, a

good life could not be achieved by socialist can answer 'no* to this ques
individual intellectual acts, but re tion.

quires social and economic change. Mr. Jay, rightly saying that demo
The aim of socialism is equality. cratic socialism has derived little
This is something more than free of its nature
essentially left-wing
dom. For equality, differences of in from Marx, on to show where
goes
come and wealth must be the result Marx went He believes that
wrong.
alone of social function and be at a Marx's view that public ownership
minimum necessary to have produc is essential is derived from some
tive abilities reasonably fully used. economies'. Marx's labour
'faulty
There must be complete equality in of value and iron law of
theory
human and political rights and fair are for the same rea
wages faulty
shares (or as we would say in Aus son that most economics are faulty:
tralia a 'fair go', or 'fair and reason are a high
at level of abstrac
they
able'), and there must be social tion and
continue to mislead people
justice. who apply them to real life without

Equality will never result from realising their high abstract level.
the unregulated capitalist market, But Marx's belief that public owner
and Mr. Jay shows there is greater ship is essential is derived, I think,
inequality today than in the days of from his theory of the State not as
the Carnegies and Rockefellers. It is Mr. Jay asserts from his 'faulty
at this point that the essentially Jay economies'. Marx believed that the

interpretation comes in. Increasing powers needed tochange capitalism

inequality (and increasing social in into socialism are so great that they

justice) , is not because of private could not be obtained without over

ownership of productive assets, but it throwing the State and removing the

106

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 BOOK REVIEWS Sept., 1962

foundation of its powers: private unable to come down on the com

ownership of productive assets. This munist side, seems to end up on the

is an essential question for all social capitalist side.

ists, but Mr, Jay does not really In the case of internal Mr.
affairs,
pursue it. believes full with
Jay employment
What is to be done to remove the growth but without inflation prob
inequality and injustice of capital ably cannot be achieved without pub
ism? Can it be done while capitalists lic control of
the market, and cer
retain ownership of productive tainly, employment in the right
assets ? places cannot be. 'Public control*
consists mainly of a government
We can be certain thatsomething
National Finance Corporation to ac
pretty strong and penetrating has
quire equity shares in growth com
to be done. Mr. Jay is convinced that
panies, by purchase and in lieu of
the old left and the new left are mis
taxation. This gives both control and
guided and go too far. But has, for
income for the government and a
instance, Ralph Milliband's Parlia
share in capital gains which would
mentary Socialism, 1961, proved that
allow government expenditure to be
the British Labour party has never
met without having, so much, to in
gone far enough?
crease taxation.
What is to be done? Mr. Jay puts
On the question of inequality (or
first the need to prevent war. He
social justice) Mr. Jay argues that
says all socialists must be on the
redistribution of income has taken
side of the coloured people and in
place in the welfare only state but
favour of national independence
through public finance and mainly
movements. But how can we prevent
when undistributed profits, capital
war? I do not think his answer is a
gains and inheritance have been
socialist one. Mr. Jay really takes
attended to.
a total (or
revolutionary) attitude
to in contrast Labor's policy should include some
the prevention of war,
with his in control measures the equity like share
gradualist attitude
internal affairs. He accepts the buying plan, and then, national super
total annuation without a means
simplified view that the test;
nuclear bomb is war and good homes for poor people in
deterring
wants total disarmament with effec planned, pleasant surroundings; good,
tive controls as the free hospitals; and,
family allow
only acceptable
the ances. The programme would be
alternative. Whilst he discusses
a paid for by higher taxes on un
stages of
disarmament, there is
to want total disarmament earned income, most important of
tendency
or nothing: a tendency char which are company profits and in
which
acterises both capitalist and commun heritance, and upon capital gains.
ist attitudes. It is more to be ex Eventually the National Investment

the democratic socialist Corporation would make an increas

pected that
would choose reform rather than ing contribution.

revolution, and it looks as if an in Mr. Jay does leave unexplored the

dependent, stage by stage, policy is question of how far capitalism can

more consistent with that. In so far be changed into socialism without
as? Mr. Jay considers the independent interfering much with ownership
attitude he is against it; and, being but the question is academic. How

107

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Sept., 1962 THE AUSTRALIAN QUARTERLY
far socialistsgo, is how far they munism, one to Marxist materialism,
succeed in going. He puts forward and two to the Vieteong. This is
an advanced policy beyond prevailing Othello without Iago, with a ven
levels. Those who have failed so geance. Appropriately, Mr. Grahame
much in the past are those who put Greene receives one reference, since
office and status so far ahead of there is the shadow of his York
advanced policy, that they avoid ad Harding blurring the more disagree
vanced policy like the plague. In able political outlines at some points
deed they often avoid policy alto in the book.
gether and merely concentrate on and to
Thirdly, most pertinently
attacking the conservatives and not the above the book is
strictures,
that too strongly either. They in edited by a scholar who seems almost
clude those who do nothing to edu to enjoy himself in ad
defeating
cate about policy. vance with so bizarre as
language
Mr. Jay may be a conservative in to demand "In
quotation: appraising
some things but he has a fine record the character of events in the Re
as an educator about socialism. This of Vietnam, the finds
public analyst
book is a further valuable contri himself juggling a bushell of balls.
bution. The variables seem to be myriad,
?J. F. CAIRNS. the location
given country's physical
and neighbours, its traditions and
historical development, its economic,
PROBLEMS OF FREEDOM: political, military, and prob social
SOUTH VIETNAM SINCE lems, its needs, and its ambitions. In
INDEPENDENCE the analytic process, one finds him

Problems of Freedom: South Viet self shifting back and forth, from a
nam Since Edited tendency to search through a mass
Independence.
R. Bureau of of frequently contradictory data for
by Wesley Fishel;
Social and Political Research, a 'simple solution', to a proclivity to

State 1961. succumb to the apparently hopeless

Michigan University,
complexity of the situation."
This is a symposium; and as such
is almost inevitably somewhat dis And yet a number of the essays

a as in the are extremely valuable for the stud

jointed book and 'bitty*
A ent of Vietnamese affairs. The chief
case of some of the contributions.
problems facing South Vietnam are
volume which aspires to give a bal
of {pace Mr. Fishel) simply stated,
anced picture of the problems
South as this one does, and however difficult they may prove to
Vietnam,
9 'The Conse resolve: the winning of a peasant
yet devotes pages to
based war that is as much
quences of Partition* but 10 to guerrilla
political as military in nature; the
'Tabular Data on the Characteristics
in Saigon*, reads creation of a peasant-based society
of the Work Force
that provides a real alternative to the
a bit oddly as a whole.
collectivist-based totalitarianism of
More odd still is that the book is
concerned with a riddled the North; and the building up of a
country
a of viable economy. The three problems
with peculiarly intensive form
are, of course, inseparably linked.
Communist guerrilla warfare-cum
terrorist campaign but the index con How does the book help us to un
tains two references to Com derstand these problems better? The
only

103

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