l slaves to the government by putting
everything and everybody under government control." It happens that
you are wrong in both assertions, but you can see for yourself that
you couldn't possibly be right in both of them--can't you?

You object that under Socialism "all would be reduced to the same dead
level." That is a very serious objection, too, but it cannot be well
founded unless your other objection, that "under Socialism a few
politicians would get all the power and most of the wealth, making all
the people their slaves" is without foundation. Both objections cannot
hold--can they?

You say that "Socialists are visionaries with cut and dried schemes
that look well on paper, but the world has never paid any attention
to schemes for reorganizing society," and then you object that "the
Socialists have no definite plans for what they propose to do, and how
they mean to do it; that they indulge in vague principles only." And I
ask you again, friend Jonathan, do you think that both these
objections can be sound?

You object that "Socialism is as old as the world; has been tried many
times and always failed." If that were true it would be a very serious
objection to Socialism, of course. But is it true? In another place
you object that "Socialism has never been tried and we don't know how
it would work." You see, my friend, you can make either objection you
choose, but not both. Either one _may_ be right, but _both_ cannot be.

Now, these are only a few of the long list of your objections which
are directly contradictory and mutually exclusive, my friend. Some of
them I have already answered directly, the others I have answered
indirectly. Therefore, I shall do no more here and now than briefly
summarize the Socialist answer to them.

Socialists do propose that society as a whole should take and use for
the common good some things which a few now own, things which "belong"
to them by virtue of laws which set the interests of the few above the
common good. But that is a very different thing from "the clamor of
envious men to take what does not belong to them." It is no more to be
so described than taxation, for example is. Socialism is a beautiful
dream in one sense. Men who see the misery and despair produced by
capitalism think with joy of the days to come when the misery and
despair are replaced by gladsomeness and hope. That _is_ a dream, but
no Socialist rests upon the dream merely: the hope of the Socialist i