* * * * *
But what of the future of Fabian ideas? In a passage already quoted Mr.
Barker indicates that the dominance of "Collectivism of the Fabian
order" ceased three or four years ago, and he goes on to indicate that
it has been replaced by an anti-state propaganda, taking various forms,
Syndicalism, Guild Socialism, and the Distributivism of Mr. Belloc. It
is true that Fabianism of the old type is not the last event in the
history of political thought, but it is still, I venture to think, the
dominant principle in political progress. Guild Socialism, whatever its
worth, is a later stage. If our railways are to be managed by the
Railwaymen's Union, they must first be acquired for the community by
Collectivism.
This is not the place to discuss the possibilities of Guild Socialism.
After all it is but a form of Socialism, and a first principle of
Fabianism has always been free thought. The leading Guild Socialists
resigned from the Society: they were not expelled: they attempted to
coerce the rest, but no attempt was made to coerce them. Guild Socialism
as a scheme for placing production under the management of the producers
seems to me to be on the wrong lines. The consumer as a citizen must
necessarily decide what is to be produced for his needs. But I do not
belong to the generation which will have to settle the matter.
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