Crisis of Socialism

Social Democracy, said Lenin, is a politically preposterous term; "under Socialism," he wrote, "all democracy withers away."

For the dynamic of Democracy is toward more & more safeguarding of the rights of individual men. The dynamic of Socialism leads inevitably toward arrogation of more & more power by the State, which must in the end assert its power by force against the mass of men who prefer to remain free. When he emphasized this simple fact (TIME, July 18, 1945), Conservative Leader Winston Churchill was simply a better Leninist than Socialist Leader Clement Attlee.

Last week, Europe's three biggest Socialist parties were emphasizing it all over again.

In France, the Socialists, unwilling to accept the dynamic of their historical position, had become merely a tail wagging futilely at the end of the Communist dog (TIME, Jan. 13).

In Italy, the Socialist Party split along the line of logical cleavage (see below).

In Britain, the Socialist Government had published two bills which would give it powers over basic property (the land) unparalleled by those of any sovereign government outside of Russia. At the same time, the Labor Government faced its first important crisis as employer (instead of champion) of labor--a week-old truck strike wildcatted by 21,000 London truckmen against the wishes of the union leaders. As critical food distribution was paralyzed, the Government considered moving the trucks with troops, then rejected the idea. At week's end, it faced the facts, put 8,000 soldiers & sailors on the trucks or guarding them. Promptly thousands of workers in London's markets walked out in sympathy with the striking truckmen.

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