Volume 18 , Issue 13

1936 Plea For Democratic Socialism

Nothing has changed. We need a safe and sane social order for democracy. In The Gazette and Daily, York, Pennsylvania, dated 8 September 1936, Tuesday, page 11, we find evidence professed by Dr. Edwin G. Conklin that Democratic Socialism avoids the extremes of communism, fascism and individualism.

Found on Newspapers.com

Dr. Edwin G. Conklin was a leading Princeton biologist and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In a 1936 address to the Society of Sigma Xi, Conklin emphasized the disparity between scientific knowledge and social practice.Back in 1936 different nations were trying different remedies to allow social actuality to catch up with scientific possibility.

In 1936, Dr. Conklin favored democratic socialism as the safest and sanest social order. He analyzed current social orders in the following words:

Communism - In so far as it was based upon the ideal that all men are equal in ability or character or social value, was scientifically false. In a democratic society all men were not and never would be equal in power, wealth or social value, but they did have equal rights to life, liberty and opportunity.

Fascism - It was no satisfactory solution of the problem of insuring life, liberty and opportunity to every person. It destroyed liberty of press, speech, thought and conscience. It censored science and religion, reduced the mass to the condition or robots and cannon fodder. It was based on war psychology, did not educate the people for peace and freedom, and put everything under a dictator who must maintain a reputation of supernatural grader. It I may have worked well for a time, but plays ended in disaster.

Rugged Individualism - In the sense of "every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost" was not remedy for the present ills of society. They had too much of this in the past to be content to go back to it then. It served well in a pioneer stage of society, but would not work in a crowded state.

Democratic Socialism - This avoided the extremes of communism, fascism and individualism, and yet contains elements of all these, and as such it conformed to that inexorable biological principle of the necessity of preserving balance between contrasting principles or opposing forces. Fanatical extreme of individual freedom or of social regimentation had no successful prototypes in biological or human history. Democratic socialism best preserves this balance in the social order.

Democratic Socialism best preserves freedom of experimentation. The scientific method of learning was by experiment, trial and error, and finally trial and success. There was no other path of progress. Many mistakes were made, but with freedom to experiment they would be eliminated.

Democratic socialism is best for the education of the masses. The ultimate aim of all education, whether of children or nations, should be to fit for freedom and cooperation, and both children and nations must learn by experimentation.

The spirit of science and the method of science must spread to society and government. Scientists must take a more active part in solving social problems. Such progress will be slow but sure. Science and ethics are the chief hopes of social progress.
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