THE COMING OF SOCIALISM 101 



concluded, that the State must put forth more powers ; 

 must control, or buy out, or appropriate, or socialise by 

 some method or other the means of production. If it 

 does not, it will either become the victim of the will of 

 the Capitalist, or fall into the hands of United Labour, 

 which is hindered from seizing the reins of the State only 

 because, as yet, it is not fully awake to its own 

 powers. 



Nay, we are told that Socialism is already come. " Step 

 by step the political power and political organisation of 

 the country have been used for individual ends, until 

 to-day the largest employer of labour is one of the 

 ministers of the Crown (the Postmaster-General), and 

 almost every conceivable trade is, somewhere or other, 

 carried on by parish, municipality, or the National Govern- 

 ment itself, without the intervention of any middleman 

 or capitalist. . . . Besides our international relations, 

 and the army, navy, police, and the courts of justice, the 

 community now carries on for itself, in some part or other 

 of these islands, the post-office, telegraphs, carriage of 

 small commodities, coinage, surveys, the regulation of the 

 currency and note issue, the provision of weights and 

 measures, the making, sweeping, lighting, and repairing 

 of streets, roads, and bridges, life insurance, the grant of 

 annuities, shipbuilding, stockbroking, banking, farming, 

 and money-lending. It provides for many thousands of 

 us from birth to burial midwifery, nursery, education, 

 board and lodging, vaccination, medical attendance, medi- 

 cine, public worship, amusements, and interment. It 

 furnishes and maintains its own museums, parks, art- 

 galleries, libraries, concert-halls . . . markets, slaughter- 

 houses, fire-engines, lighthouses, pilots, ferries, surf-boats 



