Howsework



Socialism vs. Capitalism'He was prejudiced from the start. Probably a Socialist or some sort of crank – he talked like one.'In order to understand and appreciate?An Inspector Calls?you?must comprehend?one concept above all. That concept is?socialism.?Socialism is political and economic theory that, in some ways, is the opposite of?capitalism. It is based on the empowerment of a society's workers –?the people who make and manufacture goods –?and the idea that the community as a whole owns and regulates the means of production, distribution and exchange. Eva Smith, a worker, is mistreated first?by her capitalist boss (Arthur Birling) in a classic 'Capital versus Labour'?dispute ('Labour' in this context meaning work, not the Labour party). From there, she suffers four further injustices that give a very negative impression of capitalism. In his final speech, the Inspector warns that it is only through socialism ('one body') that mankind can hope to prevent such tragedies?in the future.??013525500(Right:?Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has long campaigned for socialist policies in Britain.)Let us first briefly explore the history of the 'Capital versus Labour'?dispute that is so integral to?An Inspector Calls?before examining where each character's sympathies lie.In 1944, when J.B. Priestley wrote?An Inspector Calls,?socialism was still a fresh and very popular –?even fashionable –?movement.?Like many writers of his time (including Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells, whom Mr Birling refers to insultingly?in act one), Priestley was broadly?socialist in his political views. In the UK general election of 1945, held two months after the end of the Second World War in Europe, he took advantage of his fame as a writer and broadcaster to campaign for?the Labour Party.?Formed in 1900 to represent the interest of the?proletariat?(working class), Labour beat?Winston Churchill's Conservatives, winning?a majority of seats for the first time in British election history. (Somewhat confusingly, though, Priestly actually stood unsuccessfully as an Independent for the Cambridge University seat, and, like his father, never joined Labour as an official member.)0127000(Right:?In the UK general election of 1945, the Labour party, led by Clement Attlee (right), defeated the Conservative party, led by Winston Churchill (left)).It may seem staggering that Britain should vote out?the party of the Prime Minister who had been so inspiring in the fight against Germany. Churchill was still very popular, but, with the war against Germany over, most Britons were concerned with?social issues, particularly housing, employment and healthcare, rather than international affairs. Labour promised to create a?welfare state of?full employment, affordable housing and a national health service.To someone?living in Britain in 1912, when?An Inspector Calls?is set, such a state would have been unimaginable. In act one of the play, Arthur Birling says as much: 'In twenty or thirty years' time... you'll be living in a world that'll have forgotten all these Capital versus Labour agitations... There'll be peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere - except of course in Russia, which will always be behindhand naturally.'The insult of?Russia?is important. When he?finished writing?An Inspector Calls?in 1944?Priestley?sent the script to Moscow, where the play was staged two years later. He did this not just because the Russian capital had a vibrant theatre scene, but because he knew?that a play that praised socialism and attacked capitalism would be very popular in the world's first and largest – and at that time only –?communist?state.0147828000Both communism and socialism stem from the works?of the German economic theorists Karl Marx and Frederich Engels. In 1848 they published a book called?The Communist Manifesto,?which concludes with the famous line, 'Workers of the world unite!'?Their theories, known collectively as?Marxism, inspired a number of labour movements in Europe in the second half of the 19th century. In Marxist theory, socialism is a stepping stone to communism. The main difference is that in a communist state there is no?private property; everything is owned and regulated by the community, and workers give and receive according to their ability and needs. This theory achieved global prominence in 1917 when?a small group of communists seized power in Petrograd, the capital of what was then the Russian Empire.(Above: the flag of the USSR: the hammer represents the industrial workers; the sickle represents the farmers; the five-pointed star is the symbol of international socialism; and red is the traditional colour of the?workers. To describe someone as 'red' became an insult. Priestly always described himself as pink, 'and a pleasant healthy colour it is too'.)In February 1917, the Romanov dynasty, which had ruled Russia in an absolute monarchy since 1613, collapsed when the emperor abdicated?in the face of numerous strikes and?protests by workers and citizens angry at economic and social conditions and the on-going war (World War I, in which Priestly fought) against Germany and Austria-Hungary. A provisional government was established, but this too proved? ineffective and unpopular. In October that year, a man named Vladimir Lenin led a group known as the?Bolsheviks?in a coup against the provisional government and, over the course of the next few years, established?the USSR, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or?Soviet Union, from the Russian word 'soviet', meaning a council of workers. This huge country, comprised of 15 republics?(among them Russia and Ukraine) and dozens of ethnic groups, would become the heart of the global communist movement and one of the world's superpowers.Capitalist governments in the West dismissed Russia's Bolshevik revolution as ridiculous. However, many were clearly worried about such a revolution taking place?in their own countries. In a speech he gave in November 1920, Winston Churchill, then Secretary of State for Air, said:But if we can do little for Russia, we can do much for Britain. We do not want any of these experiments here. [Cheers.] Any such experiments in this country would be followed by the destruction of the great majority of the persons dwelling in these islands. We can at any rate make sure that in our life and time the deadly disease which has struck down Russia should not be allowed to spring up here and poison us as it is poisoning them.In every city there are small bands of eager men and women, watching with hungry eyes any chance to make a general overturn in the hopes of profiting themselves in the confusion, and these miscreants are fed by Bolshevist?money. [Cheers.] They are ceaselessly endeavouring by propagating the doctrines of communism, by preaching violent revolution, by inflaming discontent, to infect us with their disease...The danger at the present time does not exist only, or even mainly, in these islands. What of India, Egypt, and Ireland? Do you not think it possible that there is some connection between all the revolutionary and subversive elements by which we are now being assailed? When we see all these movements from so many different quarters springing up simultaneously, does it not look as though there is a dead set being made against the British Empire? Why, for instance, should the Egyptian extremists give money to the?Daily Herald? [Cheers.] Why does Lenin send them money, too? Why does he also send money to Sinn Fein? We know that intense efforts are being made to disturb India, and that similar efforts are being made to cause a great breakdown of trade and industry at home in the hopes of creating unemployment and consequently suffering and discontent.Churchill was similarly critical of socialism as a concept, calling it, ‘a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.’ Unfortunately for him, two decades later, as Prime Minister, he was forced to work with and support the Bolsheviks and their leader, one of history's greatest tyrants, Joseph Stalin.(Below:?a Soviet propaganda poster depicting Joseph Stalin and a child holding the USSR flag.)010668000After succeeding?Lenin as chairman of the Communist Party in the mid 1920s, Joseph Stalin presided over a period of tumultuous change in the USSR. His?policies of forced industrialisation and agricultural collectivisation caused the starvation of millions of Ukrainian peasants in the 1930s, while his 'Red Terror'?campaign against suspected dissidents and those he considered threats to his leadership?led to the death, torture and imprisonment of millions of Soviet citizens. (These and other events are depicted by George Orwell in his book?Animal Farm, in which Stalin is represented by a pig named Napoleon.) By the time he died in 1953, Stalin had turned his country into a nuclear-armed superpower and made the communist movement a major force in world affairs. During the Second World War, though, his?country was very nearly annihilated.World War II began on 1?September, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. A week earlier, representatives of Germany and the Soviet Union signed an economic and defensive pact that allowed Germany the western half of Poland and Russia the eastern half, along with the Baltics and part of eastern Finland. The British government was?greatly dismayed by the deal, not least because it?had hoped to instigate a war between the Nazis of Germany and the Communists of Russia, the two groups it most distrusted. (Stalin was equally hopeful that in the west?the Capitalists would become locked in a bloody stalemate, as they did in WWI.) In June 1941, with much of central and western Europe under German?occupation, the British government finally got its wish. On 22?June, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union.?The six months following?the German attack were a disaster for the Soviet Union. Germany advanced over a thousand miles into Soviet territory, inflicting more than four million casualties on the Red Army and destroying thousands of Russian planes and tanks. By Christmas that year, the German army?had reached the outskirts of Moscow and had encircled the city of Leningrad (today St Petersburg). All appeared lost for the USSR. "Lenin gave us this country," said Stalin in a private meeting in December 1941 as?the Germans advanced on Moscow, "and we've f***ed it up."The USSR was saved by a combination of the fierce Russian winter (for which the German army was unprepared); the enormity of the Russian landmass, population and industrial base; and supplies from Britain, the US and Canada, shipped at great human and financial cost from Britain to Russia, via Iceland.Initially uneasy to be allied to communist Russia, many Britons developed a grudging respect and even admiration for the Soviet Union as the Red Army first halted and then repelled the seemingly unstoppable German juggernaut.?Less than four years after the invasion, Red Army troops swept into Germany and captured Berlin, where Adolf Hitler committed suicide in a bunker on 30?April, 1945. The war in Europe ended two weeks later.07620000(Right:?a?British wartime poster about the Arctic convoys. Note the five-pointed red star on the wing of the Russian fighter plane.)Communists and socialists in Britain and elsewhere pointed to the USSR's victory?as proof of the superiority of communism. This was?partly true, though not in the way it was implied. An estimated 27 million Soviet citizens died in the Second World War, and more than 3000 towns and villages were wiped off the map. That the USSR emerged from this ordeal a global superpower owed?more to state power than to the virtues of or commitment to communist ideology: men were forcibly conscripted into the Red Army, given no leave time, and executed if they retreated or surrendered.?As the historian Sir Max Hastings writes in?All Hell Let Loose: The World at War 1939-1945,?'It was probably true that only Russians could have borne and achieved what they did in the face of the 1941 catastrophe. It was less plausible to attribute this to the nobility of communist society.'Despite these huge losses, far from being 'behindhand', as Arthur Birling says, Russia ended the?Second World War an industrial power?that?controlled?eastern Europe (an area that included half of Germany and one half of the German capital, Berlin). To an audience in 1945, Birling's prediction about Russia would have brought a wry smile, as would his unwavering support for capitalism and his disdain for socialism.(Below:?a?Red Army soldier waves the Soviet Union flag on top of the Reichstag, the German parliament, Berlin, May 1945.)04445000However,?the post-war belief?in the supremacy of communism was an illusion based largely on media manipulation in both Britain and Russia. The USSR was such an important ally that the British government stifled all criticism of it. This was the main reason why in 1944 George Orwell had difficulty finding a publisher for?Animal Farm,?a story that sums up the hypocrisy of the USSR?with the line, 'All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.'?In 1945, in an article titled 'Freedom of the Press', Orwell wrote:At this moment what is demanded by the prevailing orthodoxy is an uncritical admiration of Soviet Russia. Everyone knows this, nearly everyone acts on it. Any serious criticism of the Soviet régime, any disclosure of facts which the Soviet government would prefer to keep hidden, is next door to unprintable.After years of economic stagnation and political unrest, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Each of the 15 republics became independent nations. Those in Europe, and those in the communist bloc (e.g., Poland and Hungary), have tried to free themselves of Russian influence, and have even banned the five-pointed star?and other communist symbols. Globally, International Socialism has lost much of its power and appeal. Capitalist countries now dominate world affairs. Even China, a one-party Communist state, encourages free markets and?consumerism. Does this mean that capitalism is superior??An Inspector Calls?is?Priestley's attempt to answer this question.Arthur Birling is an enthusiastic capitalist, living?in a capitalist country, at a time when socialist practices were new and largely untested: he owns his factory; he controls the salaries, working hours and other working conditions; and he receives a much higher salary than his workers. He regards socialism with disdain, and says of the Inspector (after he has left) that he was 'Probably a Socialist or some sort of crank – he talked like one.'?When Eva Smith?leads a strike to demand higher wages, Mr Birling?is able to sack her and the ringleaders, and force the other employees back to work on the same wages. Gerald, a fellow factory-owner, condones the move:Gerald: You couldn't have done anything else.Eric: He could. He could have kept her on instead of throwing her out. I call it tough luck.Birling: Rubbish! If you don't come down sharply on some of these people, they'd soon be asking for the earth.Gerald: I should say so!Inspector: They might. But after all it's better to ask for the earth than to take it.Treating a worker this way?would be very difficult if not impossible in a socialist country. First and foremost, the workers would already be on a decent wage, one that accurately reflects the difficulty of their work. They would also have the right to join a?union, an organisation?that protects workers' rights and negotiates with the management on questions of salary and working conditions.Likewise, in a socialist system the boss at Milwards would not be able to sack Eva?simply because an important?customer had filed a spurious complaint, or, if he did, Eva would have been able to sue for unfair dismissal;?and when in a socialist system an employee is sacked or made redundant, he or she is?entitled to a portion of her salary over a period of weeks or months.All of this would be possible because in a socialist system the goal is people, not profit: 'But these girls aren't cheap labour,'?says Sheila in act one,? 'they're?people.'The Inspector plainly favours such a system. In the course of his interrogation, he suggests Britain's?capitalist society?is a place of greed and nastiness, where the upper class (or bourgeoisie) figuratively and literally (in the case of Eric) rapes the poor.Even when the full horror of Eva's story has been revealed, Mr Birling, the arch capitalist, cares only about his reputation and his business. Rather than seek to apologise to the Inspector, he tries to offer him a bribe, saying, 'Look, Inspector - I'd give?thousands – yes, thousands – ', which proves him hypocritical, as well as absurd: he?has money to spare for a bribe,?but won't pay his workers a penny more. Similarly, despite his son Eric’s evident distress at what has happened, he offers no sympathy, ordering him to work for nothing until the money he stole has been repaid.Priestley suggests that a socialist system?is not only fairer, but also makes people behave better. Mr Birling, the first to wrong Eva, shows no remorse for his actions and tries to buy his way out of trouble. Eva, by contrast, though she has nothing, behaves admirably in every unjust episode.By the end of the play the four Birlings and Gerald have contrasting views of the Inspector’s socialist principles. Mr and Mrs Birling, with so much to lose from a potential socialist revolution, dismiss the Inspector's warnings, convince themselves that they are not to blame for Eva's suicide, and try desperately to clear their names. Mr Birling even mocks his children’s apparent arrogance and delusion.Gerald is somewhere in between: he expresses remorse for having used Eva and played a role in her decline, but once he discovers that Inspector Goole is not a real police inspector he reverts to his old self, even going so far as to encourage Sheila to renew their engagement (an offer she rejects).Eric and Sheila, though, firmly believe that they and the others have behaved abominably. They regret their actions and wish that the others would heed the Inspector’s words.Thus, at least two-fifths of the household – tellingly, those of the younger generation – have converted to socialism, a ratio that would be reflected in the general election held?the year?An Inspector Calls?was first staged in Britain, and in subsequent elections up to the present day.QuestionsWhat is socialism?How is socialism different from capitalism?How and when did socialism come to prominence in Great Britain? What role did J.B. Priestly play in this event?What was the world’s first communist state?In Britain how did WWII influence public opinion about communism and socialism?What evidence is there that Arthur Birling is a capitalist?What evidence is there that Inspector Goole is a socialist? ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download