icials; that
Socialism would mean the death-knell of elected governors, and
therefore of democracy, as may be seen in Chapter XV. of this book.
The philosopher of British Socialism tells us: "Socialism aims at the
supersession of democracy, as of every other form of government. The
will of the majority of an ideal democracy, a social democracy, must,
as regards its special expressions, be subordinate to the general
moral canon of a Socialist Commonwealth. That in affairs of
management, of tactics, of administration, or in decisions requiring
special knowledge, authority, in its nature dictatorial, is necessary,
all must admit. There must be a controlling, an authoritative voice in
direction; so much must be clear, one would think, to all practical or
reasonable persons when once stated. The real point to determine is
the nature and limits of that amount of dictatorial power which, we
must admit, is essential in any organised community of which we can at
present conceive. _Social Democracy_, while it means all _for_ the
people, does not mean the impossible absurdity that everything should
be directly regulated _by_ the people, _i.e._ by a direct popular
vote."[1265] These views seem irrefutable, and it follows that not
only for economic reasons, but for political reasons as well, the
establishment of the Socialist State will lead to the establishment of
a "dictatorial authority."

If Socialism be introduced, the fall of democracy and the
establishment of absolutism cannot possibly be avoided. Democratic
States are ruled by public opinion. The voice of an individual does
not carry very far. Therefore public opinion can be formed only by
means of an independent Press. An independent Press is the strongest,
one might almost say the only, guarantee of national liberty. As long
as there are numerous independent papers owned by private people,
papers which represent all shades of opinion, everyone who has
something to say can always freely express his opinion in one set of
papers or the other. A striking speech is read the next day by the
whole nation; a striking injustice to a single individual, or a
Government blunder, may be taken up by the whole nation. The
disappearance of private property will necessarily mean the
disappearance of the free Press, and therefore of public opinion. All
newspapers would be owned, edited, and printed by the Government, and
is any Government likely to assist a hostile opposition by printing