A look at one of the many left wing critiques inside the Socialist Party from Frans Bostrom a leader of the Washington State Party who issued this attack on members’ lack of revolutionary attitude towards ‘cultural’ questions like marriage and the family (there were a lot of preachers in the early Socialist Party).

‘Socialist Hypocrisy’ by Frans Bostrom from The Northwest Worker (Everett). No. 241. August 19, 1915.

I have been told that at one of David Goldstein’s lectures on “Socialism, the Nation of Fatherless Children,” held at Vancouver, BC, a certain comrade, in answer to Goldstein’s challenge, got up on the platform and spoke something like this: “You have heard Mr. Goldstein’s eloquent attempt to prove us, the Socialists, a Godless bunch of freelovers. He has shown conclusively that we are hostile to religion. He has quoted Engels and Bebel and other great authorities to show our disrespect for Capitalistic morality and has held up for your inspection the private life of many prominent Socialists, who put the philosophy of these great teachers to practical use. He now asks us what we have to say to this. In answer, let me ask Mr. Goldstein this question: ‘Suppose that we plead guilty, what then? Are you ready, sir, to debate with me on the subject of the existence of God and an immutable law of morality?”

We may differ in our opinion about the diplomacy of thus dazzling the eyes of blind faith and prudish puritanism with incandescent truth. It may be true that it does no good to stun the sensibilities of the superstitious religionists with thunderbolts of logic, it may be an impolitic as well as unpopular task to tear off the rags from the old scarecrow Madame Grundy and wash off the paint that covers her ugly wrinkled visage. But is there anything more disgusting to the true revolutionist than the hemming and hawing of the apologist, who is not only satisfied with showing that Socialism is an economic question, which does not concern itself with what gods (or how many) confused minds need to keep themselves sufficiently doped, but also consider themselves obliged to deny materialism, the foundation of Socialism, because forsooth there is no place in science for anything superhuman? Is there anything more disappointing than to hear our ablest speakers use the words “God,” “Supreme Power,” or “Providence” even metaphorically, just because they have the notion that rhetoric needs support from falsehood to make it sufficiently poetical and charming? How can anyone be of any real use to the cause of truth by lying?

But if some of our public speakers are guilty of playing hide-and-seek with theology, there are few if any of them who can be charged with moral hypocrisy. To the honor of all of them, be it said that they despise puritanism; to most of them that they fearlessly assert the right of man to live his life as he sees fit, as long as he does not interfere with the right of others to do likewise, and to the infinite glory of some few of them, that they actually dare to live happy lives despite the frantic protests of pharisaical stupidity

But few of them have the courage to teach that monogamic marriage is a Capitalistic institution, like wage slavery, war, murder for gain, religion, dishonesty, etc., and, like Capitalism itself, a temporary and necessary evil, for which there will be no use in a civilized system of society. Few of them dare to teach that the family is a futile attempt to do away with or at least ameliorate that frightful loneliness which nobody escapes in a society where every man’s hand is forced to be raised against his fellows; that the universal failure of marriage is caused by that instinct of liberty and individuality (inherent in all life) which cannot endure the tyranny involved in compulsory cohabitation; that when private ownership of public necessities is abolished and predatory man has become a worker, we will no longer have any need for offensive and defensive alliances in the shape of marriages, fraternal orders, or other conspiracies against the rest of mankind. And that nothing can long survive the need that called it into existence.

“Fools Only Fools”

One is justified in stating that Socialism concerns itself with the economic phase only, and that we are under no obligation to defend the consequences of humanity’s emancipation from Capitalistic rascality; but this dodging the issue where there is no need for embarrassment fools only fools. The great mass of mankind still want the whole truth and will like it when their mental vision gets used to the light. No ill consequences can come from a good act. The sins of the revolution will be of omission and not of commission. The world has never suffered from any other illness than conservatism. The stupid ones, fooled into the revolutionary movement through our OMISSION of telling the whole truth, are a drawback to our work of education. They hate liberty and worship the morality of antiquity. They repudiate the revolution, stab in the back our best fighters and are splendid tools in the hands of unscrupulous politicians who despise them and use them for their own aggrandizement.

Our style of propaganda is such that it appeals to the mutts and nauseates common-sense people. We crucify our fighters and place on pedestals those who pander to our snobbishness and stupidity. IF SOCIALISM IS NOT A FIGHT FOR LIBERTY, I WANT NONE OF IT. Liberty to work without begging someone else for permission. Liberty to think, write, speak, see, hear anything I like, as long as I do not infringe upon the right of others to do likewise. Liberty to act as long as my acts are not detrimental to society. Hundreds of thousands of liberty-loving men and women, too sensitive to stand the bigotry and carping and backbiting of YMCA graduates in the Socialist Party, have left us and believe themselves to be anarchists, because anarchism very frankly stands for personal liberty even if it has no practical ways and means to offer for its accomplishment. I am not defending this supersensitiveness and lack of practical logic and moral courage, but I do hold that we would be better off preaching unadulterated truth and inviting libertarians than trimming our philosophy to satisfy narrowminded religionists and prudish puritans.

We are neither fish nor fowl today. If office-seeking is our goal, we are too radical. We drop all truth except what little religion has been forced to admit, and we should pander to ignorance, prejudice, and stupidity in order to be popular.

If revolution, the overthrow of Capitalistic barbarism, is what we stand for, then let us make war to the death on all lies, all sham, and all humbug, and take the consequences. Truth is bound to win in the end and he is a poor revolutionist who has not the courage to struggle patiently against overwhelming odds, when he knows to an absolute certainty that his work helps to bring about victory.

I am tired of apologizing for apologists.

Yours for the revolution,

Frans Bostrom

The Washington Socialist was a weekly newspaper of the Socialist Party of Snohomish County published in Everett, Washington and edited by Maynard Shipley. Closely aligned with the Industrial Workers of the World, who were strong in the Pacific Northwest’s lumber industry, the paper ran for only 18 months when it was renamed The Northwest Worker with Henry Watts as editor in June, 1915, and again Co-Operative News with Perter Husby as editor in October, 1917. Like virtually all of the left press, the Co-Operative News was suppressed in June 1918 under the Federal Espionage Act.

PDF of full issue: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085770/1915-08-19/ed-1/seq-1/