Functional socialism

16 FUNCTIONAL SOCIALISM

It would have been ‘‘Functional Socialism”. It has taken twenty tragic years to establish the doctrine on its true foundation.

Now at this point the practical man, whatever his denomination, may with justice enquire not only what is the significance of function but also what are its practical implications.

We must first have a definition. The word itself is in constant use both in mathematics and biology. That need not concern us here. For the purpose of this argument, function is action, controlled or regulated, in pursuit of any social or economic purpose. Put simply, function is the actual work done by men and women when applied to the common weal. The functional principle means that, since we depend upon function for our very lives, function in its own sphere must prevail. It must in fact prevail over all and any subjective rights, whether hereditary, financial or, within certain limits, political. Thus, if the work of the world is to be done without interference or frustration, our economic organization must be functional. This necessarily involves us in an inquiry into functional values. Has finance, for example, any functional value and, if so, what? Is it, as some allege, mere accountancy? And, should that be proved, where does accountancy stand in the functional hierarchy? The same question must be put, say, to advertising. It must be put toa hundred thousand occupations which to-day preen themselves upon the generic title “overheads”. Perhaps, after all, they are “underheads”’. In like manner, we must