The Socialists Want Dictatorship

by Frédéric Bastiat

　　Again, it is claimed that persons are nothing but raw material.It is not for them to will their own improvement; they are incapableof it. According to Saint- Just, only the legislator is capable ofdoing this. Persons are merely to be what the legislator wills them tobe. According to Robespierre, who copies Rousseau literally, thelegislator begins by decreeing the end for which the commonwealth hascome into being. Once this is determined, the government has only todirect the physical and moral forces of the nation toward that end.Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the nation are to remain completelypassive. And according to the teachings of Billaud- Varennes, thepeople should have no prejudices, no affections, and no desires exceptthose authorized by the legislator. He even goes so far as to saythat the inflexible austerity of one man is the foundation of arepublic.

　　In cases where the alleged evil is so great that ordinarygovernmental procedures cannot cure it, Mably recommends adictatorship to promote virtue: "Resort," he says, "to anextraordinary tribunal with considerable powers for a short time.The imagination of the citizens needs to be struck a hard blow." Thisdoctrine has not been forgotten. Listen to Robespierre:

　　 "The principle of the republican government is virtue, andthe means required to establish virtue is terror. In our country wedesire to substitute morality for selfishness, honesty for honor,principles for customs, duties for manners, the empire of reason forthe tyranny of fashion, contempt of vice for contempt of poverty,pride for insolence, greatness of soul for vanity, love of glory forlove of money, good people for good companions, merit for intrigue,genius for wit, truth for glitter, the charm of happiness for theboredom of pleasure, the greatness of man for the littleness of thegreat, a generous, strong, happy people for a good-natured, frivolous,degraded people; in short, we desire to substitute all the virtuesand miracles of a republic for all the vices and absurdities of amonarchy."