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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 1, No. 16 July 20, 1938
[introduction]
Last Friday's debate, "That Socialism provides genuine hope for the future of Civilisation," was disappointing, Neither side did justice to its cause, and the house was the smallest this year. Inadequate advertisement and the late choice of subject and speakers combined with the imminence of examinations. Probably explain the lapse. Even an impartial observer would have seen that the speeches for the negative revealed a profound ignorance of what Socialism means. One speaker said it meant the "complete abolition of private property": another said that in a Socialist world economic imperialism would still remain, Now one of the functions of a debate is to widen knowledge and "Salient" would be the last to suggest that honestly ignorant people should not speak: but at the risk of seeming biassed one would like to urge that the subject's importance deserves at least a little study, You can't argue effectively against Socialism if you don't know what it means.
"The is not a static world," said Mr. Perry, leader of the affirmative, Change would come whatever man did to prevent it, and attempts to maintain the status quo could only result in the collapse of civilisation, The chief obstancle to progress was tradition based on the economic systems of the past. Our own civillisation like those of the past, was based on a society [unclear: divided] into owners and labourers Unless we abolished the foundation of that tradition, our civilisation would collapse as did the others.
He quoted figures to illustrate the failure of capitalism to distribute wealth in the interests of the whole population. Socialism did not mean that a man could not own his house. Or buy his own food and amusements. Public ownership of the means of production would enable society to organise for current needs and substitute planning for tradition.