production or voluntary enterprise does exist in the Socialist State will not be private capitalism. Capitalism means capital employed for the purpose of appropriating profit or surplus value. There can be no Socialist State in which the exploitation of labour for the profit of others is allowed. There can be no Socialist State where economic rent is appropriated by monopolists. The reason why Socialists aim at the control and ownership of land and capital is because, generally speaking, that is the only way in which rent, interest and profit can be secured for the community, and also because, generally speaking, the community can work a concern or public service more economically and efficiently than private enterprise can do it."
This latter assumption is by no means borne out by such examples as the management by the post office of the telegraphs and telephones. And if, as Mr. Snowden seems to indicate, no private production or voluntary enterprise in the Socialist State would be allowed to earn a profit, it would seem that all the means of production are likely to be transferred to the State, unless human nature were radically altered, since no one else would have any incentive for making
