Articles from Social-Demokraten.
Source: Social-Demokraten, 25 September 1885. Written by August Palm and Axel Danielsson;
Translated: by Daniell Brandell;
Transcribed: by Hal Smith;
HTML Mark-up: by Andy Blunden.
When we today send out this test issue of Socialdemokraten we should also inform the large public about what goal we have put up for us, and if these our words meet with sympathy in Your hearts, we hope on Your most powerful support for spreading this paper. The task for the Social democrats shall be to ruthlessly reveal all those wrongs, which are inherent in the present state of society. Everyone, who has followed the last years’ development in political and economical sense, must, without a doubt have come to the conviction, that this development not at all have been to the benefit for neither the individual nor society as a whole. When the situation is like that, it must of course become the task for this paper to work for the solution of the questions and the enforcement of the reforms, which are devoted to achieve a healthier and for mankind as a whole happier state than this, in which we now live.
We fully realize, which big difficulties the big social class, the working estate, have to get what he needs to stay alive, and that this class therefore needs all the protection that can be given. Our task will therefore be to work with all forces so, that the people’s productive members, the majority of those in society, the working estate, should receive a better, more humanly dignified existence. We shall try to fill this task by show the means and ways, whereby we can reach big goal: the working estate’s liberation from the bonds and chains, which restrain its development in social, political and religious sense. A life concerning matter for the working estate is according to us to all its powers participate in the political life, and through there seek to support its social and economical interests to the benefit for itself and for the whole Swedish people. Only an enlightened and awake working estate is powerful enough to form a counter-weight to the present authorities’ reactionary aspirations.
Socialdemokraten is thus organ of the most numerous class in society, for the injured and suppressed working estate, to whose class also the smaller businessmen and professionals must be counted into, in short all those, who more or less for their existence are dependent on the present society’s mainstay: the capital power. All these have common interests and a collective goal to work for, the liberation of work from the power of capital. For this working estate’s noble aspirations shall Socialdemokraten be a forceful and uncompromising spokesman. It shall bravely work for this goal to be achieved.
Therefore we hope, that everyone, who acknowledge the necessity of a more just society’s enforcement, everyone who acknowledge the infamous in that a small privileged class shall have the right to the expense of the big working mass live an idle live in abundance and laziness, under that many working slave hardly have bread for himself and his family, we hope that You all, who acknowledge and realise this, examine what we socialists work for, and through what means we want to reach our goal. The occasion for this is prepared with this paper, which we hope in short shall win such a spread among the public that it can be given out regularly.
Observe. In next test issue, which will be published in late October, a subscription fee shall be notified, and if a larger association to the organisation for a worker’s paper is taking place before this, the paper will come out every Friday. It depends thus upon readers in common and the friends of social democracy in as well Stockholm as in the countryside in particular, if the paper from November month shall be given out regularly.