John Maclean's Speech From the Dock
John Maclean MA,
Scottish Socialist agitator was a prominent activist against
World War I. On 8th May
1918 he was tried for his anti-war activities at the High Court in
Edinburgh. He used this trial to propogandise for socialism and against war by making a renowned speech.
This speech from the dock has passed into folklore for the Scottish left.
It begins:
- It has been said that they cannot fathom my motive. For the full period of my active life I have been a teacher of economics to the working classes, and my contention has always been that capitalism is rotten to its foundations, and must give place to a new society. I had a lecture, the principal heading of which was "Thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not kill", and I pointed out that as a consequence of the robbery that goes on in all civilised countries today, our respective countries have had to keep armies, and that inevitably our armies must clash together.
- On that and on other grounds, I consider capitalism the most infamous, bloody and evil system that mankind has ever witnessed.
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