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John Maclean's Speech From The DockJohn 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.
External link * Text of John Maclean's Speech From the Dock
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