Socialist Predictions from The Iron Heel by Jack London - Essay Example

Socialist Predictions from The Iron Heel by Jack London Jack London wrote the novel The Iron Heel in 1908. In this novel, London sought to make his predictions on the type of society that would result in the later years of the 20th century. He relied on the records of events on the Ever-hard manuscript. London predicated that socialism would result in the challenge of fascism that existed in the society. A close analysis of the unfolding that resulted in the American society and other regions of the world makes present a great deal of accuracy in the predictions. Although not all of his predictions emerged later in the century, London made some critical true predictions of the events in the 20th century. This paper will highlight the fulfillment of his predictions concerning socialism in the 20th century. London wrote his book adding on to the predictions of other authors who wrote to express their views on the future prospects concerning capitalism. Capitalism got its roots in America in the last half of the 19th century. It had persisted for so long with an increasing gap between the upper class of the system and the slave class that provided labor for the capitalists. It is the time that London wrote the novel about to express the projections of events in his view. A very intriguing foreword opens the reader to the novel. The foreword contains the description of the revolution against capitalism, the system that the people described as an oligarchy. The attributes of the system resulted to unfairness in society with the upper class of the system amassing wealth while exploiting the servitude of the lower class. The people participating in the novel denoted the system with the expression of ‘iron heel’. Avis, the woman who describes the revolution, also highlights the difference that they wanted to institute in the society (London 1-3). This system is socialism. Socialism is a philosophy that suggests the cooperative commitment for people to work for the benefit of the entire society. However, one thing is evident from the manuscript: the predictions have their basis on 27th century prospects. The author predicts that any rise against capitalism would result in the war in the entire globe. Concerning this, London seemed to have earlier insights of what would result in the later years of that century. London employs the voice of Ernest to describe the revolution in detail. It is worth noting that the novel describes the event as they were until 1917. In real life, historians describe this year as the period when the Soviet Union emerged. The rise of socialism in the soviet region proved to be a challenge to the capitalism in the United States (Lye 38). The debate between socialism and capitalism ensued throughout the 20th century. However, before a full description of the fight between capitalism and socialism, London mentioned the rise of the great Germany (London 8). This brings into mind the rise of the Nazi Germany. This regime headed by Hitler rose to exercise its power in eliminating Poland and the Jewish culture. The regime bears a record of the worst form of dictatorship that existed in the 20th century. London intuitively saw the rise of this more than a decade before it happened. Fascism rise in Germany is one of the fulfillments of the predictions. The second war challenged the standing of fascism and led to the collapse of the Nazi Germany. However, it is possible that London’s predictions were applicable to a different situation. The Soviet Union rose to challenge capitalism after the Second World War and sought to exert a socialist control over the entire globe. The debate progressed to define the Cold war that persisted until the end of the 20th century. Although London was wrong about the verdict of the revolution and the war that could result from the fight between capitalism and socialism, he accurately predicted that a time would come when socialists would rise against the oppressive capitalism. However, according to the revelations from Avis, it is obvious that the initial attempts of socialism would fail. The Iron Heel predicts the success after seven centuries. The collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s may be just one of the failed attempts (Theis 11). The United States raged war against the challenge posed by the Soviet Union. This proved London’s predictions true. He had described a system where capitalists would use all types of mechanisms to surpass the effect of socialist philosophies and demands. These capitalist mechanisms from the upper class were evident in the dealings of the American society in the 20th century. The American government employed all forms of strategies to exercise foreign influence to other countries. The Vietnam War reflected some of the effects of the revolution against capitalist influence. The soviet and American powers sought to exert influence on the entire globe (Lye 38). It is worth noting that before London wrote the novel, there were very few philosophers analyzing the tactics used by capitalists to remain in power. London accurately foresaw the mechanisms that the capitalists used in the later years of the 20th century. One of these has been the use of a powerful army and police who protect the interests of the upper class of capitalist systems. In addition, he described the rising of the upper class through the exploitation of the working class of developing countries. The working class of the developed world stood in a position to make better earnings in the chain of the labor aristocracy that resulted. In all these circumstances, the upper sustains hegemony. London used Meredith as a representative of the socialist school of thought. ‘The brotherhood of man’ is the definition of the socialist ideas in the novel. In the later years of the century, there emerged many socialist ideas (Theis 11). Although London was essentially a socialist, he defined the ideologies of future socialism using the concept of ‘brotherhood of man’. He predicted that in the future, national wealth would benefit the entire society. The Soviet Union promoted the concept of ‘brotherhood of man’ and made efforts to spread socialism on the entire globe. The concept of ‘brotherhood’ implies the act of coming together with a similar goal to revolt. The 20th century saw the rising of multiple revolutions headed by common people against tyrannical ruler ships that dominated the land. These people often came together to rebel against the oppression by the tyrannies. However, London made it clear that capitalism would dominate the entire globe for a long time before socialism could establish itself (Theis 11). Socialism would try to dominate several times without success. This became evident in the 20th century because the majority of those rebelling against tyrannies have ended up in jails. In the 20th century, the struggle between social classes as described by London was very evident. Then class struggle is not a reality in the United States only, but it is common in many other states. The lower class has been struggling to gain liberty and oppression from the tyrannical class. London had witnessed several revolutions that gave him the basis to describe events that would happen in alter years. Being a socialist, he had an idea of future outcomes of the struggle between classes in society. The Iron Heel has received many descriptions over time. Some people believe it is literature that discusses philosophy. Socialists view the book as a valuable tract that precisely depicts the triumph of socialism. Political scientists believe it is a political novel. Despite the multiple descriptions, it becomes obvious that London predicted the majority of the twists of events in the 20th century effectively. The book adopts a complex version of integrating stories within a major story. The story highlights the revolution that the common lower class of the society decides to rise against the oppressive effects of the oligarchy. The rise of the fascist Nazi regime is one of the 20th century events that perfectly fit the predictions of London. In addition, the extensive debate of capitalism versus socialism that progressed to the Cold war is another event that fits the description. Moreover, the mechanisms used by capitalists as tactics of remaining dominant are evident from London’s predictions. However, it is worth noting that the events happening in the real sense were a lot more complex than London predicted. Some aspects of his prediction came true while others were limited to the fiction of the book. Work Cited London, Jackson. The Iron Heel. Arkansas: Mundus Publishing Company, 1937. Print. Lye, Colleen. America's Asia: Racial Form and American Literature, 1893-1945. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2005. Print. Theis, Mary E. Mothers and Masters in Contemporary Utopian and Dystopian Literature. New York: Peter Lang, 2009. Print. Read More