The publication of this volume is due to the friendly counsel of the Hon. Andrew D. White, president of Cornell University; a gentleman tireless in his efforts to encourage young men, and alive to every opportunity to speak fitting words of hope and cheer. Like many of the younger scholars of our country, I am indebted to him more than I can say. The present work is based on lectures delivered in Baltimore before the students of the Johns Hopkins University, and in Ithaca before the students of

Communism and Socialism represent different and yet allied movements of theory and practice. They aim to improve the common lot of humanity, in particular that of the lower classes, in a radical manner and by the application of thoroughgoing measures. Now, when we utter the word improvement we indicate a desire to change, and consequently dissatisfaction with the state which is to be changed. This brings us at once to the common standing-ground of politico-economic reformers. They are one and al

Socialism, strictly speaking, denotes simply the social system. It is the opposite of individualism. A socialist [18] is one who looks to society organized in the state for aid in bringing about a more perfect distribution of economic goods and an elevation of humanity. The individualist regards each man not as his brother’s keeper but as his own, and desires every man to work out his own salvation, material and spiritual. His advice to government is expressed in the well-known formula, laissez-

It is a relief to turn one’s attention to the plans of Étienne Cabet. They, at least, have the merit of not robbing life of all poetry, sentiment, and trust in something higher and better than food and drink. One might find life tolerable in one of Cabet’s communes; but every noble soul will acknowledge that if life’s ends and aims are all to centre in a full stomach and a warm cloak, then, indeed, life is not worth the living. Cabet, son of a cooper, was born in 1788 in Dijon. He received a goo

When we turn from Babœuf and Cabet to Saint-Simon we discover a man of a new type. He differed from his predecessors in aims, purposes, and character. We find in him one who did not desire the dead and uninteresting level of communism, but placed before him as an ideal a social system which should more nearly render to man the just fruits of his own individual exertions than does our present society. Count Henry de Saint-Simon [37] was born at Paris in 1760. He belonged to a noble family of Fran

In his “Social Movements in France” [64] Lorenz von Stein uses these words, in comparing Saint-Simon and Fourier: “While Saint-Simon was sacrificing his life in Paris in his efforts to attain an unknown and only vaguely conjectured goal, and while his school was struggling against foes from within and without, there lived in another part of France a man who, without knowing Saint-Simon, was taking an essentially different route towards the same goal. This man was Charles Fourier.... Never has an

Saint-Simon and Fourier are first among French socialists. In the history of society no socialistic systems occupy a higher rank than those to which they gave their names. France has, however, produced two other men who have taken positions as leaders in social movements. If Saint-Simon and Fourier take precedence over them in the hierarchy of socialists, there is certainly no Frenchman who can dispute their right to the next highest places. They were chiefs after Saint-Simonism and Fourierism h

The principle of authority occupied a prominent place in the socialistic schemes of Saint-Simon and Louis Blanc. The former planned a religious society in which the priests should exercise undisputed sway over the production and distribution of goods, assigning to each member of the society his proper rank and rewarding him in proportion to his services. The latter expressly demanded a strong government, in order that it might be able to transform the economic life of the people by the erection

The last thirty years of the history of France constitute an unfruitful period in the development of socialism. They have been years of dearth, following in the wake of an equal number of plenteous years. There has arisen during all this time no developed communistic or socialistic system in France. The French socialism of to-day may be traced to three sources—viz., pure dissatisfaction with existing economic life, previous French speculations, like those of Proudhon and Fourier, and present Ger

In turning our attention to Germany “we come to the period of classical epoch-making socialism.” It is the only living socialism of world-wide importance; for, with few comparatively unimportant exceptions, all socialism of to-day, whether found in Paris or Berlin, in New York or Vienna, in Chicago or Frankfort-on-the-Main, is through and through German. The German socialists are distinguished by the profundity of their systems. These are not exhausted by a few hours’ study. You can come back to

The more immediate theoretical founder of social democracy, and for many years its leading representative, was Karl Marx, born in 1818 in Treves (Trier). The social position of his family in Germany was excellent. His father, a converted Jew, occupied a high position in the civil service. Marx studied law at the universities of Bonn and Berlin. In the latter place he became so much interested in philosophy that he abandoned law. The philosophy which he adopted was the Hegelian. He intended to be

The International Workingmen’s Association ( Internationale Arbeiterassociation ) is a society based on social democratic principles, and intended to embrace all the laborers of Christendom. The Internationalists believe that working-men, having nothing to hope from the higher classes, must fight out their own emancipation. They hold, also, that the interests of labor throughout the civilized world are so vitally connected, that it is necessary for all lands to march together. They are thoroughg

The most interesting figure in the history of social democracy is incontestably Ferdinand Lassalle. In some respects he resembled Marx. He also was of Hebrew descent, and belonged to the higher classes of society. Both were interested in the welfare of the lower classes, and made sacrifices willingly in behalf of their cause. Both intended to become university professors, and there is not the shadow of a reason to doubt that both might have succeeded as such. Lassalle, the son of a wealthy whole

Social democrats form the extreme wing of the socialists, though, at present, many of them are inclined to lay so much stress on equality of enjoyment, regardless of the value of one’s labor, that they might, perhaps, more properly be called communists. But as they are usually known as social democrats, and as the name is not likely to lead to misunderstanding, there is no reason why we should not adhere to the ordinary appellation, especially as there are those among them who do not favor equal

The last chapter contained a description of the desires and demands of the German social democratic party, without entering into any discussion of the careers and characters of its leaders or of the organizations which have been formed to support its programme. This chapter will treat of what may be called social democracy in the concrete. I shall first take up the external history of the political party which is designated by that name, and then enter into a consideration of its internal histor

It is generally known that Bismarck has been endeavoring to introduce new economic measures and institutions of a more or less socialistic nature in Germany. One of these projects has been described in an earlier chapter. It is not, however, an equally familiar fact that he may be regarded as a member of an economic school. Such is, nevertheless, the case. In the earlier part of his career as imperial chancellor Bismarck accepted the doctrines of English political economy in modified form, as ta

We have come to a point now where professorial socialism and Christian socialism meet. Professors of political economy, finding themselves forced to abandon every hope of reconciling adverse interests of society without a moral and religious regeneration of the various social classes, turn to Christianity, and appeal to it for co-operation in their endeavors to bring about an era of peace and harmony. Professorial socialism terminates in Christianity. Christian socialism seeks in it a starting-p