XXll
INTRO D UCTION.
sessions by virtue of an agreement only.” Elsewhere he thus
sums up the conflict between the rich and the poor ; “ It is an
obscure but terrible combat, in which the powerful, shielded
by the law, oppress the feeble, and where property crushes
labour by the weight of its prerogative. The capitalists have
the power of giving only the minimum salary in exchange for
labour. They always impose the law ; the labourers are obliged
to receive it. ’ 1 he idea which Montesquieu borrowed from
Aristotle, namely, that democracy should have for basis a grand
equality of conditions, is reproduced on all sides. Rabaud
Saint Etienne desires that equality of wealth should be
established, not by force, but by law, and should be main
tained by laws calculated to prevent future inequalities. “ In
a well-ordered republic, no person would be without some
property” (Report of Barrère, 22 Floréal, year IL). “ Wealth
and opulence should both disappear before the reign of
equality ” (Order of the Commune of Paris, 3 Frimaire,
year III.). “A real equality is the ultimate aim of social
science ” (Condorcet, Progrh de LEsprit Humain, II., 59).
“ We wish to apply to politics the same equality that the
Gospel grants to Christians” (Baudot, quoted by Quinet,
Revolution Française, IL, 407). “Opulence is infamous”
(Saint-Just). “The richest Frenchman should not have an
income of more than 300 livres ” (Robespierre). “ Ut redeat
miseris, abeat fortuna superbis," is the motto of Marat’s paper,
d he idea of the French Revolution, freed from the extrava
gances of the contest, is exactly summed up by the philosopher
Joubert, when he says, “ Men are born unequal. It is the
great benefit of society to diminish this inequality as much as
possible, by granting to all security, a competency, education,
and help” {Pensées, XIV., Du Gouvernement et des Consti
tutions, XXXVIIL).
At the very time that equal rights were granted to all men,
a change in the methods of production brought about a pro
found alteration in the condition of the workers. By losing
their ancient guarantees they became more dependent ; and
while raised to the rank of sovereign in the political régime, in
the economic order they fell to the condition of hirelings.
