The Socialism of to-day

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 835096955

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-28834

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Laveleye, Émile de

Title:: The Socialism of to-day

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Field & Tuer

Year of publication:: 1884

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XLIV, 331 S.)

Collection:: Economics Books

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FERDINAND LASSALLE. 77 the death of his father, only took into his hands the administra tion of goods of which he was already co-proprietor. The ideas of the Romans and those of the Germans have become utterly foreign to us, and the principle of hereditary succession is no longer rooted in our beliefs. Herr H. von Sybel replied to Lassalle that it is with hereditary succession as with royalty. Nations no longer believe in divine right, and nevertheless they still keep their kings, because experience has shown that constitutional mon archy guarantees in a convenient way public liberty and pros perity. Hereditary succession is no longer the object of a superstitious worship, and accordingly statesmen can restrict the degrees of inheritance and impose duties upon succession ; but it is an excellent means of stimulating work and the formation of capital, and it is upon this ground that it is preserved. Lassalle thought with the Saint Simonians that the golden age lies before us. His pantheistic conception of history led him to believe that, in consequence of an inherent law, humanity is destined to reach, step by step, a state in which the working man will enjoy all those advantages possessed to day by the bourgeoisie., and in which, consequently, there would be but one class, obtaining, by the aid of science, ample satisfac tion of all its needs through moderate and wholesome labour. Every man could thus attain all the intellectual and moral development of which nature had made him capable. The social organization would no longer be a hindrance to any one, but would be for all a support and a means of advancement. As may easily be believed, the ideas of Lassalle do not present any very great originality. His views of social recon struction are borrowed from Saint-Simon and Louis Blanc, his criticism of Political Economy from Karl Marx. Nevertheless, the study of his writings is not devoid of utility, because in more than one point he has shown that the generally received economic theories are superficial, badly formulated, or even entirely erroneous. Thus, his discussion upon the mode in which capital is formed is very remarkable, and so is his picture of the origin and economic development of society.

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