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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304 SOCIALISM IN ENGLAND. Mr. Headlam has evidently discovered what M. de Laveleye has so well pointed out, that Christianity, though containing in itself the germs of socialistic ideas, by inculcating patience and submission, and by pointing to a recompense beyond the tomb, is, as usually taught, antagonistic to the full flowering of Socialism. He, however, instead of endeavouring to eradicate the religious sentiment after the manner of the revolutionary Socialists, tries to arouse “ divine discontent ” by secularizing Christianity. The advanced Christian Socialists call for the Disestablish ment of the Church, and its organization on a democratic basis. They think that their principles would gain wide acceptance among the new ministers thus appointed. They believe that in the doctrines and traditions of the Church, properly inter preted, they possess a lever to move the minds of the faithful such as the Secularists with their “ dismal creed ” can never obtain ; they confldently look forward to such a religious re vival, imbued with the new social ethics—to such a develop ment of what Mr. George calls a “ deep, definite, intense religious faith, so clear, so burning, as utterly to melt away the thought of self”—that the question of the reconstruction of society on socialistic lines will ere long accomplish itself with out the necessity of any physical compulsion ; and they are not without hope that even the stony hearts of many land lords and capitalists will be so softened by the potent solvent of neo-Christian charity, that they will be ready to surrender all their goods to feed the poor. As I have already mentioned, the Christian Socialists of “ the extreme left ” entirely accept the teaching of Mr. George as to Land Nationalization, and reject the idea that the landowners have any just claim to compensation. They say, indeed, that the principle of taxing land up to the full annual value, though pushed on as rapidly as may be, will inevitably be so gradually applied, that the hardship on individual landowners will not be so great as might at first sight appear ; but they do not shrink from answering the question of compensation frankly in the negative, and they even retort the charge of confiscation and robbery on the landowners. To those who use the argu-

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