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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THE FORERUNNERS—FICHTE AND MARLO. J yoke which weighed upon Germany since the Thirty Years’ War, and had hardly opened his eyes to modern life. He was agitated by no spirit of revolt, no aspiration towards a better order of things. The saying of Lassalle was true : while English and French working men dreamed of reforms, the German working man had to be awakened to the fact that he was miserable. Therefore the first socialistic writings made but little stir when they appeared. It was from France that came the first ideas of social transformation and revolution. This was recognized by Karl Marx, the most learned of German Socialists. “ The emanci pation of Germany will be that of all humanity,” he wrote in a review, some numbers of which appeared in Paris in 1844 ; “ but when all is ready in Germany, the insurrection will only wake at the crowing of the Gallic cock.” • To find the first manifestations of modem Socialism in Germany, we must refer back to Kant’s most famous disciple, Fichte, who was inspired by the ideas of the French Revo lution, as he himself declares. In his “ Materials for the Justification of the French Revolution,” he writes : “Property can have no other origin than labour. Whosoever does not work, has no right to obtain the means of existence from society.” In 1796 he proclaimed “the right to property.” He says in his “Principles of Natural Right,” “ Whosoever has not the means of living is not bound to recognize or respect the property of others, seeing that, as regards him, the prin ciples of the social contract have been violated. Every one should have some property ; society owes to all the means of work, and all should work in order to live.” In his book on “The State in Accordance with Right” {Rechtstaat), he foreshadows a collective organization which would realize what he understands by right: “Labour and distribution should be collectively organized ; every one should receive for a fixed amount of labour, a fixed amount of capital which would constitute his property, according to right. Property * Vide the Review Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher, published by Arnold Ruge and Karl Marx, assisted by Hess, Engels, Ilerwegh, and Kruno Bauer.

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