H

THE  SOCIALISM  OF  TO-DAY.

CHAPTER  III.
RODBERTUS-JAGETZOW.
G erman  Socialists  of  note  have  not  drawn  up  the  plan
of  a  new  society.  Unlike  Sir  Thomas  More,  Babeuf,
Fourrier,  or  Gäbet,  they  do  not  present  us  with  an  ideal,  a
Utopia,  a  perfect  city  which  would  be  a  Paradise  on  earth.
They  have  a  profound  knowledge  of  Political  Economy  and  of
the  facts  proved  by  statistics.  They  have  studied  history,  law,
the  dead  languages,  and  foreign  literature.  They  belong  to
the  well-to-do  class,  and  are  scholars  by  profession.  They  do
not  allow  themselves  to  be  led  astray  by  the  chimeras  of  others,
nor  ^by  those  to  which  their  own  imagination  may  give  birth.
They  content  themselves  with  criticising  the  classical  works  on
Political  Economy,  and  with  placing  in  strong  relief  the  evils
of  existing  social  conditions.  Their  works  have  thus  the
same  characteristics  as  those  of  Proudhon  ;  but  though  less
clear  and  brilliant,  they  have  more  coherence  and  solidity.
To  disentangle  their  mistakes,  sustained  attention  and  profound ­
  knowledge  of  economical  principles  are  needed.
After  Mario,  there  comes  a  writer  little  known  outside
Germany,  and  seldom  quoted,  but  whose  few  and  brief  writings
contain,  as  Dr.  Rudolf  Meyer  very  justly  says,*  all  the  ideas
*  See  Dr.  Rudolf  Meyer’s  remarkable  work  :  “  The  Struggle  for  the
Emancipation  of  the  Fourth  Estate.”  {Die  Emamipations-kampf  des
vierten  Standes.)  The  second  edition  has  lately  appeared.  Hermann  Bahr,
Berlin,  1882.  [An  abstract  of  the  opinions  of  Rodbertu^,  translated  from
the  above  work  of  Dr.  Rudolf  Meyer,  will  be  found  in  the  appendix  to
Mr.  Hyndman’s  book,  “The  Historical  Basis  of  Socialism  in  England.”
London,  1883.  7V.]