THE  SOCIALISM  OF  TO-DAV.

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all  Germany,  the  police  seized  the  coffin  at  Cologne  in  the
name  of  the  family,  and  sent  it  to  Breslau,  where  the  body  was
interred  in  the  Jewish  cemetery.
In  the  principal  towns  the  working  men’s  associations  wished
to  honour  his  memory  by  funeral  ceremonies,  at  which  he  was
represented  as  the  martyr  and  saint  of  Socialism.  The  impression ­
  was  so  profound  that  numbers  of  the  people  believed,
and  still  believe,  that  he  did  not  die,  and  that  he  will  come
again  in  his  glory,  to  preside  over  the  great  revolution  and
reorganization  of  society.  A  Lassallian  party  arose,  which  has
continued  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  extinguish  it,  and  which  has
never  been  completely  amalgamated  with  the  International
Socialism  of  Karl  Marx.
We  shall  try  to  exhibit  the  ideas  of  Lassalle  as  a  whole,
without  attempting  to  analyze  his  numberless  publications,  all
of  which  relate  to  special  circumstances.
Can  the  working  man,  under  the  present  social  system,  by
his  own  efforts  better  his  condition,  as  asserted  by  Schulze-Delitzsch?
  No,  replied  Lassalle,  the  “iron  law”  of  wages
stands  in  the  way.
What  is  this  “  iron  law,”  das  eherne  Udingesetz,  which  is  the
foundation  of  all  his  deductions  ?  It  is  the  law  by  virtue  of
which,  in  existing  society,  and  under  the  action  of  supply  imd
demand,  the  average  wages  of  the  working  man  are  reduced  to
the  minimum  necessary  for  existence  and  reproduction.  That
is  the  level  towards  which  wages,  however  they  may  fluctuate,
inevitably  tend,  without  being  able  to  remain,  for  any  length
of  time,  either  above  or  below  it.  Wages  cannot  long  remain
above  this  line,  for  then,  in  consequence  of  the  greater  comfort
and  ease  of  the  working  classes,  the  number  of  marriages  and
births  among  them  would  increase,  with  the  natural  result  that
the  number  of  hands  seeking  employment  would  likewise
increase  ;  and  by  their  offering  themselves  for  work  in  competition ­
  with  each  other,  the  rate  of  wages  would  be  brought
back  to  the  same  fatal  point.  Neither  can  they  fall  much
below  this  level,  for  then  want  and  famine  would  bring  in  their
train  increased  mortality,  emigration,  diminution  of  marriages
and  births,  and,  in  consequence,  a  reduction  of  the  number