THE  SOCIALISM  OF  TO-DAY.

84
of  his  correspondence  with  L#assalle,  published  by  A.  W  agner,
he  shows  in  what  respect  he  may  be  called  conservative.
“  Our  ways  of  understanding  law  and  the  philosophy  of  history,
he  writes,  in  speaking  of  Lassalle,  “  were  similar,  in  that  we
did  not  consider  the  succession  of  social  and  political  forms
as  exhausted  by  the  establishment  of  the  constitutional  or  the
representative  system.  We  were  both  convinced  that,  by
placing  ourselves  at  the  point  of  view  of  a  philosophy  of  law
more  ideal  and  rigorous  than  that  received  to-day,  we  should
observe  imperfections  in  property  as  at  present  applied  to  land
and  capital,  and  we  should  discern  a  form  of  appropriation
purer  and  more  equitable,  by  virtue  of  which  the  share  of
each  would  be  proportional  to  services  rendered.  In  practice
we  were  unable  to  agree,"  adds  Rodbertus.  Lassalle,  as  we
know,  wished  to  change  the  condition  of  working  men  in  a
short  time,  by  making  them  join  associations  of  production,
founded  by  means  of  State  aid.  I  wished  to  preserve  the
principle  of  wages,  while  supposing  a  reform  to  be  undertaken
by  the  State.  Lassalle  wished  to  make  a  political  party  out
of  the  Socialist  party,  and  for  this  purpose  he  demanded
universal  suffrage.  I  wished  to  confine  its  action  to  the  purely
scientific  and  economic  ground.”
Lassalle  was  an  ardent  agitator  who  believed  the  goal
would  soon  be  reached,  while  Rodbertus  understood  so  well
the  slowness  of  social  transformations,  that  it  was  only  after
the  lapse  of  five  centuries  that  he  looked  for  the  realization
of  his  ideal—property  in  proportion  to  labour.  Rodbertus
approached  the  present  “  Agrarian  ”  party  in  that  he  defended
energetically  the  agricultural  interests,  which  he  maintained
were  sacrificed  to  the  financiers.  As  he  himself  farmed  his
property  at  Jagetzow,  he,  like  Von  Thuenen,  understood
thoroughly  all  questions  relating  to  rural  economy,  but,  unlike
the  “  Agrarians,”  he  did  not  hope  to  re-establish  the  régime  of
times  past.
The  most  retrograde  shade  of  Conservative  Socialism  was
*  Briefe  von  Ferdinand  Lassalle  an  Karl  Kodberíus-Jagetzow  mit  einer
FinUitunz  von  Adolph  Wagner.  Berlin,  1870  (Letters  of  F.  Lassalle  to
K  Rodbertus-Jagetzow,  with  an  introduction  by  Adolph  Wagner).