INTRODUCTION.

XV

then,  a  Socialist  ?  After  “  the  Days  of  June,”  in  1848,  Proudhon
said  to  the  magistrate  who  examined  him,  that  he  went  to  contemplate ­
  “the  sublime  horrors  of  the  cannonade.”  “But,”
said  the  magistrate,  “are  you  not,  then,  a  Socialist?”  “Certainly.” ­
  “  Well,  but  what,  then,  is  Socialism  ?  ”  “  It  is,”  replied
Proudhon,  “every  aspiration  towards  the  improvement  of
society.”  “But  in  that  case,”  very  justly  remarked  the  magistrate, ­
  ‘we  are  all  Socialists.”  “That  is  precisely  what  I
think,”  rejoined  Proudhon.
Proudhon  s  definition  is  too  wide  ;  it  omits  two  characteristics. ­
  In  the  first  place,  every  socialistic  doctrine  aims  at
introducing  greater  equality  into  social  conditions;  and  secondly.
It  tries  to  realize  these  reforms  by  the  action  of  the  law  or
the  State.  Socialism  is  an  equalizer  and  a  leveller;  and  it
does  not  admit  that  mere  liberty  can  usher  in  the  reign  of
justice.  All  sensible  economists  recognize  the  existence  of
many  evils  and  iniquities  in  society  ;  but  they  think  that  these
evils  will  decrease  under  the  influence  of  “  natural  laws  ”  and
t  e  beneficial  results  of  laissez  faire.  Christianity  condemns
ric  es  and  inequality  with  all  the  vehemence  of  Socialism  ;  but
It  is  not  to  the  State  that  it  looks  for  the  establishment  of  the
reign  of  justice.  The  Socialist  is  a  pessimist.  He  places  in
full  relief  the  bad  side  of  the  social  state.  He  points  to  the
strong  crushing  the  weak,  the  rich  making  gain  out  of  the
poor,  inequality  becoming  harsher  and  more  pronounced.  He
aspires  to  an  ideal  where  well-being  will  be  allotted  in  propor-Ijtion
  to  desert  and  to  services  rendered.  The  economist  is
an  optimist  He  does  not  go  so  far  as  to  pretend  that  all
IS  perfect;  but  he  thinks  that  man,  in  pursuing  his  individual
interests,  advances  the  general  weal  as  much  as  possible,  and
at  rorn  the  free  play  of  all  his  self-regarding  instincts  there
wi  resu  t  a  better  order  of  things.  Consequently,  according
o  im,  the  only  thing  to  be  done  is  to  get  rid  of  all  shackles,
o  reduce  the  action  of  the  State  to  a  minimum,  and  to  interfere
m  the  way  of  government  as  little  as  possible.
Let  us  endeavour  to  point  out  the  causes  of  the  origin  and
growth  of  modern  Socialism.
As  soon  as  man  had  attained  sufficient  culture  to  be