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THE SOCIALISM OF TO-DAY. 
ultimate aim, which is social progress, can be better attained 
with such assistance than by individual efforts, whether it be 
a question of the improvement of harbours, the facilitation of 
means of transport, the development of education, the en 
couragement of the arts and sciences, or the promotion of any 
other object of general utility. 
The intervention of the State ought not to be always 
rejected, as the rigid Economists wish, nor always admitted, as 
certain Socialists demand; each case ought to be separately 
examined, having regard to the wants to be satisfied and the 
resources of private energy. Only it is a mistake to suppose 
that the rôle of the State will be curtailed as civilization 
advances. It is of a different kind to-day from what it was 
under the patriarchal or despotic régime, but it is ever 
extending according as new paths open out to human activity, 
and as the appreciation of what is lawful and what is not 
becomes clearer. This opinion has also been expounded in 
France with great force by M. Dupont-White, in his book 
L'Individu et /’État. 
The Katheder-Socialisten also blame orthodox Economists 
for confining themselves too exclusively to questions touching 
the production of wealth, and for having neglected those 
concerning its distribution and consumption. They assert 
that the strict Economists have looked upon man as a mere 
productive force, without sufficiently considering his destiny 
and his obligations as a moral and intelligent being. According 
to them, thanks to the wonders wrought by science, industry 
could already produce enough for all, if all labour were usefully 
employed, and if so many human efforts were not wasted in 
satisfying spurious and even vicious desires. The great 
problem of our times, what is called the social question, is 
primarily a question of distribution. 
The labouring classes wish to better their lot and to obtain 
a larger share of the wealth created by the joint operation of 
capital and labour. The important point to discover is, within 
what limits and under what conditions this is possible. In 
view of the evils which disturb and threaten the social order, 
three systems have been proposed: first, a return to the past