THE SOCIALISTS OF THE CHA IE. 2/3 
fore, never been treated as an isolated branch of knowledge, 
regulated by special laws. Even the orthodox disciples of the 
English school—as, for instance, Rau—have never ignored the 
strict ties which bind it to the other social sciences, and notably 
to politics, and they have readily invoked facts and history. 
Ever since the ideas of Adam Smith and his disciples com 
menced to spread in Germany, they have met with critics there, 
such as Professor Lueder and Count Soden, who regarded as 
important, not the mere growth of wealth, but the general pro 
gress of civilization. Next have followed Von Thünen, Adam 
Müller, Charles Bernhard!, List, Lorenz Stein, Roscher, Knies, 
Hildebrand,.Hermann, and to-day their name is legion : Nasse, 
Schmoller, Brentano, Schoenberg, Roesler, Dühring, Wagner, 
Schæffle, Cohn, Von Scheel, Samter, Engel. 
The principles of the orthodox economy have had in 
Germany, as their organ in point of practical application, the 
Congress of Economists ( Volkswirthschaftlicher Congress), 
which assembles each year in a different town, and exercises 
considerable influence at first on opinion and then on legisla 
tion. It is to this influence that is due the abolition of the 
greater number of restrictive regulations and, consequently, the 
establishment of freedom as to professions, domicil, loans at 
interest, the subdivision of properties, and also the successive 
custom-house reforms in the direction of free trade. Owing to 
the scientific and technical knowledge, widely spread by public 
educational establishments, owing also to the easy and abun 
dant production of coal in Westphalia, providing a cheap 
motive-power, the large system of industry has taken such rapid 
strides, that soon Germany will vie with France and even with 
England. But, as an inevitable consequence, the labour 
question is coming to the front. We have already seen 
how Marx and Lassalle caused the Socialist movement to 
arise out of the same economic conditions. 
One section of the Economists have remained faithful to 
the principle of natural laws and non-intervention of the State. 
Others, on the contrary, were struck with the contrast presented 
f>y the extraordinary increase of wealth side by side with the 
simultaneous development of the proletariat. They were 
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