THE  FORERUNNERS—FICHTE  AND  MARLO.  9
The  writings  of  Weitling  attracted  but  slight  attention.
Possibly  they  helped  to  spread  in  Southern  Germany  the
revolutionary  leaven  which  burst  forth  in  the  insurrection  at
Baden  in  1848,  but  there  was  then  no  German  Socialist
party.*
After  the  revolutionary  movements  of  1848  had  resulted
throughout  Europe  in  a  period  of  reaction,  the  march  of
socialistic  ideas,  completely  arrested  in  France,  at  least  in  all
publications,  began  to  assume  a  scientific  character  in  Germany.
Under  the  name  of  Mario,  Professor  Winkelblech  published,  in
parts,  an  important  work,  which  was  still  incomplete  at  his
death  in  1859.  This  work  is  entitled  “Investigations  on  the
Organization  of  Labour,  or  System  of  Universal  Political
Economy.In  a  striking  passage  of  the  preface  he  relates
how  he  came  to  interest  himself  in  social  questions.
He  was  visiting  the  north  of  Europe  in  1843,  in  order  to
study  the  progress  of  manufactures  there.  One  day,  just  as  he
was  leaving  the  factory  of  Modum  in  Norway,  he  turned  to
take  a  last  look  at  the  Alpine-like  valley  in  which  it  is  situated.
While  he  was  contemplating  the  lovely  scenery,  a  German
working  man  came  up  to  him  and  begged  him  to  carry  home
a  message  for  him.  They  engaged  in  conversation.  The  workman ­
  related  his  history,  and  showed  how  small  were  his  wages,
and  what  privations  he  had  to  undergo  in  order  to  live  upon
them.  This  made  Mario  reflect  How  comes  it,  he  asked
himself,  that  this  charming  valley,  which  seems  a  corner  of
Paradise,  should  conceal  such  misery?  Is  the  fault  in  man  or
in  nature?  “Until  now  I  have  been  admiring  the  power  of
machinery  and  the  marvels  of  the  factory,  without  ever  inquiring
into  the  lot  of  those  employed  therein.  I  have  been  calculating
the  amount  of  the  products,  without  ever  seeking  to  know  how
*  Among  the  German  socialistic  writings  prior  to  1848  may  be  also
cited,  Destruction  and  Reconstruction,  or  the  Present  and  Future.”  by
Michael  (Stuttgart,  1846)  ;  “  The  Condition  of  the  Working  Classes  in
England,  by  Frederick  Engels  (Leipzig,  1845).  This  latter  work  contains ­
  some  interesting  facts  taken  from  the  English  inquiries  into  the
subject,  and  is  in  part  the  source  from  which  Karl  Marx  drew  his  ideas.
t  Untersuchungen  über  die  Organisation  der  Arbeit  oder  System  der
iVeltœkotiomie.