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THE SOCIALISM OF TO-DAY. 
The absolute impotence ¿'nd sterility of the Communes at 
Paris and in Spain clearly pi ove that Socialism, though it may 
snatch a victory by surprise, is unable to draw profit from its 
momentary triumph. A polIdeal revolution is often an easy 
matter ; social evolution is inevitable ; but a Socialistic revolu 
tion is impossible, for the simple reason that the economic face 
of society cannot be changed in a day, or by force. Neverthe 
less, many governments certainly act exactly as if they wished to 
provoke a terrible overthrow. In fact, on the one hand, ever 
growing military systems and more and more crushing taxes are 
reducing the people to ruin and driving them to despair ; while, 
on the other hand, every manifestation of their sufferings and 
all their wishes for reform are mercilessly suppressed. 
Socialism, even in a militant form, exists to-day, as we have 
seen, everywhere ; but while in free countries, such as England, 
Switzerland, or Belgium, it organizes congresses and banquets, 
where it speechifies, sings, drinks, and smokes, in States where 
it is persecuted to the death, as in Russia, it has recourse to the 
dagger, to incendiarism, to poison, and to dynamite. A govern 
ment which refuses to grant liberty has against it all those who 
claim liberty, from the best citizens to the worst scoundrels. 
Let it grant liberty, and its only enemies will be those who 
deserve the hulks, that is to say, happily still, a very insignifi 
cant number. 
Intelligent revolutionists see clearly that coercion gives them 
weapons. On this subject. Citizen Brousse, author of the article 
in the Avant-garde, which was condemned at Geneva in 1878, 
says as follows :—“ Our aim being the destruction of the State, 
we ought not to wish for the Republic which would give to the 
State a solid foundation, such as it has in Switzerland and in 
the United States. The form of government most advantageous 
to us is that which we can most easily destroy, that is, the 
restoration of the legitimist monarchy. . . . Relying on the 
results of Sociological science, we maintain that the Conservative 
Republic, which is about to be established in France on the 
ruins of radicalism, being the final advance which the State can 
make, will cement, to the great detriment of the proletariat of 
Europe an indissoluble alliance between all the elements of the