The Gavelyte, April 1907

CEDARVILLE COLLEGE. 7G is the ideal state of , ociety, and that it is man's duty to work with that nd in view. As a theory, ocialism means evolution; as a principl , it m ans co-operation: a a progrp,mm , it m ans democracy. Sociologists recognize that the life of man, as well that of animals, is a struggle for existence. But they define progress, or civilization, as the elevation of that truggle from lower to higher planes. This evolutionary view of social development is boldly' expressed by Horace in the Third Satire of Book 1: "As soon as animals crept forth on the fir t lands, a speechlcs and degraded crowd, they battled for the acorn and for their lairs with claws and fists, then with clubs and at length with arms, which aftrrwards practice had made; until they learned to use words by which to indicate vowel sounds and thoughts and to use names. After that they began to refrain from war, and fortify walled towns, and to lay down laws that no one should be a thief, nor a robber." Thus we see that in the b8ginning rivalry between man and man was a purely physical struggle, "nature red in tooth and claw," later i~ became a military conflict, and finally commercial com– petition has been substituted. In the first stage, the victor killed and eat the defeated; in the military stage, the conqueror subjected the conquered to slavery and lived upon the fruits of his labor; in the present stage, the succe<::sful "captain of industry ," reduces his unsuccessful competitors to economic subjection and reaps the benefit of their dependence upon him. There has been constant progress; slavery is better than destruction; eco– nomic subjection, better than slavery. But heights yet unattained lie be– yond, and Socialism is simply the next stage, in which men will struggle neither for life, for liberty, nor for the means of existence, but for the de– velopemeI-Jt of character. Here competition will find a noble and a worthy -field for labor. In other words, it will be elevated from the physical, mil– itary, and economic planes to the mental, moral, and spiritual realms. · Such is Socialism as a theory of P-volution. But it is cliiefly as a principle and as a political programme that Socialism ia of practical importance to us. True, it is highly important that in all of our efforts toward the arneliora- - tion of social conditions we should be working in accordance with the eter– nal laws of nature, but it is just as important that the principle for which we are working should be a correct one, and that our method should be proper. Let us turn, then, tu a consideration of the principles and pro– gramme of Socialism. At first thought, Socialism demanding the abolition of private proper-