CHAPTEE XXII. 



SOCIALISM. 



* 



840. SOME socialists, though probably not many, know 

 that their ideal modes of associated living are akin to 

 modes which have prevailed widely during early stages of 

 civilization, and prevail still among many of the uncivilized, 

 as well as among some of the civilized who have lagged 

 behind. In the chapter on &quot; Communal Regulation &quot; were 

 given examples of communism as practised by tribes of Red 

 men, by various Hindus, and by some unprogressive peoples 

 in Eastern Europe. Further instances of each class will 

 serve to exhibit at once the virtues of these methods of 

 combined living and working and their vices. Writing of 

 the aborigines of North America, Major Powell, Director of 

 the United States Bureau of Ethnology, says : 



&quot; As is well known, the basis of the Indian social organization was 

 the kinship system. By its provisions almost all property was pos 

 sessed in common by the gens or clan. Food, the most important of 

 all, was by no means left to be exclusively enjoyed by the individual 

 or the family obtaining it. ... 



Undoubtedly what was originally a right, conferred by kinship 

 connections, ultimately assumed broader proportions, and finally 

 passed into the exercise of an almost indiscriminate hospitality. By 

 reason of this custom, the poor hunter was virtually placed upon 

 equality with the expert one, the lazy with the industrious, the improvi 

 dent with the more provident. Stories of Indian life abound with 

 instances of individual families or parties being called upon by those 

 less fortunate or provident to share their supplies. 



11 The effect of such a system, admirable as it was in many particu 

 lars, practically placed a premium upon idleness. Under such communal 

 rights and privileges a potent spur to industry and thrift is wanting. 



575 



