AGRARIAN TENDENCIES IN EUROPE 45 



found their way into the homes of the farm popula- 

 tion. Slowly the peasant farmer began to realize 

 that the methods of the industrial worker were 

 bringing about results. " Throughout the ages/' says 

 H. G. Wells, "we find the belief growing in men's 

 minds that there can be such a rearrangement of 

 laws and powers as to give rule and order while still 

 restraining the egotism of any ruler and of any 

 ruling class that may be necessary, and such a defini- 

 tion of property as will give freedom without oppres- 

 sive power. We begin to realize nowadays that these 

 ends are only to be attained by a complex construc- 

 tive effort; they arise through the conflict of new 

 human needs against ignorance and old human na- 

 ture; but throughout the nineteenth century there 

 was a persistent disposition to solve the problem 

 by some simple formula." 3 



It should be observed that agrarianism was in- 

 fluenced in two ways by the industrial revolution. 

 In the first place, we find that the peasant farmers 

 of England were inclined to adopt the methods of 

 the industrial workers. This was particularly true 

 in the early stages of agrarianism in recent times. 

 In the second place, we find that the peasant farmers 

 found it desirable to form an alliance with organ- 

 ized industrial labor. This was the direct result of 

 the widespread feeling that the forces of the opposi- 

 tion were too strong and that it would require too 

 long a period of time to get results by working alone. 



*Ibid., Vol. II, p. 403. 



