SCIENCE AND REVOLUTION 



ural god makes it identical with paganism. Only 

 an ignoramus can dismiss materialist monism 

 with the supercilious and flippant term of " athe- 

 ism." 



In stating the historical truth that the modern 

 proletarian revolution is inseparably linked with 

 the growth of materialist monism we do not im- 

 ply that the victory of socialism depends on the 

 spread of " atheism," or even of materialist mo- 

 nism. On the contrary, we are simply stating a 

 fact revealed by the materialist conception of his- 

 tory, namely, that the industrial and political 

 revolution produces a mental revolution. This 

 mental revolution strikes not only at the eco- 

 nomic and political institutions, but also at the 

 ideas of the ruling classes. 



Class rule is inseparably united to mysticism 

 and theological religion. And if the declining 

 bourgeois world feels the need of a " spiritual 

 revival " in the sense that they long for a return 

 of the good times when they swung the rod over 

 the mental life of the working class, we can un- 

 derstand their feelings very well and sympathize 

 with them. But we are not going to fulfill their 

 wishes in this respect. 



To the extent that class rule totters, the prole- 

 tarian mind rises out of the fog of mystic phi- 



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