MARXISM AND DARWINISM. 31 



sarily bring about an ever growing mental and physical 

 deterioration." 



These are the main contentions of those who use 

 Darwinism as a defence of the bourgeois system. 

 Strong as these arguments might appear at first sight, 

 they were not hard for the Socialists to overcome. To 

 a large extent, they are the old arguments used against 

 Socialism, but wearing the new garb of Darwinistic 

 terminology, and they show an utter ignorance of 

 Socialism as well as of capitalism. 

 •^^ Those who compare the social organism with the 



^^*l /animal body leave unconsidered the fact that men do 

 ^ I not differ like various cells or organs, but only in de- 

 gree of their capacity. In society the division of labor 

 cannot go so far that all capacities should perish at 

 the expense of one. What is more, everyone who un- 

 derstands something of Socialism knows that the effi- 

 cient division of labor does not cease with Socialism ; 

 that first under Socialism real divisions will be pos- 

 sible. The difiference between the workers, their 

 ability, and employments will not cease; all that will 

 cease is the difference between workers and exploiters. 

 ^ . :. iVhile it is positively true that in the struggle for 

 'existence those animals that are strong, healthy and 

 well survive, yet this does not happen under capital- 

 ist competition. Here victory does not depend upon 

 perfection of those engaged in the struggle, but in 

 J something that lies outside of their body. While this 

 >^' struggle may hold good with the small bourgeois, 

 ^ where success depends upon personal abilities and 



V qualifications, yet with the further development of 



\^' capital, success does not depend upon personal abili- 



ties, but upon the possession of capital. The one who 

 has a larger capital at command will soon conquer the 



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