56 MARXISM AND DARWINISM. 



Every one had to rely upon himself. Alone, free from 

 all ties and protection, he must struggle against all. 



It is for this reason that, under capitalism, the 

 human world resernbles mostly the world of rapacious 

 animals, and it is for this very reason that the bour-~ 

 geois Darwinists looked for men's prototype among 

 animals living isolated. To this they were led by their 

 own experience. Their mistake, however, consisted in 

 considering capitalist conditions as everlasting. The 

 relation existing between our capitalist competitive 

 system and animals living isolated, was thus expressed 

 by Engels in his book, "Anti-Diihring" (page 293 j. 

 This may also be found on page 59 of "Socialism, 

 Utopian and Scientific" as follows : 



"Finally, modern industry and the opening of the 

 world market made the struggle universal and at the_ 

 same time gave it unheard-of virulence. Advantages 

 in natural or artificial conditions of production now 

 decide the existence or non-existence of individual 

 capitalists as well as of whole industries and coun- 

 tries. He that falls is remorselessly cast aside. It is 

 the Darwinian struggle of the individual for existence 

 transferred from Nature to society with intensified 

 violence. The conditions of existence natural to the 

 animal appear as the final term of human develop- 

 ment." 



What is that which carries on the struggle in this 

 capitalist competition, the perfectness of which de- 

 cides the victory? 



First come technical tools, machines. Here again 

 applies the law that struggle leads to perfection. The 

 machine that is more improved outstrips the less im- 

 proved, the machines that cannot perform much, and 

 the simple tools are exterminated and machine tech- 



