SPENCER'S "SOCIAL ORGANISM" 185 



heaviness and contributed generally to the 

 gaiety of the nations. 



Socialists have always been among the first 

 to enjoy these entertaining performances, and 

 it seems like divine retribution when these 

 same theological and "Reverend" persons 

 tumble over into the Socialist camp and bring 

 their obsolete methods of thinking with them. 



They dub themselves "Christian" Socialists 

 and proceed to show that "Socialism is a 

 philosophy concerning the social and economic 

 life of man, and not the religious at all." When 

 Marx declared that political and legal and 

 other social institutions and ideas were the 

 result of economic conditions and class inter- 

 ests, religious institutions and ideas were, of 

 course, exempt. 



After a mental contortion like that, what is 

 to prevent a reconciliation between the 17th 

 century twaddle of the methodist pulpit and 

 the materialist conception of history? 



Those who break the second canon given, 

 are not all theologians. Among those who 

 ignore distinctions that do exist, the biological 

 sociologist is entitled to conspicuous mention. 



August Comte, who "attempted to make of 

 sociology a sort of transcendental biology," 

 had at least this excuse that he wrote his 

 positivist philosophy before Darwin published 



