AUTHOR'S PREFACE 



FOR THE FRENCH EDITION. 



THIS VOLUME which it is desired to bring 

 before the large public of French readers in 

 entering on the complex and vast question of 

 socialism, has a well-defined and limited aim. 



I have proposed to indicate, and nearly 

 always by means of rapid and summary 

 observations, the general relations between 

 contemporary socialism and the trend of 

 modern scientific thought. 



The opponents of contemporary socialism 

 only see in it, or only wish to see in it, a 

 reproduction of the sentimental socialism of 

 the first half of the igth century. They 

 maintain that socialism is contrary to the 

 data and fundamental inductions of physics, 

 biology and sociology, the marvellous de- 

 velopment and fruitful applications of which 

 are the title to glory of the century just closed. 



These opponents of socialism have made use 

 of the individual interpretations and exaggera- 

 tions of certain partisans of Darwinism, of 

 the opinions of such-and-such a sociologist 

 opinions and interpretations in manifest con- 

 tradiction to the premises of their theories on 

 universal and inevitable evolution. 



It has also been said, under the pressure of 

 acute or chronic hunger, that " if science is 

 against socialism, so much the worse for 

 science." And this is correct if by science 

 even with a capital S is meant all the 

 observations and conclusions ad usum delphini 



