IV 



THE PERFECT SOCIALISM 



T is unquestionable that the word "social- 

 ist " is an epithet of reproach in the popu- 

 lar mind, and is associated with attempts 

 to subvert the law and order of civilized 

 society. Yet the student of history is 

 bound to confess that socialism has been 

 the product of the highest civilization. In every form it 

 has been an attempt, however misguided, to insure the 

 good of society at large through curtailing and regulating 

 the rights of the individual. The underlying idea of 

 socialism has ever been to secure for man upon earth the 

 equal chances for happiness which, it is believed, God in 

 his justice grants to man in the next world. The popular 

 disrepute of socialism is doubtless due, in part, to vari- 

 ous unsuccessful experiments in communal life; but it 

 is due also to the individualism of the human race, 

 which rebels against any levelling tendency. We each 

 prefer to keep our own fighting chance, however poor, 

 to sharing the same with our fellows less fortunate in 

 endowment and environment. 



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